Dr. Gilberto Concepción de Gracia (July 9, 1909 – March 16, 1968) was a lawyer, journalist, author, politician, former senator and founder of the Puerto Rican Independence Party. He is the great-uncle of maternal siblings Residente and ILE of Calle 13, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Early years
Concepción de Gracia was born in the town of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico to Ceferino Concepción Álvarez and Carmen de Gracia Toro. There he attended José de Diego elementary school in his hometown of Vega Alta and "Central High School" in Santurce, a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico. After he graduated from high school, he continued his academic education studies and earned a bachelors and later master's degree in Law and Public Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. He earned a doctorate in Law from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Career as a lawyer
Concepción de Gracia worked as a lawyer specializing in civil and constitutional law. In 1936, at the age of 25, he moved to New York to represent Pedro Albizu Campos and other members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, who were jailed and appealing their case.
Concepción de Gracia remained in New York, defending the civil rights of Hispanic workers and other minorities. He became more involved in politics, and particularly the cause of Puerto Rican independence from the United States. He befriended the like-minded congressman Vito Marcantonio, and took the editorship of a newspaper called La Voz ("The Voice").