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A linoleum cut poster with a carved drawing of a woman. Text: "Independence for Puerto Rico. Free Lolita Lebron and all Political Prisoners"
"Independence for Puerto Rico. Free Lolita Lebron and all Political Prisoners." Linoleum cut poster (1975).

Puerto Rican nationalists stage an attack on the U.S. House of Representatives for independence.

1954

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"Independence for Puerto Rico. Free Lolita Lebron and all Political Prisoners." Linoleum cut poster (1975).

In response to the U.S. imperialist tactics against Puerto Rico, organizers Andrés Figueroa Cordero, Irvin Flores Rodríguez, and Lolita Lebrón unfurl a Puerto Rican flag and begin shooting and wounding members of the 83rd Congress while they are discussing an immigration bill.

Their action is part of a longstanding struggle for independence in Puerto Rico. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, the United States continues to undermine the independence movement and maintain colonial rule over the territory.

In 1952, the U.S. government decides to make Puerto Rico a "commonwealth" rather than a colony, hoping to appease the nationalist movement, but the fight for decolonization and independence continues, and remains active to this day.