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Authors

Sarah Rawle

Keywords

Outstanding, Intermediate, Young Adult, Sonia Manzano, Elizabeth B. Parisi, Social Change, Revolution, Young Lords

Document Type

Book Review

Abstract

It's 1969 in El Barrio, Spanish Harlem, New York, and ever day feels the same to Evelyn. Every day Puerto Ricans work and work but don’t really get anywhere. But El Barrio takes a turn when the Young Lords activist group rises. Evelyn senses a change when her Abuela comes to stay with her family and she learns the history of her family and Puerto Rico. The activist group soon sets fire to the garbage that was not being picked up by the city’s sanitation department. They then petition and use the First Spanish Methodist Church building, lasting twelve days before being arrested peacefully, to hold a free-breakfast program for children, a clothing drive, and other events to help the community and to show that the people can make a change. Throughout these twelve days, Evelyn begins to recognize herself in her Abuela and, surprisingly, in her Mami.

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