Title: I Remember When Puerto Rican People Were Black Like Me: Homage to Denise Oliver-Velez
- Karen Brittingham-Edmond
- Jul 22
- 4 min read
July 22, 2026
A Letter from the Editor
Long Branch, NJ – During the 1960s and 1970s, two powerful posters adorned my closet doors: one of Denise Oliver-Velez, who was married to a Black Puerto Rican citizen, and the other of Angela Davis. Each morning, as I prepared for school, and each night before I slept, these images of unashamedly Black women leaders—icons of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party—watched over me from my simple bedroom on Conover Street.
In those transformative decades, Black and Puerto Rican communities moved as one—united by shared histories and struggles. Our ancestors, forcibly brought across the Atlantic, often arrived on the same slave ships, later becoming admixed with sovereign Indigenous nations: the Taino of Puerto Rico, who called their homeland “Borikén” or “Land of the Crabs,” and the Indigenous nations of the Northeastern U.S., part of what was known as “Turtle Island.” This fusion of African and Indigenous ancestry fostered solidarity between Black Americans and Puerto Ricans, who routinely worked together politically, shared resources, and cared for each other’s children when needed. Pa'lante (Bx [i.e., Bronx] N.Y.; [Bronx, N.Y.]) 1969-1976 [Online Resource] | Library of Congress
Puerto Rican plantations, which often held hundreds of enslaved Africans and Indigenous people, allowed for greater preservation of African and Indigenous cultures than in many North American plantations, where the enslaved population was often much smaller—sometimes only 10 to 15 people per site. The relative safety in numbers in the Caribbean meant more opportunities to retain traditions, languages, and spirituality, unlike the more fragmented communities in the North. Despite these differences, both groups in the U.S. Northeast forged deep, supportive relationships, sometimes joined by Italian American neighbors, who also maintained Old World traditions. Denise Oliver-Velez Obituary (1947-2026) · MemoriTree | MemoriTree
In Long Branch, NJ, children benefited from these multicultural exchanges—Black, Puerto Rican, and Italian families freely shared food, stories, and community care. The flavors of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean mingled at our tables. This unity, which defined the East Coast through the 1960s and 1970s, brought about positive social change and forged powerful political alliances.
However, the latter decades of the twentieth century saw this solidarity erode under the weight of multiple pressures: the rise of white supremacist movements, economic divestment, the influx of new immigrant groups with caste-based ideologies, and policies that often favored non-citizen populations over the longstanding Black and Indigenous communities. The so-called Sanctuary Movement, the crack epidemic, the AIDS crisis, and the relocation of major employers such as Ford to countries like Mexico, China, and India further destabilized already vulnerable populations. The resulting economic hardship, increased police brutality, and the disenfranchisement of Black Americans fractured old alliances and left many struggling in the 80s and 90s. 🔥 The Confederacy's Shadow: How Caste Thinking, Cheap‑Labor Politics, and Forgotten Alliances Still Haunt Black America
It is in this context that the era of Denise Oliver-Velez stands out as a model of unity and Black representation—a model that, regrettably, has faded. Today, there is a notable shift: many Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Caribbean Americans, once proud to identify as Black, now more often identify as “Brown” or “White” on official documents—a trend documented by scholars such as Tanya Katerí Hernández (see: “Racial Migrations: Latinos and the Cultural Transformation of Race,” NYU Press, 2019). Likewise, large Middle Eastern and Asian populations have adopted similar patterns, encouraged by a U.S. racial system that privileges proximity to whiteness.
Denise Oliver-Velez, who wore her Afro with pride and challenged both sexism and racism, embodied the possibilities of cross-community solidarity. Her legacy is a call to remember and reclaim the unity that once existed between Black and Puerto Rican peoples—a unity rooted in shared ancestry, struggle, and hope.
Denise Oliver-Vélez, Black American Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 78
Denise Oliver-Vélez, a pioneering Puerto Rican and Black civil rights activist, organizer, and educator, died at 78 after a brief battle with cancer (Democracy Now! 2024). Born Denise Roberts Oliver on August 1, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of an actor and professor and a New York City schoolteacher (Eric Alper, 2024).
Oliver-Vélez became active in civil rights work in her teens through the Queens branch of the NAACP and participated in a 1963 civil disobedience action demanding jobs for Black workers. She attended Howard University in 1965, joining the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Students for a Democratic Society.
Her most significant role came in the 1970s as Minister of Economic Development in the Young Lords Party, where she became the highest-ranking woman and the first woman elected to the Central Committee. Oliver-Vélez was instrumental in transforming the Young Lords’ stance on “Revolutionary Machismo,” advocating for gender equality and contributing to the creation of their bilingual newspaper, Pa’lante. She also played a crucial role in shaping the Young Lords’ Position Paper on Women (Yarimar Bonilla, “The Young Lords: A Radical History,” UNC Press, 2021).
Beyond the Young Lords, Oliver-Vélez was a member of the Black Panther Party, an AIDS activist, and co-founder of WPFW-FM, the first minority-controlled Pacifica radio station. She later served as executive director of the Black Filmmaker Foundation, taught at SUNY New Paltz, and contributed to Daily Kos. She appeared in the 2014 documentary “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry.”
Her legacy is marked by unwavering leadership in the struggle for civil, human, and equal rights—bridging Puerto Rican, Black, and broader community movements, and championing gender equality.
Rest in beauty and peace as we remember our dear sister in the struggle, Denise Oliver-Velez.
References:
* Hernández, T. K. (2019). Racial Migrations: Latinos and the Cultural Transformation of Race. NYU Press.
* Bonilla, Y. (2021). The Young Lords: A Radical History. University of North Carolina Press.
* Democracy Now! (2024). “Denise Oliver-Vélez, Young Lords and Black Panther Party Veteran, Dies at 78.”
* Eric Alper (2024). “Denise Oliver-Vélez Obituary.”
* “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry” (2014). Directed by Mary Dore.
Comments