40 years ago in Chicago, Illinois. Puerto Ricans rebelled against police violence

“June 12 marked the 40th anniversary of what is commonly referred to as the “Division Street Riots.” The “riot” was actually an uprising of the nationally oppressed Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park/West Town.

People rose up in response to intolerable conditions in the barrio, particularly the brutal treatment of Puerto Rican youth at the hands of the notoriously racist Chicago Police Department (CPD).

The uprising was the beginning of a national consciousness in the Puerto Rican community in Chicago in Humboldt Park/West Town in particular. With the threat of the displacement of the Puerto Rican community from yet another neighborhood by wealthy white professionals and their ugly $500,000 condos, the remembrance of the 40th anniversary of the uprising could not be more timely.”

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