With the deployment of the National Guard occupying Washington DC, the LMC spends the hour with James Early and Alberto Medina to break down the parallels between the battle for DC statehood and Puerto Rican independence against the rise of authoritariansm.
James Early is a former Smithsonian Institution Assistant Secretary for Education and Public Service. Alberto C. Medina is the president of Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora (BUDPR), a national organization of Puerto Ricans in the United States who educate and organize for decolonization.
On this episode, the LMC speaks with local DC filmmaker and photographer Cindy Centeno about the new documentary, “La Manplesa: An Uprising Remembered”, chronicling the 31st anniversary of the Mt Pleasant Riots of 1991 in Washington DC.
Predating the riots in Los Angeles, the Mount Pleasant Uprising in 1991 marked a turning point for Washington DC’s Central American community as well as the beginning of the gentrification movement that has transformed the city. So the LMC spends the hour with DC activist and poet Quique Aviles to reminisce on this period in DC history and what has happened to the community since.
The Latino Media Collective is a grassroots Latino public-affairs program that airs on Pacifica station WPFW 89.3fm on Fridays @ 1pm EST in Washington DC.