By Carrie Snurr
For The Diamondback
Even though people might come from differing backgrounds, their fight against decades of oppression, addiction and violence and the need to unite together to create change could be the same.
“They’re killing black people today, who are they gonna kill tomorrow?” Felipe Luciano, a poet, activist and co-founder of Young Lords in New York asked the audience of about 100 in Stamp Student Union’s Grand Ballroom on Monday night.
It was that message that Luciano, along with Paul Pumphrey, a social activist and former Black Panther Party member, wanted to convey as panelists at the “Different Color, Same Struggle” event, hosted by the La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc.
Pumphrey and Luciano touched on a number of topics that affect black and Latino communities, such as drug addiction, poverty, gang violence and feeling as if there is a lack of purpose in life.
“The reason these kids shoot up is because they feel insignificant … they have no meaning to their lives, they feel worthless,” Luciano said, referring to addiction epidemics in all communities.
Luciano emphasized that some minorities might feel as if they have no purpose in life, and this is what drives violence. Some people involved in violence feel as if they have nothing to lose, or perhaps don’t always see the future consequences there may be, he said.
As an advocate for Puerto Ricans in the Latino community, Luciano created the Young Lords in New York — a mostly Puerto Rican group inspired by the Black Panthers — and has worked as a poet and news anchor, winning two Emmy awards. But he grew up surrounded by violence in Harlem, he said.
Luciano and members of a gang killed a rival who had beaten up Luciano’s brother, he said. He then spent two years in prison in the early 1960s. Now, Luciano speaks to and mentors young men, particularly gang members or drug dealers, to inspire them to change.
Pumphrey, a social activist and a former leader in the Black Panther Party, was born during the time of Jim Crow laws, he said. He learned a lot about serving the community from his mother, who was one of 10 children, went to high school and college and spent her life serving her community, he said.
“I learned from an early age that my job in life was to serve,” Pumphrey said.
Both panelists asked the audience to learn about the world and what is going on in other continents such as Africa, South America and Asia, so they can be better activists for all communities, spark change and recognize all problems minority communities face.
Pumphrey said that students should take advantage of being at this university and learn about what is going on in the world.
“Ask yourself, ‘What is this government about?’ If you’re going to be a student, do your homework, understand what is going on,” he said.
Jasmin Herrera, a university alumna, is an AmeriCorps member who works in a school that is 99 percent black and 1 percent Latino.
“The speakers were really impactful and also reminded me of how much work is left in our communities to be done,” she said. “I feel as a person of color this is what drives me to serve.”
