7:48 AM
Thomas Paine from the Bronx
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| Lolita Lebron arrested 3/1/54 "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Thomas Paine The American Crisis No. 1 December 19, 1776 |
Lolita Lebron, the Puerto Rican independence activist who led three others to attack the U.S. House of Representatives with pistols on March 1st, 1954, died at age 90 over the weekend. No members of Congress died in the attack, but the group, including Lolita Lebron, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Upon being arrested, Lebrón yelled "I did not come to kill anyone, I came to die for Puerto Rico!".
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter granted her and her partners of the March 1st 1954 attack clemency after they served 25 years in jail. Also released at the time was another Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Collazo, who had attempted to shoot President Harry Truman in 1950.
In the half century that has passes since her assault on the US Capitol much as changed in the political and social landscapes of Puerto Ricans, militants,and Nationalist fervor. However it is also true that much remains the same.
Lolita Lebron was a feminist long before the term was properly defined, a Puerto Rican Patriot when it was dangerous do be one. Over the years she remains a symbol of Nationalism, Activism and devotion to the cause of Puerto Rican independence. From our vantage point in 2010 we may judge her actions as too radical; akin to those who attacked the US on September 11, 2001. However if you looked at the world from her vantage point as a Puerto Rican Nationalist in the late 1940's and mid 1950's - you might find that she was using what few weapons were available to her cause.
Whether you agree with her actions or not, learn more about Lolita (whose full name was Dolores "Lolita" Lebrón Sotomayor) because those who do not know their history are compelled to repeat it. We should be clear her history is not only the history of the Puerto Rican people. On March 1st 1954 her history became a part of American History.
Find Some Links & Videos Below:
(if you have other links please suggest in the comments section.)
Mireya Navarro (1990-10-21). "40 Years After Attacks, Time Has Softened Zeal". The New York Times.
Finding Dulcinea Staff. "On This Day: Puerto Rican Nationalists Launch Assault on US Congress." findingDulcinea. March 01, 2010. Retrieved August 05, 2010.http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March/Puerto-Rican-Nationalists-Launch-Assault-on-U-S--Congress.html
