DePaul Art Museum presents another way to learn more about the real life history of the Young Lords, featured in this year's One Book, One Chicago selection, Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez, by visiting their exhibit Tengo Lincoln Park en mi Corazón: Young Lords in Chicago.
Tengo Lincoln Park en mi Corazón: Young Lords in Chicago explores the Young Lords Organization's (YLO) trajectory in the Lincoln Park neighborhood amidst gentrification and urban renewal, which displaced the vibrant Puerto Rican community of the 1950s and 1960s. Originally a street gang, the Young Lords transformed into a prominent civil rights organization. The exhibition explores the origins of the movement, emphasizing the concept of counter-mapping as a means of activism and community empowerment. Counter-maps are cartographies that reveal the knowledge and resistance of communities, challenging historical displacement and invisibility imposed by traditional maps.
The exhibition features archival materials, historical artifacts, photography, murals and prints, with works by Carlos Flores, Ricardo Levins Morales, and John Pitman Weber. It also includes newly commissioned work by Sam Kirk and a central multimedia installation by Arif Smith with Rebel Betty, inviting visitors to engage with one of the most influential movements in Latinx civil rights history, rooted in the everyday struggles of a Chicago neighborhood.
One of the most significant acts of resistance occurred in May 1969, when the Young Lords occupied the Stone Administration Building at McCormick Seminary, now DePaul's School of Music North Building. The site, one of the few remaining in Lincoln Park directly tied to the YLO, is now marked by a public plaque recognizing their activism. It anchors the exhibition’s focus on place-based memory and the political legacy of the Young Lords in Chicago.
The DePaul Art Museum is free and open to all. The Museum is located at 935 W. Fullerton Avenue. It is open Wednesday and Thursday from 11am - 7pm and Friday - Sunday from 11am - 5pm.
Several special events will be held at the Museum throughout the season. Visit the DePaul Art Museum website for details.
One Book, One Chicago thanks longtime partner DePaul University, the DePaul Art Museum, and the Center for Latino Research for their support and partnership this season.