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'''Iris Morales''' (born 1948) is a New York-based Latina activist. She is best known for her work with the [[Young Lords]], a Puerto Rican community activist group in the United States.<ref name=":0">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
== Early life and education ==
Iris Morales was born in New York in 1948 to Puerto Rican migrant parents.<ref></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Her father worked as a hotel elevator operator, and her mother worked as a sewing machine operator.<ref></ref> She went to [[Julia Richman Education Complex|Julia Richman High School]], where she attended meetings of the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] and the [[NAACP]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 2, expected 1)</ref>
As a teenager, she became a tenant rights organizer in her [[East Harlem]] neighborhood and protested the [[Vietnam War]]. She studied political science at [[City College of New York|City College]], where she joined the Black student organization.<ref name=":1">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":2">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 2, expected 1)</ref> She also co-founded Puerto Ricans Involved in Student Action (PRISA), the school's first Puerto Rican student organization.<ref name=":3">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
== The Young Lords ==
[[File:Prenmicorazon.jpg|alt=The Young Lords logo painted on a wall.|thumb|The Young Lords logo.]]
The Chicago-based [[Young Lords]], a leftist group of Puerto Rican youth activists inspired by the [[Black Panther Party|Black Panthers]], established a branch in New York in 1969. Morales joined the group that year, after meeting Young Lords founder [[Jose Cha Cha Jimenez|José Cha Cha Jiménez]] at a conference in Denver.<ref name=":2" />
Her work as a leader in the Young Lords spanned five years in the 1960s and 1970s. She served as deputy minister of education and co-founder of its Women’s Caucus.<ref name=":4"></ref> She also served as minister of information for a period.<ref name=":5">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
Morales worked on political education and literacy efforts, as well as attempting to change the [[Machismo|machista]] culture of the organization.<ref name=":2" /> She advocated for women's inclusion in leadership and helped co-found the Women's Union and its corresponding publication, ''La Luchadora''. Her work on women's representation in the Young Lords paved the way for the organization's pioneering lesbian and gay caucus.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
In addition to her fight for the feminist cause within the Young Lords, she also used her position in the organization to advocate for abortion access and against forced sterilizations.<ref name=":6" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Among the causes that the organization undertook during this period included establishing a free breakfast program for New York's youth, creating a lead poisoning prevention program, founding a daycare so Latina women could seek employment, and advocating for decolonization of Puerto Rico.<ref name=":2" />
Morales resigned from the Young Lords, which was struggling with infighting and targeted by the [[FBI]]'s [[COINTELPRO]] program, in 1975.<ref name=":7">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> The party effectively disbanded the following year.<ref name=":3" />
== Further education and career ==
After the dissolution of the Young Lords, Morales continued her Latina feminist activism and pursued a law degree from [[New York University School of Law]].<ref name=":4" /> At NYU, she became the first Puerto Rican to receive the highly competitive [[Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship]], a full-tuition public service scholarship.<ref name=":2" />
As a lawyer, she worked as an attorney and director of education at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":1" /> She was also a co-founder and the executive director of the New Educational Opportunities Network, a media nonprofit serving young people of color.<ref name=":5" /> She later worked with [[Manhattan Neighborhood Network]]'s community media center in Spanish Harlem<ref name=":3" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> and served as director of the Union Square Awards, city government project recognizing grassroots activists.<ref name=":5" />
Morales returned to school again and earned an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from [[Hunter College]].<ref name=":4" /> She subsequently founded Latino Education Network Services, a documentary filmmaking nonprofit.<ref name=":5" />
In 2020, she was honored as a Latina Trailblazer by [[LatinoJustice PRLDEF]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
[[File:FrontCover.gif|alt=The cover of Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords 1969-1976.|thumb|274x274px|The cover of ''Through the Eyes of Rebel Women''.]]
=== Writing and documentary film ===
With the founding of Latino Education Network Services, Morales created her first film, the 1996 documentary ''¡Palante Siempre Palante! The Young Lords''.<ref name=":0" /> The documentary aired as part of the [[PBS]] series ''[[POV (TV series)|POV]].''<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2) Obermann Center for Advanced Studies|url=https://obermann.uiowa.edu/events/film-screening-qa-educator-latina-activist-iris-morales|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-27|website=University of Iowa}}</ref>
Morales has contributed to recent scholarship on the history of the Young Lords, writing forwards for ''[[The Young Lords: A Reader]]'' in 2010 and ''Palante: Young Lords Party'' in 2011.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":7" />
In 2012, Morales founded her own small publishing house, Red Sugarcane Press.<ref name=":4" /> In 2016, the press published her history of women in the Young Lords, ''Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords 1969-1976''.<ref name=":0" /><ref></ref>
Red Sugarcane subsequently published the anthology ''Latinas: Struggles and Protests in 21st Century USA'', edited by Morales, in 2018.<ref></ref> She also edited the 2019 bilingual anthology ''Voices from Puerto Rico: Post-Hurricane Maria'', in which Puerto Rican activists discuss the aftermath of [[Hurricane Maria]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref></ref>
== See also ==
* [[Young Lords]]
* [[Women of the Young Lords]]
== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Young Lords]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican women activists]]
[[Category:American women activists]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican women writers]]
[[Category:American women writers]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican feminists]]
[[Category:American feminists]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:American documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:People from East Harlem]]
[[Category:City College of New York alumni]]
[[Category:New York University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Hunter College alumni]]
[[Category:Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights]]
== Early life and education ==
Iris Morales was born in New York in 1948 to Puerto Rican migrant parents.<ref></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Her father worked as a hotel elevator operator, and her mother worked as a sewing machine operator.<ref></ref> She went to [[Julia Richman Education Complex|Julia Richman High School]], where she attended meetings of the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] and the [[NAACP]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 2, expected 1)</ref>
As a teenager, she became a tenant rights organizer in her [[East Harlem]] neighborhood and protested the [[Vietnam War]]. She studied political science at [[City College of New York|City College]], where she joined the Black student organization.<ref name=":1">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":2">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 2, expected 1)</ref> She also co-founded Puerto Ricans Involved in Student Action (PRISA), the school's first Puerto Rican student organization.<ref name=":3">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
== The Young Lords ==
[[File:Prenmicorazon.jpg|alt=The Young Lords logo painted on a wall.|thumb|The Young Lords logo.]]
The Chicago-based [[Young Lords]], a leftist group of Puerto Rican youth activists inspired by the [[Black Panther Party|Black Panthers]], established a branch in New York in 1969. Morales joined the group that year, after meeting Young Lords founder [[Jose Cha Cha Jimenez|José Cha Cha Jiménez]] at a conference in Denver.<ref name=":2" />
Her work as a leader in the Young Lords spanned five years in the 1960s and 1970s. She served as deputy minister of education and co-founder of its Women’s Caucus.<ref name=":4"></ref> She also served as minister of information for a period.<ref name=":5">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
Morales worked on political education and literacy efforts, as well as attempting to change the [[Machismo|machista]] culture of the organization.<ref name=":2" /> She advocated for women's inclusion in leadership and helped co-found the Women's Union and its corresponding publication, ''La Luchadora''. Her work on women's representation in the Young Lords paved the way for the organization's pioneering lesbian and gay caucus.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
In addition to her fight for the feminist cause within the Young Lords, she also used her position in the organization to advocate for abortion access and against forced sterilizations.<ref name=":6" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Among the causes that the organization undertook during this period included establishing a free breakfast program for New York's youth, creating a lead poisoning prevention program, founding a daycare so Latina women could seek employment, and advocating for decolonization of Puerto Rico.<ref name=":2" />
Morales resigned from the Young Lords, which was struggling with infighting and targeted by the [[FBI]]'s [[COINTELPRO]] program, in 1975.<ref name=":7">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> The party effectively disbanded the following year.<ref name=":3" />
== Further education and career ==
After the dissolution of the Young Lords, Morales continued her Latina feminist activism and pursued a law degree from [[New York University School of Law]].<ref name=":4" /> At NYU, she became the first Puerto Rican to receive the highly competitive [[Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship]], a full-tuition public service scholarship.<ref name=":2" />
As a lawyer, she worked as an attorney and director of education at the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":1" /> She was also a co-founder and the executive director of the New Educational Opportunities Network, a media nonprofit serving young people of color.<ref name=":5" /> She later worked with [[Manhattan Neighborhood Network]]'s community media center in Spanish Harlem<ref name=":3" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> and served as director of the Union Square Awards, city government project recognizing grassroots activists.<ref name=":5" />
Morales returned to school again and earned an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from [[Hunter College]].<ref name=":4" /> She subsequently founded Latino Education Network Services, a documentary filmmaking nonprofit.<ref name=":5" />
In 2020, she was honored as a Latina Trailblazer by [[LatinoJustice PRLDEF]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
[[File:FrontCover.gif|alt=The cover of Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords 1969-1976.|thumb|274x274px|The cover of ''Through the Eyes of Rebel Women''.]]
=== Writing and documentary film ===
With the founding of Latino Education Network Services, Morales created her first film, the 1996 documentary ''¡Palante Siempre Palante! The Young Lords''.<ref name=":0" /> The documentary aired as part of the [[PBS]] series ''[[POV (TV series)|POV]].''<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2) Obermann Center for Advanced Studies|url=https://obermann.uiowa.edu/events/film-screening-qa-educator-latina-activist-iris-morales|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-27|website=University of Iowa}}</ref>
Morales has contributed to recent scholarship on the history of the Young Lords, writing forwards for ''[[The Young Lords: A Reader]]'' in 2010 and ''Palante: Young Lords Party'' in 2011.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":7" />
In 2012, Morales founded her own small publishing house, Red Sugarcane Press.<ref name=":4" /> In 2016, the press published her history of women in the Young Lords, ''Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords 1969-1976''.<ref name=":0" /><ref></ref>
Red Sugarcane subsequently published the anthology ''Latinas: Struggles and Protests in 21st Century USA'', edited by Morales, in 2018.<ref></ref> She also edited the 2019 bilingual anthology ''Voices from Puerto Rico: Post-Hurricane Maria'', in which Puerto Rican activists discuss the aftermath of [[Hurricane Maria]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref></ref>
== See also ==
* [[Young Lords]]
* [[Women of the Young Lords]]
== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Young Lords]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican women activists]]
[[Category:American women activists]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican women writers]]
[[Category:American women writers]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican feminists]]
[[Category:American feminists]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:American documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:People from East Harlem]]
[[Category:City College of New York alumni]]
[[Category:New York University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Hunter College alumni]]
[[Category:Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights]]
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