2016 Summer Seminar: Diversity in Education, June 13-16, 2016, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.

1. The
Puerto
Rican
Diaspora:
Educa5on
and
Cultural
Exchanges
Prepared
by:
Dr.
Carmen
H.
Sanjurjo
Associate
Professor
of
Teacher
Educa>on
Metropolitan
State
University
of
Denver
csanjurj@msudenver.edu

2. Migra>on
to
the
US
• At
nine
percent
of
the
La>no
popula>on
in
the
United
States,
Puerto
Ricans
are
the
second
largest
Hispanic
group
na>onwide,
and
comprise
1.5%
of
the
en>re
popula>on
of
the
United
States.
• An
es>mated
4.9
million
Hispanics
of
Puerto
Rican
origin
resided
in
the
50
U.S.
states
and
the
District
of
Columbia
in
2011,
according
to
the
Census
Bureau’s
American
Community
Survey.
That
is
a
slightly
greater
number
than
the
popula>on
of
Puerto
Rico
itself
in
2011,
which
was
3.7
million.
Puerto
Ricans
in
this
sta>s>cal
profile
are
people
who
self-­‐iden>fied
as
Hispanics
of
Puerto
Rican
origin;
this
means
either
they
themselves
were
born
in
Puerto
Rico
or
they
trace
their
family
ancestry
to
Puerto
Rico.

3. Puerto
Ricans
in
the
United
States
• Immigra'on
status.
Most
Puerto
Ricans
in
the
United
States—3.4
million
in
all—were
born
in
the
50
states
or
the
District
of
Columbia.
Addi>onally,
about
one-­‐third
(31%)
of
the
Puerto
Rican
popula>on
in
the
U.S.—1.5
million—was
born
in
Puerto
Rico.
People
born
in
Puerto
Rico
are
also
considered
na>ve
born
because
they
are
U.S.
ci>zens
by
birth.
A
small
number
of
people
of
Puerto
Rican
origin—51,000—were
born
outside
of
the
U.S.
or
Puerto
Rico
and
were
not
U.S.
ci>zens
by
birth.
They
are
considered
foreign
born.

4. The
Puerto
Rican
Community
in
the
United
States
• 1917:
the
U.S.
Congress
passed
the
Jones
Act
declaring
all
Puerto
Ricans
ci>zens
of
the
United
States
• U.S.
ci>zenship
facilitated
a
migra>on
freed
from
immigra>on
barriers
which
sparked
both
labor
recruitment
and
social
networks
• Between
1920
and
1940
the
Puerto
Rican
popula>on
in
the
States
grew
from
fewer
than
12,000
to
almost
70,000.
New
York
was
the
preferred
des>na>on
but
the
Puerto
Rican
community
in
Philadelphia
also
grew
• Contract
laborers
were
the
pioneers
who
established
these
communi>es
• The
peak
period
of
migra>on
and
the
first
airborne
migra>on
began
with
the
end
of
WWII.
Puerto
Ricans
boarded
the
twin-­‐engine
planes,
many
of
them
army
surplus
planes,
for
the
six-­‐hour
trip
from
San
Juan
to
New
York
City.
• Despite
drama>c
economic
changes
and
displacement
in
the
mid
and
late
1940s,
policy
makers
con>nued
to
define
Puerto
Rico’s
problem
as
“overpopula>on”.
Migra>on
was
an
escape
valve
for
Puerto
Rico’s
economic
and
social
problems.
• In
the
early
1960’s
the
preeminent
Puerto
Rican
ins>tu>on
in
New
York
City
was
the
Migra>on
Division
of
the
Department
of
Labor
of
the
Commonwealth
of
Puerto
Rico.

5. The
Struggle
for
Bilingual
Educa>on
• The
Puerto
Rican
community
gradually
forged
inroads
into
dominant
American
culture
in
the
decades
following
the
massive
migra>on
of
the
50s
and
60s
but
not
without
resistance
and
struggle.
• The
importance
of
educa>ng
U.S.
Puerto
Rican
youth
was
one
that
permeated
the
New
York
barrios
since
the
>me
of
the
pioneer
genera>on.
Knowledge
of
one’s
language,
history
and
cultural
heritage
was
frequently
included
in
the
mission
statements
and
programma>c
agendas
of
inter-­‐war
community
associa>ons.
• The
natural
expansion
of
Puerto
Rican
barrios,
augmented
by
an
increased
migra>on
following
the
Second
World
War,
meant
sharp
increases
in
the
numbers
of
children
enrolled
in
the
public
schools.
From
the
decades
of
the
50s
to
the
70s,
depending
on
the
geographic
loca>on
of
Puerto
Rican
and
La>no
communi>es,
these
students
would
overwhelm
public
instruc>onal
resources.
• There
was
lihle
guidance
that
could
be
given
teachers
and
school
administrators
in
the
instruc>on
and
accommoda>on
of
this
popula>on
except
for
resuscita>ng
total
immersion
and
other
old
methods
for
teaching
non-­‐English
speakers.
Under
these
rubrics,
limited
speakers
of
the
English
language
in
elementary
grades
were
placed
one
or
two
years
behind
their
age-­‐appropriate
grades
or
in
classes
for
slow
learners.
Some
schools
paired
the
non-­‐English
speaker
with
a
proficient
buddy
or
relegated
the
student
to
remedial
classes,
equa>ng
limita>ons
in
English
proficiency
with
developmental
learning
problems.
At
the
secondary
level,
the
few
that
remained
in
school
were
frequently
concentrated
in
nonacademic,
voca>onal
or
general
tracks.
Across
the
board,
teacher
expecta>ons
of
Puerto
Rican
scholas>c
achievement
were
generally
low.

6. The
Struggle
For
Bilingual
Educa>on
• Puerto
Ricans
frequently
demonstrated
concerns
for
sound,
equitable
educa>onal
experiences
for
their
young.
In
1949
the
Commihee
of
the
Associa>on
of
Assistant
Superintendents
conducted
a
study
that
confirmed
the
need
for
at
least
a
year’s
prepara>on
in
the
English
language
before
these
children
were
ready
for
primary
content
instruc>on.
The
Elementary
Division
of
the
Board
of
Educa>on
responded
by
appoin>ng
ten
Puerto
Rican
teachers,
dubbed
Subs>tute
Auxiliary
Teachers,
to
schools
with
high
concentra>ons
of
Spanish-­‐speaking
youngsters.
Their
task
was
to
assist
in
the
orienta>on
of
these
children
and
to
serve
as
intermediaries
between
the
schools
and
the
community.
Moreover,
in
less
than
five
years,
the
Board
commissioned
a
landmark
study
on
Puerto
Rican
students
intended
to
provide
teachers
and
administrators
with
a
thorough
understanding
of
the
group’s
heritage
and
U.S.
background.
Based
on
these
findings,
measures
for
their
instruc>on
were
recommended.
The
Puerto
Rican
Study,
1953–1957,
supported
the
hiring
of
Subs>tute
Auxiliary
Teachers,
calling
for
more
Spanish-­‐speaking
Puerto
Rican
coordinators,
school-­‐community
coordinators,
teachers
of
English
as
a
Second
Language,
counselors
and
administrators.
The
first
teachers
to
fill
these
posi>ons
represented
the
precursors
of
bilingual
educa>on
as
prac>ced
in
the
New
York
City
schools.

7. The
Struggle
for
Bilingual
Educa>on
• Bilingual
educa>on
became
a
unifying
cry
in
Puerto
Rican
and
La>no
barrios
throughout
the
na>on.
The
early
70s
witnessed
community
mobiliza>on
in
numbers
of
ci>es
with
large
Puerto
Rican
concentra>ons.
Interes>ngly,
while
many
non-­‐Puerto
Rican
La>nos
generally
supported
the
issue,
class
ac>on
suits
demanding
redress
for
language
minority
students
were
brought
before
the
courts
by
American
ci>zens.
For
the
most
part,
this
meant
intensive
community
mobiliza>on,
mustered
by
Puerto
Ricans,
Mexican
Americans
and
Cuban
Americans.
The
right
of
school
districts
to
mount
bilingual
educa>on
programs
became
Federal
Law
in
1968,
but
local
systems
were
frequently
resistant
to
that
instruc>onal
method.
• THE
ASPIRA
CONSENT
DECREE
1974:
The
landmark
case
for
educa5onal
equity
took
place
in
New
York
City
in
1972.
It
centered
on
a
suit
against
the
largest
Board
of
Educa5on
in
the
na5on
by
the
Puerto
Rican
Legal
Defense
and
Educa5on
Fund
on
behalf
of
15
school
children,
their
parents,
ASPIRA
of
New
York,
Inc.
and
ASPIRA
of
America,
Inc.
Evidence
that
over
80,000
language
minority
children
were
denied
equal
educa5onal
opportunity
resulted
in
the
ASPIRA
Consent
Decree
1974,
manda5ng
bilingual
educa5on
for
all
who
needed
it.
A
similar
class
ac5on
suit
in
HarWord,
Connec5cut,
ensured
bilingual
educa5on
for
the
Puerto
Rican
and
La5no
children
in
that
city.
In
5me
bilingual,
bicultural
programs
emerged
throughout
Connec5cut,
MassachuseYs,
Rhode
Island
and
other
regions
with
large
Hispanic
popula5ons,
but
it
was
seldom
accomplished
without
contes5ng.

8. Images

9. Puerto
Rican
Communi>es
in
the
U.S.
Puerto
Ricans
in
the
U.S.:
1950:
301,375
1970:1,391,463
2000:3,406,178
New
York:
1950:245,375
1970:817,712
2000:789,172
-­‐In
NYC
and
Philadelphia
women
found
jobs
primarily
in
the
garment
industry
and
other
light
manufacturing.
Women
also
found
jobs
as
domes>cs.
-­‐Migrant
workers,
mostly
men
were
hired
for
industrial
and
agricultural
jobs

10. Puerto
Ricans
in
Exile
• New
York:
• Jesus
Colon
arrived
to
NYC
in
1917
as
part
of
a
network
of
tobacco
workers
and
socialists.
He
was
a
Puerto
Rican
ac>vist
who
lived
in
NYC
from
1917
to
1974.
He
wrote
A
Puerto
Rican
in
New
York
and
Other
Sketches
where
he
narrates
the
development
of
the
Puerto
Rican
community
in
that
city.
• Jesus
Colon
was
one
of
the
pioneros
who
came
to
New
York
seeking
beher
employment
and
educa>on.
Juan
Flores
underscored
the
importance
of
Jesus
Colon’s
wri>ng
“as
forshadowing
the
literature
wrihen
in
English
by
second
genera>on
Puerto
Ricans
in
the
U.S.”
(
The
Puerto
Rican
Diaspora,
2005)
• Aker
WWII
New
York
was
booming
especially
the
garment
industry.
An
effort
to
bring
garment
workers,
especially
women
and
also
men
to
work
in
post-­‐war
industries.
• The
flying
bus-­‐late
night
flights
became
a
weekly
venture
and
they
were
so
popular
that
they
became
known
as
la
guagua
aerea.
For
Puerto
Ricans
these
flights
became
the
jumping
pond
(
brincar
el
charco)
(Scene
for
video
La
Guagua
Aerea,
based
on
story
by
Luis
Rafael
Sanchez.
(El
ataque
de
los
jueyes,
La
Guagua
Aerea)
• Between
the
two
world
wars,
the
Puerto
Rican
community
straddled
the
East
River
area
with
well-­‐defined
neighborhoods
in
Brooklyn
and
Manhahan
• In
those
years
while
learning
English
was
cri>cal,
retaining
Spanish
was
also
important
• Assimila5on:
• Accultura5on:
• Cultural
Remitances

11. Puerto
Ricans
in
Exile
• Migra>on
has
always
been
central
to
the
Puerto
Rican
experience
• In
2000
there
were
3.4
million
Puerto
Ricans
in
the
United
States
and
3.8
million
residents
on
the
island
• In
the
1940’s
and
1950’s:
The
Great
Migra>on
• In
the
1970’s
a
substan>al
return
migra>on
to
the
Island
began.
Aker
that,
New
York
ceased
to
be
the
main
hub
through
which
Puerto
Ricans
migrated
• In
the
1990’s
Florida
becomes
the
state
with
the
second
largest
number
of
Puerto
Ricans-­‐Orlando
Ricans
(
Boricuas
in
Gotham,
Puerto
Ricans
in
the
Making
of
Modern
New
York
City,
2005)

12. Puerto
Ricans
in
Exile
• “
The
Puerto
Ricans
are
the
most
researched,
yet
least
understood
group
in
America”
(Sociologist
Clara
Rodriguez)
• Puerto
Ricans
do
not
fit
into
the
generally
accepted
defini>on
of
the
assimila>on/mel>ng
pot
model
that
predicts
that
over
>me
and
genera>ons
they
will
gradually
assimilate
into
the
dominant
culture
• For
Puerto
Ricans,
ques>ons
of
ci>zenship,
migra>on,
iden>ty
and
assimila>on
are
closely
linked
with
the
“unfinished
project
for
self
determina>on.”
• The
Nuyorican
experience
has
produced
ample
evidence
that
migra>on
does
not
always
lead
to
dispersal
through
throughout
the
United
States,
they
maintain
lo
que
es
puertorriqueno.
(Duany)
• Most
s5ll
iden5fy
as
Puerto
Ricans
and
insist
that
they
are
part
of
a
dis5nct
na5on
(Delgado,“Jesus
Colon
and
the
Making
of
a
New
York
City
Community,
1917
to
1974”,
in
The
Puerto
Rican
Diaspora,
Historical
Perpec>ves,
2005.

13. Revolving
Door
Migra>on
1970-­‐2000
• Two-­‐way
paherns
characterized
Puerto
Rican
migra>on
• During
the
1970s
migra>on
slowed
considerably,
larger
numbers
of
Puerto
Ricans
returned
to
Puerto
Rico
• During
the
1980s
and
1990s
migra>on
increased
again
but
retained
its
two
way
paherns
(Revolving
Door
Migra>on;
Circular
Migra>on)
• More
Puerto
Ricans
came
to
the
States
than
returned
to
Puerto
Rico
(
The
Puerto
Rican
Diaspora,
Historical
PerspecGves,
2005)
• During
these
decades,
the
U.S.
economy
experienced
recessions,
sharp
economic
fluctua>ons.
Economic
recessions
in
the
United
States
had
a
devasta>ng
impact
on
Puerto
Rico’s
economy.

14. Ac>vity
My
own
Migratory
Experience
On
a
piece
of
paper
reflect
and
write
down
the
following:
1.
How
many
>mes
have
you
moved
in
your
life
>me?
2.
Did
you
live
in
the
United
States
and
for
how
long?
Why
did
you
move
to
the
States?
Where
did
you
live?
How
comfortable
did
you
feel
living
in
the
United
States?
3.
Did
you
encounter
“
Nuyoricans”
and
what
was
your
percep>on
of
them?
The
term
“Nuyorican”
has
been
used
to
describe
all
Stateside
Puerto
Ricans.
4.
How
did
these
migra>ons,
affect
you,
change
you,
made
you
who
you
are?
*5.
If
you
never
lived
in
the
United
States
what
is
your
percep>on
of
the
“Nuyoricans”?

15. “Nuyorican”
Achievers
• Jose
Ferrer:
First
La>no
actor
to
win
an
Academy
Award-­‐Best
Actor
for
Cyrano
de
Bergerac
(1950).
Also
won
a
Tony
Award.
• Rita
Moreno:
Best
Suppor>ng
Actress
Award
for
Anita
in
West
Side
Story
(1961).
She
won
an
Oscar,
an
Emmy,
a
Grammy
and
a
Tony
and
also
a
Golden
Globe
Award.
• Raul
Julia:
Won
Best
Actor
Award
for
Kiss
of
the
Spider
Woman
(1985).
Also
won
an
Emmy
and
a
Golden
Globe
Award.
• Lin-­‐Manuel
Miranda:
In
the
Heights
(2008)
Tony
for
Best
Musical;
Hamilton(2016)
Won
the
Pulitzer
Prize
for
Drama
(2016);
16
Tony
nomina>ons
and
winning
11
including
Best
Musical
an
d
Best
Original
Score.
•
Luis
Gu>errez:
Congressman,
U.S.
House
of
Representa>ves
for
Illinois’s
4th
Congressional
District
• Jose
Serrano:
Congressman,
U.S.
House
of
Representa>ves
for
New
York’s
15th
District,
the
South
Bronx
• Nydia
Velazquez:
Congresswoman,
U.S.
House
of
Representa>ves
for
New
York’s
12th
District

16. “Nuyorican
Achievers”
• Sonia
Sotomayor:
Associate
Jus>ce
of
the
Supreme
Court
of
the
United
States.
Graduate
of
Princeton
and
Yale.
• Dr.
Victor
Alicea:
Founder
and
President
of
Boricua
College,
first
Bilingual,
Puerto
Rican
college
in
New
York.
• Antonia
Pantoja:
Founder
of
The
Puerto
Rican
Forum
and
ASPIRA
(1961)
• Ricky
Mar>n:
Actor,
singer.
Has
received
two
Grammys.
• Rosie
Perez:
Actress.
Nominated
for
Best
Suppor>ng
Actress
for
Fearless.
Was
on
The
View.
Documetary:
Pa’que
tu
lo
sepas-­‐documents
her
ac>vism.
She
was
arrested
for
disorderly
conduct
in
Manhahan
following
a
rally
to
protest
US
Navy
air
weapons
used
against
the
island
of
Vieques.

17. The
“Nuyorican”
Poets
and
Writers
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAst86cFdh8
Perfec>on
by
Noel
Quinones
• Mar>n
Espada
,
Litany
at
the
Tomb
of
Frederick
Douglass
hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiKJXnRCB3c
• Sandra
Maria
Esteves,The
Spirit
of
the
New
Rican
Village
• Diana
Gitesha
Hernandez
• Magdalena
Gomez
• Tato
Laviera
,
AmeRican
hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi_fQi0nFNQ
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV5Eyna3xQI
(interview
with
Nuyorican
poet,
Tato
Laviera,
NYC,
2009)
• Nicholasa
Mohr
• Myrna
Nieves
• Pedro
Pietri
hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCD0IsZ4HLI
• Miguel
Pinero
hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkY9BtSxyWQ
•
• Esmeralda
San>ago,
When
I
was
Puerto
Rican

18. Puerto
Rican
Poetry
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXcFmov2_m8
Pales
Matos,
Majestad
Negra
interpreted
by
Lucecita
Benitez
and
Alberto
Carrion
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgk3LrpgIY0
Juan
Antonio
Corretjer,
Boricua
en
la
Luna,
musicalized
and
interpreted
by
Roy
Brown
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlFt2Ki4OJo
Juan
Antonio
Corretjer,
Oubao
Moin,
Musicalized
and
interpreted
by
Roy
Brown
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dka-­‐z9pQvpU
Juan
Antonio
Corretjer,
En
la
vida
todo
es
ir,
musicalized
by
Roy
Brown,
interpreted
by
Haciendo
Punto
en
Otro
Son

19. Ac>vity
• Using
a
Venn
Diagram,
compare
and
contrast
two
poems:
one
from
a
Newyorican
writer
with
one
from
a
Puerto
Rican
(from
the
island)
writer.
Iden>fy
topics,
themes,
styles
used
by
both
writers.
Look
for
similari>es
and
differences.
If
>me
allows
specify
in
which
way
they
are
different
or
in
which
way
they
are
similar.
(5-­‐10
mins.)
When
finished
discuss
with
the
person(s)
beside
you.
• Some
possible
topics
or
themes:
• Iden>ty
• Migra>on
• Nostalgia
“anoranza”
for
the
ways
things
were
• Explaining
present
situa>ons
or
condi>ons
in
the
States
or
in
the
island
• History
and
heritage
• Themes
about
living
in
New
York
City
or
in
exile
• Life
circumstances
• Styles:
free
verse,
rhyme,
musical/rhythm,
language
use,
language
interchanges
Note:
You
can
use
poems
handed
out
or
search
for
other
poems
on
the
internet

20. The
Salsa
Revolu5on
• hhps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dUd8BmvojmE
The
Salsa
Revolu5on,
La>n
Music
USA
(2009)
• SALSA
became
the
quintessen>al
marker
of
Spanish
Caribbean
iden>ty,
is
in
its
incep>on
the
stylis>c
voice
and
prac>ce
of
the
Puerto
Rican
and
La>no
diaspora
concentrated
in
New
York
City
(Juan
Flores,
(2009)
The
Diaspora
Strikes
Back)
• Salsa
is
the
musical
baggage,
the
stylis>c,
cultural
remihance
of
the
diaspora
on
its
return
to
the
island.

21. The
Salsa
Invasion
• Willie
Colon:
one
of
the
most
frequent
passengers
on
the
cultural
airbus
• The
pioneering
salsero
and
his
music
commute
back
and
forth
between
his
home
turf
in
the
Bronx
and
his
ancestral
Puerto
Rico
• Had
an
eclec>c
stylis>c
agenda
comprised
mostly
of
Cuban-­‐based
sones
and
guaguancos:
– El
Malo
(Bad
Boy),
The
Hustler,
Cosa
Nuestra
and
the
Big
Break/La
Gran
Fuga
iden>fying
with
the
La>n
Superfly
and
the
borderline
criminal
street
thug.
These
were
produced
in
the
1960s
with
celebrated
vocalist
Hector
Lavoe
– Vocalist
and
composer
Ruben
Blades
brings
a
social/
poli>cal
strength
to
Willie
Colon’s
music:
Siembra

22. Home
• hhp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/la>nmusicusa/#/
en/wat/04/
• Lin-­‐Manuel
Miranda,
In
the
Heights,
Broadway
Musical,
Tony
Award
Winner,
Best
Musical
2008

23. Bibliography
• Breaking
Ground,
Anthology
of
Puerto
Rican
Women
Writers
in
New
York
1980-­‐2012.
Edited
by
Myrna
Nieves.
New
York:
Editorial
Campana,
2012
• Boricuas
in
Gotham,
Puerto
Ricans
in
the
Making
of
Modern
New
York
City.
Edited
by
Haslip-­‐Viera,
Falcon
and
Matos
Rodriguez.
Princeton:
Markus
Wiener
Publisher,
2005.
• Duany,
Jorge.
La
nacion
en
vaiven:
idenGdad,
migracion
y
cultura
popular
en
Puerto
Rico.
San
Juan:
Ediciones
Callejon,2009.
• Duany,
Jorge.
The
Puerto
Rican
NaGon
on
the
Move,
IdenGGes
on
the
Island
and
the
United
States.
Chapel
Hill
and
London:
The
University
of
North
Carolina
Press,
2002.
• Espada,
Mar>n.
The
Republic
of
Poetry.
New
York:
W.W.
Norton
&
•
Company,
2006.
• Flores,
Juan.
The
Diaspora
Strikes
Back,
Caribeno
Tales
of
Learning
and
Turning.
New
York:
Taylor
and
Francis,
2009.
• Flores,
Juan.
From
Bomba
to
Hip
Hop,
Puerto
Rican
Culture
and
LaGno
IdenGty.
New
York:
Columbia
University
Press,
2000.
• Gonzalez,
Jose
Luis.
Puerto
Rico,
The
Four
Storied
Country
and
Other
Essays.
Princeton
and
New
York:
Markus
Wiener
Publishing,
Inc.,
1993.
• Laviera,
Tato.
AmeRican.
Houston:
Arte
Publico,
2003.
• Laviera,
Tato.
La
carreta
made
a
U-­‐turn.
Houston:
Arte
Publico
Press,
1992.
• The
Puerto
Rican
Diaspora,
Historical
PerspecGves.
Edited
by
Carmen
Theresa
Whalen
and
Victor
Vazquez-­‐
Hernandez.
Philadelphia:
Temple
University
Press,
2005.