BY STUDENT
Latino/a/x migration was considered a major concept within the United States in the early 20thcentury. Latinos from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and more migrated to parts of the United States like California, Texas, and New York. Latin migration during the early 20thcentury exposed certain areas of the United States to different ideas of culture which includes, linguistics, art, food, music, and much more. However, when these migrants first arrived, life was not easy. I would really like to focus on a specific minority-majority group, Puerto Ricans. A majority of Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City for many reasons. Commodity trade between Puerto Rican and Anglo colonists accounted for the presence of Puerto Ricans in New York City. Push factors emerged which also accounted for the presence of Puerto Ricans in New York City. Some push factors included revolutionary unrest and Puerto Rico’s economic shift towards coffee production. The question is, why did Puerto Ricans struggle for space in New York City in the early 20thcentury? In this blogpost I argue that Puerto Ricans had a difficult time adjusting to living in New York City. However, as time went on, a lot of opportunities transpired for the Puerto Rican population.
Post-World War II (1945), the wealthier and white veteran population had an advantage over Puerto Ricans. The wealthy and white veteran population had residential choices and could contribute to areas of concentrated poverty. This is the time period where suburbanization of New York City’s boroughs was underway. To make New York City more appealing, city elites began this idea of urban renewal which included the development of public housing. Initially, public housing was not offered to poor people of color. This was one of the main struggles the Puerto Rican population faced. Puerto Ricans came to the United States with the intent on living their dreams, having a better life. At this moment, New York City was one of the cities with the largest Puerto Rican population and this minority group wasn’t even offered the option of public housing, why? Whites who already resided in New York City had their own views, opinions, and stereotypes of Puerto Ricans, they were being discriminated against.
When Puerto Ricans moved to New York City, they accepted any job that they could find, no matter what the pay was, how many days or hours they had to work, or how dangerous that job was. With that being said, Puerto Ricans were now being viewed as docile, obedient, compliant even when exploited. Pedro Pietri wrote a poem, “Puerto Rican Obituary” that touched on some key points regarding how Puerto Ricans were treated and how they were viewed. “They worked They were always on time They were never late They never spoke back when they were insulted They worked They never took days off that were not on the calendar They never went on strike without permission They worked ten days a week and were only paid for five” This proves the point of Puerto Ricans being viewed as docile, compliant, and obedient while being exploited. Throughout this poem, Pietri also touched on points that explained how Puerto Ricans were constantly associated with violence, how they are depicted as poor because it was thought that they would much rather drink, gamble, etc. Puerto Ricans were considered citizens of the United States and were still being discriminated against. However, time went on and things were changing for this population. In the 1950s-60s, public housing went from modeling modern urban housing for whites and nuclear families to being stigmatized. Public housing began to accept Latino tenants, better job opportunities arose for urban and rural work, and New York City started to become a magnet for Puerto Rican culture. Even in today’s time you can travel to the different boroughs of New York City and see how much the Puerto Rican culture impacted the area. There are murals relating to Puerto Rican culture, Spanish Harlem arose in upper Manhattan. Puerto Ricans were now and still are being accepted and respected.
Sources: https://monthlyreview.org/2004/06/01/puerto-rican-obituary/
This blog post is interesting. When I was reading it, it took me back to one of the readings explaining why many Puerto Ricans moved from Puerto Rico to New York City. In the reading, there was heavy U.S influence in Puerto Rico so many Puerto Ricans felt that moving to New York City was the best way to start living better. So I like how you mention that in your blog post. in addition I am half Puerto Rican and I've have been to Puerto Rico to help with the recovery of the hurricane that recently hit. While I was there Puerto Rico didn't even look authentic anymore, so many U.S corporation have moved and established there power. Overall good blog post regarding the living conditions and employment for Puerto Ricans and many ethnic groups. - DaQuan Vidot
ReplyDeleteI agree with your blog that through out the New York City, you will find evidence of the impact that Puerto Ricans had on the city. Many of the readings spoke about how hard it was for them to find their place and make their mark. Through their music, food and culture they have given the city so much life but was often mistreated. -Brandy
ReplyDeleteThe fact that at first, Puerto Ricans weren't offered public housing, as we discussed in class, is still shocking to me. Also, the points that Pietri made in his poem about how the Puerto Ricans worked without complaining or being late really connects to the idea of them as docile and obedient, which allowed for them to be exploited. I like how your post strongly connects back to a lot of the concepts we discussed in class.
ReplyDeleteThe blog post states that Puerto Ricans would take any jobs offered to them, no matter what the danger. Traditionally, the most dangerous jobs available would have been factory jobs (at least at the time of post World War II, which is what this blog post if addressing), and there willingness to take any job made them seem docile. I would like to know, how much of this changed because of deindustrialization? More specifically, are Peurto Rican communities less docile, or at least considered so, because of the decline in job opportunity, and had unemployment been a major byproduct of deindustrialization?
ReplyDeleteGreat information here. This covers the main struggles that Puerto Ricans faced when arriving to the US. Im glad that you mentioned the Puerto Rican Obituary because it helps us understand the lives of Puerto Ricans in the US at the time. Urban renewal was another problem that affected the Puerto Rican community. We can still see the Puerto Rican culture in NYC today.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the blog! Its really interesting how the Puerto Rican population was treated during early stages of migration to NYC. At first they weren't granted public housing and received unfair treatment excluding them from the same benefits you would see white citizens receiving. Now if you were to fast forward to today you see the White population trying to live and consume Latino/a/x space gentrifying areas known for rich culture.
ReplyDeleteThis post was incredibly informative and the concepts are presented well. Latino/a/x migration has had a huge impact on this country and these affects can be seen very clearly today. It is crazy how much these groups of people were disrespected, yet from this discrimination, Puerto Ricans were still able to create communities and share their culture and heritage with the rest of NYC. As you mentioned, puerto rican obituary really sums up the vibe throughout the 70s. Migrants were stuck and could only dream about the "American Dream". However, this didn't kill their spirit. Organizations like the young lords show Puerto Rican's resilience and their ability to make a bad situation better.
ReplyDeleteVery informative blog. I like how you explain the struggles Puerto Rican went through during their migration. It shows prevalent racial discrimination was and is still a thing in the United States. It's great to know movements like the Young Lords protested and resisted oppression.
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