Nine Point Plan to See Party People

Party People, a high-wattage fusion of story and song that unlocks the legacy of the Black Panthers and Young Lords. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

Party People is a complex examination of revolutionary times up at Berkeley Rep. Artistic ensemble UNIVERSES rocks and unlocks the legacy of the Black Panthers and Young Lords through a high-enegy show featuring live video, hip hop, rock, gospel, blues, Latin rhythms and spoken word.

This segment is a 9 Points for watching Party People and features Asian American activists from the 1960s and ’70s Shoshana Arai, Ben Lee, and Pam Tau Lee.

Occupation of the Statue Of Liberty in 1977

Photo by Patrick McDonald

Yuri Kochiyama dedicated her life to cross cultural solidarity, and the rights of political prisoners. One story that exemplifies her commitment to both struggles was her work with the Young Lords in New York. Karl Jagbandhansingh produced this documentary in 2009 for the First Voice Apprenticeship Program when Yuri was 88 years old about her memory of working with the Committee to Free the Five Puerto Rican Nationalists by occupying the Statue of Liberty in 1977.