Political Activist
During his years as a student, he became actively involved in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He became a member of the underground group called The Armed Forced of Puerto Rican National Liberation (FALN). After he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts, he moved to New York City. In New York he attended the City College of New York. Escobar also taught art at the Museo del Barrio's School of the Arts from 1979 to 1980.
On April 4, 1980, Escobar was among eleven FALN members arrested by the FBI in Evanston, Illinois under the suspicion of plotting to bomb Federal installations. They were charged with seditious conspiracy and related charges. During and after the trail he sustained his position that he and the others were prisoners of war. Escobar was sentenced to a prison term of 68 years which was to be served in the federal prison of El Reno, Oklahoma.
Read more about this topic: Elizam Escobar
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or activist:
“The political arena leaves one no alternative, one must either be a dunce or a rogue.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“The work of the political activist inevitably involves a certain tension between the requirement that positions be taken on current issues as they arise and the desire that one’s contributions will somehow survive the ravages of time.”
—Angela Davis (b. 1944)