50 Years of
Perseverance and Persistence
The 1990s saw a rise in community organizing in response to the ongoing threat of gentrification. In 1991, the oldest Puerto Rican Mural in Chicago, La Crucifición de Don Pedro” on the corner of Artesian and North Avenue, was restored. In 1993 The Casita de Don Pedro y Doña Lolita was built to immortalize the Puerto Rican presence and persistence in Humboldt Park, the Youth Summit was organized at Clemente High School, and on January 6, 1995 (El Dia de los Reyes) the Flags of Steel were erected. This decade also saw the explosion of the struggle for educational reform at Roberto Clemente High School, the creation of one of the U.S.’ largest annual ethnic festivals, “Fiesta Boricua,” and, after decades of struggle, we accomplished the release of 14 Puerto Rican political prisoners.