Examples Of Racism In Puerto Rico

It is not uncommon that you’ll hear Puerto Ricans refer to themselves as the mutts of the Spanish community, this is because of the island’s history. Soon after Christopher Columbus “discovered” the island in 1493, it became known as the “rich port” for the Spanish or Puerto Rico, due to the fact that it produced mass amounts of cattle, sugar cane, tobacco, and coffee, especially considering the island’s size. Such prosperity and wealth opened the door for the slave trade to enter the colony, and as a result Puerto Rican bloodlines and cultures evolved not only from the Spanish, but also from Africans, and indigenous Taíno and Carib people (“Puerto Rico- History and Heritage”). In addition, over the centuries many failed attempts where made by the French, Dutch, and English to conquer the island which even further changed the bloodlines. Of course, as history has it, at the end of the Spanish American war in 1898, the Treaty of Paris declared the the Spanish would surrender Puerto Rico to the United States, therefore infiltrating American culture and beauty ideals.

Most people think that the struggle for race equality finished with Obama, but in reality, society has just reached the tip of the iceberg. In the article “Afro Latinos: Black denial”, the author argues that Dominican women are in denial about their blackness because being white is considered superior and black is inferior. This connects to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, when the author argues that the history of the Dominican Republic affects the way people think and express themselves. Namely, Beli and Lola in their young adulthood when they struggle to fit in. These characters relate the issues to the real world, where the standards of success are for the most part are the same as the white standards of success. Race Hegemony exists

In this short exert from the story Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas, Piri works really hard to fit in with the Italians. At the beginning of the story, Piri Thomas starts by saying, “Sometimes you don’t fit in. Like if you’re a Puerto Rican on an Italian block” (Thomas 814). Many people relate to this story, it does not matter where you were born people will always judge you by the way you look. When Piri says “sometimes you don’t fit in”, what he is trying to say is that even though he was born in the U.S. but his parents are from the Caribbean, his aspects are Hispanic.

During the poetry reading, a woman motioned Cofer to a table and thought “that [Cofer] was a waitress” (Cofer 108). Cofer was carrying a notebook, yet the woman assumed Cofer was a waitress because she is a Latina. This demonstrated that people assumed that Latinas have the role of a housemaid, similar to the stereotype of Mammy from Gone with the Wind. If Cofer was a different race, she would not experience these incidents. The media’s poor portrayal of Latinas negatively affect how they are viewed in the real-world, especially when they hold such

On the other hand, personal experiences of a Puerto Rican woman are shown and she explains how people around her judge her behavior, her actions, and even the way she dresses.

Racism is directly discussed in Esperanza’s neighborhood by describing how the outsiders see the Hispanic residents. The outsiders that have moved in or just happen to drive down the streets “Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. They think we're dangerous. They think we will attack them with shiny knives.” (28). Before even meeting the people, the outsiders assume the residents are bad people ready to hurt others just from others discriminatory remarks. This, too, is one of the reasons Cathy and her parents consider members of their neighborhood to be “bad.” In “Cathy Queen of Cats,” Esperanza is introduced to Cathy, her first friend on Mango Street. However, Cathy can only be Esperanza’s friend until next

Puerto Ricans face challenges in every aspect of their lives in and out of the island of Puerto Rico. In America, a trip to the hospital and or post offices may make life difficult when this culture of people try to figure out what they need or have had done. The need for medical care to ensure they have received immunizations necessary for school or work poses a problem especially because of the language barrier. If this culture of people find themselves in a courtroom situation they will clean but not with a full understanding of the situation the plead and the full ramifications of the plate even with an

A Grounded Identidad: Making New Lives in Chicago’s Puerto Rican neighborhoods, by Merida M. Rua focuses on the history of Puerto Rican communities in Chicago. This captures an analysis between the memory and the history to comprehend Puerto Ricans in the essence of the way they lived in Chicago. The focus on the different communities causes a touch on many different topics like for example, gentrification, family and the community. This causes each piece to be looked as how it can affect gender, class, or race. The author, Merida M. Rua gives the reader a well understanding of what it is like to be a Puerto Rican in a Chicago neighborhood. Rua represents herself as an ethnographer where she uses archival research. Even though the Puerto Rican individuals come to the United States for a better living, it is not what they imagine. The individuals living in these minority neighborhoods causes them to face many complications and problems due to poverty and especially where dislocation keeps occurring in each situation. These conditions are just the beginning and what Rua explains is that it is not something that is under the hands of the Puerto Ricans because they don’t have the control to change it. This book relates the significance of identity and how it is shaped. Destination is also an important aspect to reflect upon because of the fact of living in the same place for a year. These Puerto Rican individuals are at

When Puerto Ricans migrated to the United States they did it in two major waves. The first wave of emigration occurred in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The second wave occurred from the 1940s to the present. The workings of Bernando Vega and Jose Cruz deal with the different generations of Puerto Ricans that these two waves brought to the United States. While Vega discusses the early emigration of Puerto Ricans to New York City, Cruz discusses the later emigration of Puerto Ricans to Connecticut. Each author describes a different Puerto Rican experience in the

Not necessarily the history but the story or interpretation of the past as perceived by the elite. Gonzalez suggests that the recreation of the history of Puerto Rican society can be expressed metaphorically as the construction of a building. "As the new layers of the history or floors are added the foundation becomes more and more obscured from view" (Figueroa 9/15). As the higher levels continued to build they were able to create the illusion of a "pure, white" society by rejecting and denying their Taino and African heritage.

Interestingly enough I never learned about the history of Puerto Rico while in school. The curriculum during my grade school years never included Puerto Rican history. It is interesting that there is a whole month dedicated to Hispanic heritage and not once did we touch upon the history of Puerto Rico. When reading the book by Ray Suarez I found that there were many instances where oppression, racism, and discrimination were portrayed. Ray Suarez speaks about Isabel Gonzalez a young pregnant Puerto Rican woman who wanted to move to the United States with her fiancé who was an American citizen. However, while on her way to New York a new regulation was passed that changed her immigration

The Puerto Rican people have a rich history of culture and ethnicity. Despite the many migrations of the Puerto Ricans, an intense spirit of ethnicity and cultural pride has followed these people wherever they have gone, whether that be migrations from rural areas to industrialized cities or from the small island of Puerto Rico to the vast mainland of the United States. However, the struggles of these people have become obscured over the passing of generations. As evidenced by Shakira Ramos, generations of Puerto Ricans born and raised in the United States aren't always well informed of the rich history of their ancestors. Shakira admits

My process of enculturation into the Puerto Rican culture can be explained with the iceberg analogy, having in mind that the island itself has a high context background. Above water, the official language is Spanish, although English is taught mandatory on the education system since first grade. One of the things a tourist or anyone that starts assimilating the culture can experience first hand is the passion Puerto Ricans have to speak loudly and use many hand gestures during conversations. This passion is not only present during social interactions, but also on the way citizen’s carry out their beliefs. Even though, the island is a place recognized for its great night life activities and bars, the religion is 85% Catholic, therefore many people go to church on Sundays and tend to be very precocious of their actions because of their faith and religious thinking. Inside the water, on the aspect of feelings and values, Puerto Ricans are very traditional, nevertheless,

In a scene from the film, Selena, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, a Mexican-American singer, is ignored by a white sales woman. The sales woman judges Selena on the color of her skin, determining her social status as one unimportant to her business, not realizing that Selena was actually a celebrity. Just as the sales woman predetermined a role for Selena rooted by race and ethnicity, Waretown High maintained class, gender, and race stereotypes in determining girl’s futures and outcomes. Julie Bettie’s Women Without Class discusses these stereotypes through expectations set for las chicas and the preps by the school, families, and themselves, the exclusion of hard-living students, those whose families were low income, and the ability for some girls to become upwardly mobile as an exception to the rules.

Racism is certainly not just a black and white issue. It seems we tend to focus more on the racism between blacks and whites, because that is the long standing history that is that “the population will be 32 percent Latin/Asian/Pacific American and Native engrained in the fabric of the United States. “Such arrogant indifference extends to Latinos within the U.S.” (as cited in Ore by Martinez, 2013, pg. 752). As Martinez states American...by the year 2050” (as cited in Ore by Martinez, 2013, pg. 753). If that will truly be the case, why is it that no one talks about the brutal and violent history of the past or the present day racism that exist for Latin Americans today? If it is talked about, the conversation revolves around how to keep Latinos