Latino Activism in La Gran Manzana Nueva York

Saturday, August 11, 2007
Latino Activism in La Gran Manzana Nueva York

What is going on in the post-9/11, post-Young Lords, post-poverty programs, neoliberal New York? This is also the time that New York' Latino population has move from being a predominentelly Puerto Rican community to a vast and diverse Latino population. Once 116th Street in Manhattan's Spanish Harlem was the heart of the Latino community and now there are many heart's or Latino epicenters. Queen's Roosevelt Avenue is probably one of the biggest Latino neighborhoods. However, many of the struggles of the past still continue. While Latinos have made many strives in many area there has also been waning as well. Many of the important issues were racism, discrimination, drugs, housing, health, Latino Studies college programs, police brutality, education, jobs, and homelessness. These issues still exist and are very relevant. Certainly, we are not living in the 60s or 70s anymore and we cannot address these issues as we did in the past. Undoubtedly, the youth of today are not as concerned as those in the past. There is a great lack of concern for la comunidad. Assimilation is the name if the game. Hiphop is not even an indigenous culture that the youth produce. We were active participants, whereas youth now are passive recipients of the culture via MTV and BET. Alianza Islamica has died and there the Islamic alternative for Latino is not as vibrant (if it at all exists) as it once was. The days of East Harlems many poverty programs (often called povery pimps) are over. Where does on go to find the leaders of the communities? There are very few Latino radio or TV shows that talk about the community concerns. Even the progressive Pacifica station WBAI no longer has Latino Journal. Only a few music show on Sunday are there to "fill the gap." The technical divide between white American and people of color is ever increasing. How many of our youth really are skilled in modern technology, beside being about to go on the 'net to their MySpace account or being able to listen to there iPods?

Let me know your thoughts...http://khalilpr.blogspot.com/
Khalil Al-Puerto Rikani
posted by Khalil Al-Puerto Rikani at 3:13 PM

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Khalil Al-Puerto Rikani
Okay, I am 30 years old. Muslim. I try my best to adhere to the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah mention him amongst the angels). My name is Khalil. I was born in the Bronx to New York Puerto Rican (Catholic) parents. During my teenage years I starting to learn about my history since of course they don't teach us that in school. By age 16 I was an activist. Being Latino in NY helped because we have a lot of interaction with African-Americans where Islam is well-known. So I took shahadah in my first semester of college. I went to one of the SUNY (State U. of NY, not a shii school) schools where I earned a degree in Arabic and Political Science. My concentration was in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2000, I was offered a scholarship to study at Umm Al-Qura University. I studied there for a number of years and was able to work on my Arabic. May Allah reward King Fahd (rahimahullah) for giving me that scholarship, Ameen. I currently live in Clarksville, Tennessee where I live with my beloved wife and three year old son, Ishaq. I work as a paralegal.