Borikén Syllabus 2.0 Part 5: Power | Fuerza

This section provides resources that center the power of Puerto Rican movements across the United States and the archipelago, which have consistently articulated a politics grounded in resilience, solidarity, and liberation. Emerging from the historical legacies of colonialism, displacement, and economic exploitation, Puerto Rican movements are deeply rooted in Taíno and Afro-descendant traditions of resistance that transcend geographic and colonial boundaries. Central to these movements is the understanding of liberation as both a cultural and social process grounded in the recovery and affirmation of Puerto Rican identity, language, and historical memory.

The Young Lords, Puerto Rican Studies, and student movements, like  #HuelgaUPR, have been critical in advancing educational justice. From the emergence of the Young Lords in the 1960s, which advanced a revolutionary vision of liberation rooted in collective struggle and community control, to the rise of the Union for Puerto Rican Students, Puerto Rican activism has consistently mobilized communities around issues of educational access, cultural representation, and political consciousness. Contemporary movements, such as #HuelgaUPR, continue this legacy of resistance by confronting enduring concerns about educational accessibility, economic inequality, and democratic participation, among others.

Across Borikén and the diaspora, Puerto Rican movements have maintained a sustained politics of resilience, solidarity, and liberation. Their historical significance lies not only in their political demands but also in their capacity to preserve cultural identity, cultivate collective consciousness, and imagine alternative futures grounded in justice and self-determination. The history and fuerza of Puerto Rican activism demonstrate how collective identity can transcend physical borders, forced migration, and colonial displacement.

• Library of Congress. (n.d.). 1968: The Young Lords organization/party. In A Latinx resource guide: Civil rights cases and events in the United States. https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/young-lords-organization#s-lib-ctab-27072033-1

• Negrón-Muntaner, F. (2015). The Young Lords and the struggle for liberation. https://lhcs497.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/negrc3b3n-muntaner-young-lords.pdf

• Gabriel, R. (2024). Somos Boricuas y Estamos Despertando: Decolonial Education, Collective Identity, and the Struggle for Puerto Rican Studies [Doctoral dissertation, City University of New York]. CUNY Academic Works. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5583/

• Santiago, D., Labandera, E., & Arroyo, C. (2023, February). Institutional resilience in Puerto Rico: A first look at efforts by Puerto Rican HSIs. Excelencia in Education. https://www.edexcelencia.org/_files/ugd/cef214_701545dd9e24412ab78bfabc86c0cc27.pdf

• Martinez, A., & Garcia, N. M. (2018). #HuelgaUPR: The kidnapping of the University of Puerto Rico, student activism, and the era of Trump. Frontiers in Education, 3, 84. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00084

• Ramírez Lugo, J. S., & Torres-Ramos, C. A. (2017). Rebuilding Caribbean science. Science, 358(6360), 151. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaq1210

• Martinez Sierra, N. (2021). Past is present: The Young Lords Party revisited. The Latinx Project at New York University. https://www.latinxproject.nyu.edu/intervenxions/past-is-present-the-young-lords-party-revisited

• Rodriguez, J. M. (2023). Making the revolution: The Young Lords and the creation of a new Puerto Rican identity [Undergraduate honors thesis, Macalester College]. DigitalCommons@Macalester College. https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/soci_honors/72/

• López, J. (2022, September). Mayra Santos-Febres: Affirming Blackness in the Caribbean and Latin America. Latin American Literature Today. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2022/09/mayra-santos-febres-affirming-afrodescendence-in-the-caribbean-and-latin-americ-by-jotace-lopez/

• Centro for Puerto Rican Studies. (n.d.). Diasporican educational program. https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/projects/diasporican-education-program/

Books

• Tormos-Aponte, F., & Ferrer-Núñez, S. (2020). Intersectional synthesis: A case study of the Colectiva Feminista En Construcción. In S. Navarro & L. Saldaña (Eds.), Latinas and the politics of urban spaces (pp. 53–66). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003128649-4

• Colón, M. (2025). A legacy of struggle and advocacy: Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools. In

  Latine students in U.S. schools: An interactive resource book for educators. University of Massachusetts Boston. https://pressbooks.pub/latinestudents/chapter/puerto-rican-students-in-us-schools/

Videos

• Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO). (2025). Diasporican Educational Program [YouTube channel]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvhJBamtYzrVHOwS4_4R2QH0TYGjZs-qi

• Centro for Puerto Rican Studies. (2025). CUNY Boricuas and bilingual education [Video]. https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/event/cuny-boricuas-and-bilingual-education/

Reflection Questions

• How might the legacies of movements such as the Young Lords and #HuelgaUPR student-led activism influence how we think about higher education and educational justice?

• How do issues of displacement, migration, and economic inequality in Puerto Rico connect to broader systems of colonialism and inequity within higher education and the United States?

• How can we, as scholars and practitioners, learn about and honor Puerto Rican identity, history, and culture while engaging in academic inquiry?

• In what ways can you remain attentive to the knowledge, experiences, and leadership of Puerto Rican scholars, students, and community members in Borikén and the diaspora?

• How can we continue engaging with Puerto Rican histories, movements, and scholarship toward sustained solidarity and action beyond the ASHE conference?