Oscar López Rivera’s strong conviction that Puerto Rico should be free from U.S. colonial control led him to fight for Puerto Rican independence. He was arrested in 1981, and convicted of seditious conspiracy and related charges, along with ten others who were arrested the previous year. Sentenced to 55 years in prison, he became the longest held Puerto Rican political prisoner in the history of Puerto Rico’s struggle for independence, regarded as the “Nelson Mandela of the Americas.” In 2017, as the result of a broad human rights campaign, and after he served almost 36 years in prison, President Obama commuted his sentence. The Puerto Rican people and their allies celebrated the end of his sentence on May 17, 2017.

Learn how individuals and organizations are helping Puerto Rico's recovery, Oscar López Rivera's work, and how you can help.

Topics discussed:
* The Puerto Rican diaspora
* The prison experience in the U.S.
* Community organizing in Puerto Rico
* The struggle to audit the colonial debt
* Decolonizing Puerto Rico

Free and open to the public.
Light Refreshments will be served.
PM Press will have Oscar’s book, Between Torture and Resistance and other books available to purchase.

Sponsored by: The Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, the Department of Justice Studies, Chicanx Studies, MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center, and the San José Peace and Justice Center.