Denise Oliver-Velez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Denise Oliver-Velez
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Oliver-Velez photographed in Tallahassee, Florida, November 26, 1971.
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Denise Oliver
August 1, 1947 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
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| Political party | Young Lords Black Panther |
| Movement | Black Power Movement |
Denise Oliver-Velez (born August 1, 1947) is an American professor, writer, and activist. She is known for her work as a contributing editor for the blog Daily Kos. She also taught anthropology and women's studies at SUNY New Paltz.
Early Life and Education
Growing Up in New York
Denise Oliver-Velez was born Denise Roberts Oliver on August 1, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, George B. Oliver, was an actor and professor. He was also a Tuskegee Airman, a group of brave African American military pilots. Her mother, Marjorie Roberts Oliver, was a teacher in New York City schools.
Early Activism
When she was a teenager, Oliver-Velez joined the Queens branch of the NAACP. This group worked for civil rights for Black Americans. In 1963, she took part in a protest to help Black workers get jobs at a construction site in Rochdale Village, Queens. She even stood in front of bulldozers to stop them!
Howard University Years
In 1965, Oliver-Velez began studying at Howard University. This is a special university known as an HBCU, which means it was founded to educate Black students. At Howard, she joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She also worked with other students to make Howard University more aware of Black struggles.
Activism and Leadership
Denise Oliver-Velez was an important member of two major groups: The Young Lords and The Black Panther Party. These groups fought for the rights and power of Black and Puerto Rican communities.
Joining the Young Lords Party
Oliver-Velez became a key member of the Young Lords Party. This group worked to improve the lives of Puerto Ricans in the United States.
Challenging Machismo
One of her biggest contributions was helping to change the Young Lords' ideas about women. The group's original plan included "Revolutionary Machismo." Machismo is a belief that men are superior to women. Oliver-Velez and other women in the group strongly disagreed. They argued that "machismo is reactionary," meaning it holds people back. They demanded "equality for women" and shouted, "Down with machismo and male chauvinism!"
Becoming a Leader
In 1970, Denise Oliver-Velez made history. She was appointed Minister of Economic Development. This made her the highest-ranking woman in the Young Lords Party. She was also the first woman elected to the Young Lords' main leadership group, called the central committee.
Her roles included:
- Minister of Finance
- Minister of Economic Development
- Officer of the Day (in 1969), which meant she oversaw daily activities and helped keep the group organized.
Women's Fight for Equality in the Young Lords
Even with women in leadership, sexism was still a problem. The women's caucus, a group of women within the Young Lords, demanded an end to unfair treatment. They wanted women to be fully included in leadership.
The central committee responded by promoting Oliver-Velez and another woman, Gloria Fontanez, to the central committee. They also adopted the new slogan, ¡Abajo con el machismo! (Down with Machismo!). However, women still often ended up doing traditional "women's work" like childcare, even when they were in important roles.
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Important Contributions
Denise Oliver-Velez was a major contributor to the Young Lords Party's newspaper, Pa'lante. This was a bilingual newspaper, meaning it was in two languages. She wrote articles, edited them, created political artwork, and helped print and distribute the newspaper. She was part of the team that created the newspaper's first designs.
Women in the Young Lords also wrote an important paper called the "Position Paper on Women." This paper talked about how race and social class affect the lives of women of color. Oliver-Velez helped write this paper in 1970. She also wrote a foreword for a book called The Young Lords: A Reader (2010).
Besides her work with the Young Lords, Oliver-Velez was also an activist for the AIDS movement. She was also a member of the Black Panther Party, another group that fought for Black rights.
Career and Other Work
Community Service
Denise Oliver-Velez joined the Real Great Society (RGS), a group in East Harlem, New York City, that helped the Puerto Rican community. She also worked with an organization called University of the Streets. There, she taught Black and Puerto Rican students about their history. These were students who had been expelled from public schools.
Media and Film
Oliver-Velez helped start and direct WPFW-FM in Washington, D.C.. This was Pacifica's first radio station controlled by a minority group. She worked in public broadcasting for many years. She was also the executive director of the Black Filmmaker Foundation, which supports Black filmmakers.
Featured in Film
Denise Oliver-Velez is featured in a 2014 documentary film called She's Beautiful When She's Angry. This film tells the story of the women who started the modern feminist movement.
In August 2020, she shared her life story and activism in the Young Lords on Bryan Knight's Tell A Friend podcast.
