STRUGGLES FOR SPACE, CREATING LATINA/O URBAN CULTURES

PUERTO RICAN URBAN CULTURES

BY STUDENT

Why is it that Puerto Ricans are commonly compared to African Americans? What did both groups of people go through, similarly, in order for people to compare them? To answer these questions, we would have to look at both African American history and Puerto Rican American history and you will find out that there is a definite correlation between the two cultures that dates back to the 1970’s. In this blog, I will talk about how much Puerto Ricans had to fight in order to get the proper respect and equality when they initially moved from Puerto Rico to the South Bronx, NY. I will also talk about how African Americans influenced a lot of Puerto Rican movements for equality during this time period.

The Young Lords played a significant role in the 1970’s for the Puerto Rican culture in the South Bronx. Who are the Young Lords? The Young Lords was a group of young Puerto Ricans who were fighting to get their voices heard and expose the unfair treatment their people faced, as well as the lies they were told when initially moving to the United States. The Young Lords movements were often compared to those of the Black Panthers. According to the movie we watched in class, “El Pueblo se Levanta,” Puerto Ricans were promised jobs in the United States, as well as places to live, but what they were actually given when they came here was far from the “American Dream.” The video also shows and talks about the living conditions of the Puerto Ricans and how they were being made to look to the rest of the United States. Puerto Ricans were made to look like slobs and dirty people. One thing that stood out to me the most while watching that video in class was when a woman was talking about her living situation. She said it’s hard to call where she lives, a house, because it is filthy and invested with rats and cockroaches, who “don’t pay rent like they do” (Newsreel, El Pueblo se Levanta (The People are Rising) 1971). Although that may seem like a funny statement to make, it resonated in me that this is how Puerto Ricans lived. They were made fun of for making light of their situations. They were made fun of for dealing with the conditions they were given. Another image that stood out to me while discussing this topic in class was the images of the garbage barriers in New York City. Puerto Ricans were being abandoned in New York and the Sanitation System didn’t pick up their garbage. The Puerto Ricans grew sick of this and made a wall of garbage, blocking off a main road until sanitation came to clean it up, as well as to open other people’s eyes that it’s not the Puerto Ricans’ faults that they live this way. This stood out to me because I thought it was a good idea to get people’s attention, as well as getting something done about all their garbage. It “killed two bird with one stone,” and for that, I thought it was a brilliant idea. In the “Palante” newspaper, it states, “rats, roaches, uncollected garbage, no steam or hot water, and broken, unrepaired windows all contribute to maintaining poor health” (Perez 1970, 4). This is the kind of life Puerto Ricans were forced to live in the United States. The video shed a lot of light on the terrible hand Puerto Ricans were dealt when they came to America, however, I found what they did as a community and culture to be very moving.

Puerto Ricans, even still to this day, are commonly referred to as being “black” too. I never understood the reason behind this until discovering that Puerto Ricans and African Americans faced similar struggles in the 1900’s. The black power fist was also used by Puerto Ricans who were fighting for equality during this time period. In the “Palante” newspaper, it states, “we are being killed in the South Bronx and in every other Puerto Rican and Black community. The only way to put an end to this genocide is to organize and fight for community control of our institutions and land” (Perez 1970). I find this statement to be powerful, because Puerto Ricans and African Americans are neighbors during this time in the South Bronx and are allying with each other against the common “enemy.” Some people question whether or not what the Young Lords or Black Panthers did was justifiable or outrageous and I think what they did was necessary to get the end result of being equal. The Puerto Rican movement was so powerful in the South Bronx during this time and it is evident that the culture came together in order to be stronger and change how they were being treated. Was it worth it? I say yes, because Puerto Ricans are now disbursed all over the country and not being segregated like they were in the 1970’s. Are they still discriminated against or stereotyped today? That’s another story.

Bibliography

1971. El Pueblo se Levanta (The People are Rising). Directed by Third World Newsreel.

Perez, Richie. 1970. "The South Bronx Time Bomb." Palante Latin Revolutionary News Service Young Lords Party, July 17: 4.