Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT
This essay examines the relationship between sovereignty claims and style through the political practice of the Young Lords of New York, a radical youth group that went public on July 26, 1969. The essay argues that the Young Lords are a rich archive for this inquiry as the group's leadership was aware of the importance of style to becoming visible as political actors and being recognized as citizens. The Young Lords' practice also dramatizes both the potential and limits of this framework. While the Lords' military "cool" style was exceptionally fruitful in challenging the dominant premise of Puerto Rican political docility and attracting media attention to critical issues, once sovereign claims shifted from city resources to obtaining nation-state status for Puerto Rico, the Lords' organization suffered internal and external ruptures. The state stepped up its surveillance and segments of the Lords protested the reallocation of energy from New York to Puerto Rico. The result is a complex legacy that enables a reflection on the impact of style and sovereign claims in the political praxis of modern colonial groups. [Key words: Young Lords, radicalism, New York, style, performance, praxis]
The day was October 18, 1970, and a young man by the name of Pablo "Yoruba" Guzmán was doing all the talking. Armed with an Afro, U.S. military fatigues, and Cuban shades, Guzmán-the Minister of Information for a radical group called the Young Lords-demanded that any police officer who came into the East Harlem Methodist Church step aside. The Young Lords had occupied the church after a funeral march to protest the suspected murder of one of their members, Julio Roldán. To make sure that arms would not be planted on the premises, Yoruba styled his actions with great care: dressed as a commander himself, he body-searched the captain in charge of the operation, forcing him "to assume the position spread" (Guzmán 1998: 165). The order produced the desired results. Not only did the police fail in finding any weapons, the very next morning, one New York newspaper headline read: "Policemen Frisked by the Young Lords" (Meléndez 2005: 186).
The Lords' road to citywide recognition had been both long and short. Launched on July 26, 1969, the New York Lords were initially a branch of...