Felipe Luciano

Felipe Luciano was born "Phillip" in 1947 in Spanish Harlem and was raised by his mother, Aurora, who was a devout Pentecostal Christian.[5] Luciano describes the public housing project where they lived as "the craphole of the world," saying, "no one ever placed as his or her first choice on the Housing Authority application, 'Brookline Projects.'"[6] He feels that his childhood was cut short, in large part due to the absence of his father.[4] At age 12 he became part of a gang called the Canarsie Chaplain Division, which was made up of "guys who would go hard if forced to, but would rather look good, go to school, and talk to the ladies."[6] Of his early adolescence he says, "I went buck wild — gangs, screwing around, getting high, I got involved in all that stuff,"[4] but he also recalls the bonds between members of the gang as being defined by "true, everlasting love."[6]

When Luciano was 16, he initiated a fight with a member of a different gang who had attacked his brother. The fight resulted in the target being fatally stabbed, though not by Luciano himself.[6] Nevertheless, Luciano was convicted of manslaughter and served two years in prison.[4] Some understanding of Luciano's feelings about his incarceration may be gleaned from a speech he gave in 2010 at the commencement ceremony for inmates receiving bachelor's and associate degrees from the college program at Sing Sing Prison. Speaking to the graduates, he said, "Prison is the place where faith is tested. You are here because you were there. But if you pass this, you are good to go."[7] This conviction is likely based on Luciano's own experience. Following his release, he attended Queens College as a political science major,[1] joined The Last Poets, and co-founded the New York chapter of the Young Lords. (It was during this time that he changed his name to Felipe, a move that can be understood as a means of emphasizing his Puerto Rican identity). Later, he had a successful career as a journalist and television and radio show host, and continues to be a well-respected public figure today.

In the brief biography and analysis of his work that accompanies Felipe Luciano's poems in Puerto Rican Poetry: An Anthology from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times, editor Roberto Márquez writes that Luciano's "verse brought fresh urgency; novel dimension; and significantly new stress, passion, and popular authority to the scene with its unequivocal assertions of black pride, its ethnic self-assertion, and its unambiguous denunciations of an unjust society whose social inequities, racism, class hierarchy, disenchanting conceits, and moral hypocrisy '. . . [make] even god smell foul.'"[3]

Luciano has not yet published a collection of his poems in book-form, but his poetry "most frequently reached its intended audience and achieved its broad general effect and popularity through the oral, visual, and compelling immediacy of its presentation in public readings, on records, in film, and as contributed to Pa’lante, the alternative newspaper of The Young Lords."[3]

Luciano's most famous work is titled "Jíbaro, My Pretty N*****", which "[challenges] Puerto Ricans to accept their Blackness, island roots, and shared plight with African Americans."[5] The poem uses nature imagery and includes themes of radical Black love, migration, and diaspora, and posits the "symbolic, time-honored icon" of the Jíbaro as Black, thereby asserting the centrality of Blackness in Puerto Rican national and cultural identity.[3]

His work compares to that of Pedro Pietri, Sandra María Esteves, Victor Hernández Cruz, and other Nuyorican poets of the 1970s who similarly "[incorporated] a strong sense of Black cultural identity in their proclamation of a United States-based Puerto Rican reality."[10]

Felipe Luciano ran as a Democrat for New York City Council in District 8 in 2001 and 2005.[12][2]

In 2001 he ran against an incumbent, Philip Reed, who he argued was "unapproachable and not empathetic" and "[lacked] a fundamental connection with the population he [represented.]"[2] Reed, who is African-American, argued (in a manner that some might consider problematic) that Luciano was "a slick political interloper who [was] making ethnicity the issue," in reference to the fact that Luciano emphasized his familiarity with both the African-American and Puerto Rican communities in the district as part of his campaign.[2] To strengthen his point, Reed said, "His [Luciano's] Spanish is terrible; that's the comedy."[2] Whether or not this is true, Reed's statement is an example of how language can be perceived as an essential marker of identity. Though he posed a serious challenge to Reed, Luciano did not win the 2001 election.[12]

He was one of six candidates who ran in the primary election for the same office in 2005, his opponents being Nelson Antonio Denis, Joyce S. Johnson, Edwin Marcial, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and John Ruiz.[12] The issues he emphasized were affordable housing—preserving "the character and diversity of our neighborhoods" with the help of rent control and stabilization—and improving education, including the quality of teachers and facilities, and increasing after-school programs.[12] Melissa Mark-Viverito won the election.[13]

In 1997, Luciano was appointed to "a task force created to facilitate discussions among civilians and police officers about police behavior."[1] His decision to participate was controversial because it meant working with pro-police, conservative, white politicians.[1]

Luciano has written about and discussed his experiences with anti-Blackness throughout his life. Luciano reports that he "appears on Black forums all the time" but has "never been invited on a Latino forum. On the radio, but not on TV. I've even had ad executives say that I was too dark and that wouldn't sell."[15]

In addition, Luciano is often thought of as representing many different groups at once. Writing about Luciano's background and upbringing, the New York Times reported, "Because he is Black and Puerto Rican, an ex-con and a poet, the father of a Navy man and the son of a single mother, Mr. Luciano can wear many hats with ease. With a Haitian, he debates the history of the Caribbean. With an African-American, he talks as if he had just come out of the ghetto (in fact, he has lived on the Upper East Side for many years). With Hispanic guests to his show, he reverts to short, endearing phrases in Spanish."[1] In this way, his work, art, and activism connect to the larger project of fighting anti-Blackness within the Latinx community and to uplifting Black Latinx stories, experiences, art, and visions of liberation.

In response to the question of how he wants to be remembered, Luciano said, "as a scholar, a poet, a writer, and as a warrior for his people."[4]

• – Right On!: Poetry on Film (Original Last Poets; directed by Herbert Danca)
• 1973 – Badge 373 (directed by Howard Koch)
• 1979 – Salsa: Latin Music in the Cities (directed by Jeremy Marre)
• 1994 – It Could Happen to You (directed by Andrew Bergman)
• 1996 – Palante, Siempre Palante (documentary on the Young Lords; directed by Iris Morales)
• 2006 – Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! (I'm Boricua, Just So You Know!)
• 2009 – Latin Music USA (Episode 2)
• 2015 – Rubble Kings (documentary directed by Shan Nicholson)
• 2018 – "Mr. Soul!" A Documentary directed by Melissa Haizlip)

• Felipe Luciano's candidate profile from 2005 primary election for New York city council district 8
• Detailed and accurate bio at DV Republic