The Robinson SPACE

SEPTEMBER STICKER REVEAL

The Young Lords were founded on September 23, 1968. To honor this revolutionary organization, we’ve recreated a button that adorned their purple berets, featuring one of their iconic slogans: “Tengo Puerto Rico En Mi Corazón” (translated as “I Have Puerto Rico in My Heart”). This sticker is exclusive to our 1312 Sticker Club so if you want one, sign up via our bio!

The Young Lords originated in Chicago as a response to state violence and in particular police brutality, medical neglect, and urban renewal. Inspired by the Black Panther Party, they joined Fred Hampton’s Rainbow Coalition in Chicago and established their most well known chapter in New York In July 1969.

This revolutionary org was active on multiple fronts. Faced with the city’s neglect of sanitation services in needed communities, the Young Lords launched Garbage Offensives to tackle this injustice. They occupied churches, transforming them into “people’s churches” that offered free healthcare, breakfast programs, and other vital services to the city’s forgotten residents. Recognizing the importance of decolonizing the minds of the community, they established Puerto Rican cultural centers and published a bilingual newspaper called Pa’lante.

They organized demonstrations in front of real estate companies driving gentrification and even set up camp on vacant land to block the construction of a $1,000-a-year, members-only tennis club. One of their most notable actions was the takeover of Lincoln Hospital, infamously known as “the butcher shop,” on July 14, 1970 in the South Bronx. They occupied the hospital for 12 hours to expose its appalling conditions. Four months later, they returned to expropriate Lincoln Hospital and transformed it into Lincoln Detox, also known as the People’s Hospital, in collaboration with Mutulu Shakur, the Black Panther Party, the Republic of New Afrika, and other allies. For a compelling look at this pivotal point in history, check out the documentary Dope is Death.

We honor Young Lords revolutionaries like José “Cha Cha” Jiménez, Denise Oliver-Velez, Cleo Silvers, Miguel Ernesto “Mickey” Melendez, and more. Que Viva Puerto Rico Libre!

The Arby’s on Sunset may have closed, but our store is wide open with a classic rebrand of their legendary cowboy hat sign 🤠

This heater can be all yours for $6.66 with all proceeds going to support our community space. Hit the link in bio to buy one (or six 😉).

If you want to support our community space further, please consider joining our 1312 Sticker Club! You’ll receive a righteous sticker every month, be entered into a monthly raffle, and get access to exclusive Patreon-only posts 😎