The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (18 page)

I want to thank the former Young Lords, not only for sharing information with me but for being who they were in 1969. Specifically, Iris Morales, Felipe Luciano, Juan González, Pablo “Yoruba” Guzmán, and Denise Oliver-Velez.

I would also like to thank my cousin Evelyn Manzano Daniels for reminiscing with me about
El Barrio
.

Iris Morales's DVD
¡Palante, Siempre Palante!
was instrumental, as was Young Lord Mickey Melendez's book
We Took the Streets
.

To see remarkable footage of the Ponce Massacre, go to YouTube and search for
La Masacre de Ponce, 1937
.

For a strong sense of the times, read Pietri's
Puerto Rican Obituary
, published by Modern Reader.

I thank Andrea Pinkney, my sure-handed editor at Scholastic; my agent, Jennifer Lyons, for her unwavering support; and my husband, Richard Reagan, for reading and copyediting everything I write, with good cheer.

SONIA MANZANO has affected the lives of millions since the early 1970s as the actress who defined the role of Maria on the acclaimed television series
Sesame Street
. Sonia has won fifteen Emmy Awards for her television writing and was twice nominated for an Emmy Award as best performer in a children's series. Adding to her list of credits, Sonia has been named by
People En Español
magazine as one of America's most influential Hispanics. This is Sonia's first novel. She lives in New York City.

Below is a list of the Young Lord articles I referred to in this book. For a fee they can be found on the
NYTimes.com
website.

 

“East Harlem Youths Explain Garbage Dumping Demonstration”

B
Y
J
OSEPH
P. F
RIED
(A
UGUST
19, 1969)

“8 Hurt, 14 Seized in a Church Clash”

B
Y
M
ICHAEL
T. K
AUFMAN
(D
ECEMBER
8, 1969)

“Puerto Ricans Again Ask Church to Make Room for Food Program”

(D
ECEMBER
15, 1969)

“Puerto Rican Group Seizes Church in East Harlem in Demand for Space”

B
Y
M
ICHAEL
T. K
AUFMAN
(D
ECEMBER
29, 1969)

“Young Lords Give Food and Care at Seized Church”

B
Y
A
RNOLD
H. L
UBASCH
(D
ECEMBER
30, 1969)

“Church Seeks Writ to Bar Young Lords”

(D
ECEMBER
31, 1969)

“Militants Vow to Continue Protest at Harlem Church”

(J
ANUARY
4, 1970)

“Church Occupiers Ordered to Court”

B
Y
M
ICHAEL
T. K
AUFMAN
(J
ANUARY
6, 1970)

“105 Members of Young Lords Submit to Arrest, Ending 11-Day Occupation of Church in East Harlem”

B
Y
M
ICHAEL
T. K
AUFMAN
(J
ANUARY
8, 1970)

Copyright © 2012 by Sonia Manzano

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.,
Publishers since 1920
.
SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS
, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Manzano, Sonia.
      The revolution of Evelyn Serrano / Sonia Manzano. 1st ed.
         p. cm.

      Summary: It is 1969 in Spanish Harlem, and fourteen-year-old Evelyn Serrano is trying hard to break free from her conservative Puerto Rican surroundings, but when her activist grandmother comes to stay and the neighborhood protests start, things get a lot more complicated — and dangerous.

ISBN 978-0-545-32505-9 — ISBN 978-0-545-32506-6 1. Puerto Rican families — Juvenile fiction. 2. Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — New York — Juvenile fiction. 3. Grandmothers — Juvenile fiction. 4. Grandparent and child — Juvenile fiction. 5. Identity (Psychology) — Juvenile fiction. 6. Protest movements — New York (State) — New York — Juvenile fiction. 7. East Harlem (New York, N.Y.) — Juvenile fiction. 8. New York (N.Y.) — History — Juvenile fiction. [1. Puerto Ricans — New York (State) — New York — Fiction. 2. Family life — New York (State) — Harlem — Fiction. 3. Grandmothers — Fiction. 4. Identity — Fiction. 5. Protest movements — Fiction. 6. East Harlem (New York, N.Y.) — History — 20th century — Fiction. 7. New York (N.Y.) — History — 20th century — Fiction.] I. Title.
      PZ7.M3213Rev 2012
      813.6 — dc23

2012009240

First edition, September 2012

Jacket design and image created by Elizabeth B. Parisi, with images by Afton Almaraz/Getty and Buena Vista/Getty

e-ISBN 978-0-545-46958-6

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

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