2026 Ramona Arreguín de Rosales Lecture with Dr. Jacqueline Lazú

Dr. Jacqueline Lazú brings her work on the Young Lords to the Best Buy Theater at Northrop Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 15, for the 2026 Ramona Arreguín de Rosales Lecture. It's a long evening—about three and a half hours—and it's free and open to the public.

Lazú is a writer, public historian, archivist, and community collaborator. Her work centers on the Young Lords Organization in Chicago, which she describes as growing out of migration, colonial displacement, and collective survival to transform from a street gang into a grassroots human rights organization whose legacy continues to shape activism. The night is built around her edited volume, The Young Lords Speak: From the Streets of Chicago to Revolutionary Organisation (Haymarket Books), an anthology that brings together archival materials and first-hand accounts. Along with the lecture, there's a screening of the film The Young Lords of Lincoln Park. Dr. Gabriela Spears-Rico introduces the lecture and gives the land acknowledgement, and Dr. Jimmy Patiño moderates.

The evening is presented by the University of Minnesota's Department of Chicano & Latino Studies as part of UMN Conversations at Northrop, a series of lectures and conversations held in collaboration among several university departments. A reception and book signing follow the lecture, so you can stick around and talk with Lazú after the formal program wraps up.

Doors open at 4:45 PM, and the event starts at 5 PM. It's free and open to the public.