Racism in Puerto Rico

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Historically, Puerto Rico, which is now an unincorporated territory of the U.S., has been dominated by a settler society of religiously and ethnically diverse Europeans, primarily of Spanish descent, and Sub-Saharan Africans. The majority of Puerto Ricans are multi-ethnic, including people of European, African, Asian, Native American, and of mixed-ethnic descent. [1]

Contents

History

Before the first major influx of West Africans into Puerto Rico in the 16th century, Spanish colonizers forced the Taíno natives "into slavery, exploiting their labor in the gold mines and on plantations." [2] After nearly a century of exploitation, enslavement, murder, and decline of the Taíno people, Spanish colonizers looked to a new source of slave labor. In 1598 they signed their first contract to bring a large number of West Africans to Puerto Rico. [3] Gold mines, ginger plantations and sugar plantations heavily relied on the slave work from the Taíno and West Africans. Since the majority of the European and African colonizers and enslaved laborers arrived without women, intermarriage often occurred with the remaining Taíno women. [4] The offspring from these interracial relationships created a population of Mulattos and Mestizos.

When the gold mines were declared depleted in 1570 and mining came to an end in Puerto Rico, the vast majority of the white Spanish settlers left the island to seek their fortunes in the richer colonies, such as Mexico, and the island became a Spanish garrison. The majority of those who stayed behind were either black or mulatto. The next major wave of West African slaves into Puerto Rico came after The Royal Decree of Graces of 1789, which allowed Spanish subjects in the Caribbean to participate in the business of slave trade and labor, particular importing slaves from the Gold Coast. [4]

By the time Spain reestablished her commercial ties with Puerto Rico, the island had a large multi-ethnic population. Those demographics, though, changed during the 19th century when the Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 which also resulted in "whitening" Puerto Rico's population from its offering of land, agricultural, and labor incentives to non-Hispanic white Europeans. The new arrivals continued to intermarry with the native islanders. [5] "The Royal census of Puerto Rico in 1834 established that the island's population as 42,000 enslaved Africans, 25,000 colored freemen, 189,000 people who identified themselves as whites and 101,000 who were described as being of mixed ethnicity." [4] A number of slave uprisings in plantations took place between 1820 and 1868. Puerto Rico abolished slavery in 1873.

Discrimination

The term "white Puerto Rican", as well as that of "colored Puerto Rican", was coined by the United States Department of Defense in the first decade of the 20th century in order to handle their own North American problem with nonwhite people whom they were drafting and had its basis on the American one-drop rule. [6] The one-drop rule stated that if you had just one drop of Black blood in you, you were Black, not white; that is, if you are not 100% white, then no matter what shade of lightness you are, you are Black. [7] The white upper class made deals with U.S. industrialists and supported U.S. policies in Puerto Rico at the expense of Afro-Puerto Rican civil rights. [8] Puerto Rico passed the Civil Rights Act of Puerto Rico in 1943. [9]

In 1945, Eric Williams wrote that like the Virgin Islands, There was an "absence of legal discrimination" in Puerto Rico, further stating that "Children of all colors meet on equal terms in the public schools, though discrimination is prevalent in private schools, even those which receive government grants. There are no segregated housing areas. Whites, blacks and mulattoes sit side by side in theaters, churches and public vehicles, and lie side by side in the cemeteries." [10] Williams noted how social discrimination increased prior to the passage of the 1943 civil rights and touted the law's benefits. [10] Williams specified that the 1943 civil rights law "recognizes no differences based on race, color, creed, national origin or previous condition" and guarantees "the right of all persons irrespective of differences of race, creed or political affiliation to enjoy the facilities afforded by public places, businesses and any agency of the Insular Government." [10] Williams even noted that "Lynchings are unheard of" in Puerto Rico. [10] William further noted that "Legally, the Negro is on a footing of equality with the white man" and that while social level equality was still not yet realized, "social discrimination does not affect the large majority of colored people," noting how private employment discrimination was most obvious in "upper brackets." [10]

Williams also touted the progress of the University of Puerto Rico" noting that "In the University of Puerto Rico, colored students, the majority destined to be schoolteachers, are freely admitted," though he also noted some negative aspects of the University's environment, stating that "Yet two members of the faculty, in a special study of the Negro in Puerto Rico, have brought to light a number of sayings about the Negro common to university students. The saying, “God made the Negro so that the animal can rest," is an example." [10] Williams noted that despite the notable decline in segregation in Puerto Rico following the enactment of the 1943 civil rights law, "colored people in Puerto Rico are very reluctant to visit certain hotels or night clubs," noting how segregation persisted in "first class nightclubs" and that these nightclubs were paying only light $25 fines which were "locally considered a joke." [10] However, Williams attributed segregation in Puerto Rico at the time to "class, rather than race." [10] He also noted how in recent time, even opponents of Muñoz Marín "agree that he and his party have given Negroes a square deal and opened positions to them, especially in the teaching profession and the higher ranks of the police force, from which they were conventionally debarred." [10]

Revolutionary leaders, including Pedro Albizu Campos in the 1950s, fought to eliminate the "racial" discrimination heightened by U.S. imperialism and to place Afro–Puerto Ricans in political positions of power.

Recent events

In 2019, José Pichy Torres Zamora, a Puerto Rican politician was taken to task for making a racist comment regarding the African-descended people of Loíza. [11]

In June 2020, amid the worldwide protests against racism after the murder of George Floyd, people of the Municipality of Loíza joined in [12] and Juan Dalmau Ramírez, a high-ranking member of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, put forth the need to educate Puerto Rico's children on human rights, and ending racism and xenophobia. [13] The University of Puerto Rico held an online forum on racism and discrimination. [14] During this time as well, a Black family in Canóvanas, filed a cease-and-desist complaint against an 82-year old woman neighbor for alleged Black racial slurs, playing loud music 24x7 directed at their new home, and harassing them with the posting of homemade drawings that included degrading comments about Black people. The woman received a citation from the police for playing loud music and was summoned to Court to answer to the other complaints. [15] People also protested in front of the governor's mansion in San Juan. [16]

In 2022, a flyer asking "do you want this BLACK man to be mayor of Guayama" circulated before elections. [17]

Legacy

Contemporary demographics

The current Puerto Rican population reflects the former immigration policy of 1815 spearheaded by the Spanish government in the 19th century, with hundreds of immigrants arriving from Corsica, France, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, and Portugal, as well as Arabs from Lebanon.

Until 1950 the U.S. Bureau of the Census attempted to quantify the racial composition of the island's population, while experimenting with various racial taxonomies. In 1960 the Census dropped the racial identification question for Puerto Rico but included it again in the year 2000 census. The only category that remained constant over time was white, even as other racial labels shifted greatly—from "colored" to "Black," "mulatto," and "other". Regardless of the precise terminology, the Census reported that the bulk[ clarification needed ] of the Puerto Rican population was white from 1899 to 2000. [18] [19] In the 2000 U.S. Census Puerto Ricans were asked to choose which racial category they self-identified with. The breakdown was follows: white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9%.

Related Research Articles

Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as dark-skinned compared to other populations. It is most commonly used for people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, Indigenous Australians and Melanesians, though it has been applied in many contexts to other groups, and is no indicator of any close ancestral relationship whatsoever. Indigenous African societies do not use the term black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Puerto Rico</span>

The population of Puerto Rico has been shaped by native American settlement, European colonization especially under the Spanish Empire, slavery and economic migration. Demographic features of the population of Puerto Rico include population density, ethnicity, education of the populace, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Ricans</span> People from Puerto Rico or who identify culturally as Puerto Rican

Puerto Ricans, most commonly known as Boricuas, and also referred to as Borinqueños,Borincanos, or Puertorros, are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants, including those in mainland United States.

Mulatto is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in some countries and languages, such as English and Dutch, but it does not have the same associations in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese. Among Latin Americans in the US, for instance, the term can be a source of pride. A mulatta is a female mulatto.

In the United States census, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget define a set of self-identified categories of race and ethnicity chosen by residents, with which they most closely identify. Residents can indicate their origins alongside their race, and are asked specifically whether they are of Hispanic or Latino origin in a separate question.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canóvanas, Puerto Rico</span> Town and municipality in Puerto Rico

Canóvanas is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico, located in the northeastern region, north of Juncos and Las Piedras; south of Loíza; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Canóvanas is spread over 6 barrios and Canóvanas Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loíza, Puerto Rico</span> Town and municipality in Puerto Rico

Loíza is a town and municipality on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, north of Canóvanas; east of Carolina, Puerto Rico; and west of Río Grande, Puerto Rico. Loíza is spread over five barrios and Loíza Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is renowned for its rich Afro-Puerto Rican culture and heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free people of color</span> Persons of partial African and European descent who were not enslaved

In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who were primarily of black African descent with little mixture. They were a distinct group of free people of color in the French colonies, including Louisiana and in settlements on Caribbean islands, such as Saint-Domingue (Haiti), St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. In these territories and major cities, particularly New Orleans, and those cities held by the Spanish, a substantial third class of primarily mixed-race, free people developed. These colonial societies classified mixed-race people in a variety of ways, generally related to visible features and to the proportion of African ancestry. Racial classifications were numerous in Latin America.

Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans are Latin Americans of full or mainly sub-Saharan African ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arturo Alfonso Schomburg</span> Puerto Rican historian, writer and activist

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, was a historian, writer, bibliophile, collector, and activist. He also wrote many books. Schomburg was a Puerto Rican of African and German descent. He moved to the United States in 1891, where he researched and raised awareness of the contributions that Afro-Latin Americans and African Americans have made to society. He was an important intellectual figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Over the years, he collected literature, art, slave narratives, and other materials of African history, which were purchased to become the basis of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, named in his honor, at the New York Public Library (NYPL) branch in Harlem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bomba (Puerto Rico)</span> Traditional musical style of Puerto Rico

Bomba is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of musical styles and associated dances originating in Puerto Rico. It was developed by enslaved Africans and their descendants in sugar plantations along coastal towns, most notably Loiza, Mayagüez, Ponce, and San Juan, during the 17th century. It is the island's oldest musical tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rican Spanish</span> Spanish language as characteristically spoken by Puerto Ricans

Puerto Rican Spanish is the variety of the Spanish language as characteristically spoken in Puerto Rico and by millions of people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States and elsewhere. It belongs to the group of Caribbean Spanish variants and, as such, is largely derived from Canarian Spanish and Andalusian Spanish. Outside of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican accent of Spanish is also commonly heard in the U.S. Virgin Islands and many U.S. mainland cities like Orlando, New York City, Philadelphia, Miami, Tampa, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago, among others. However, not all stateside Puerto Ricans have knowledge of Spanish. Opposite to island-born Puerto Ricans who primarily speak Spanish, many stateside-born Puerto Ricans primarily speak English, although many stateside Puerto-Ricans are fluent in Spanish and English, and often alternate between the two languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in colonial Spanish America</span> Economic and social institution central to the operation of the Spanish Empire

Slavery in the Spanish American viceroyalties was an economic and social institution which existed throughout the Spanish Empire including Spain itself. Enslaved Africans were brought over to the continent for their labour, indigenous people were enslaved until the 1543 laws that prohibited it.

Afro-Dominicans are Dominicans of predominant or full Black African ancestry. Approximately 7.9 million people in the Dominican Republic are of African descent, However due to the Dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, most Dominicans refuse to identify as black and deny their African heritage, those who do identify as black are a minority in the country representing 7.8% of the population, according to a census bureau survey in 2022. About 4.0% of the people surveyed claim an Afro-Caribbean immigrant background, while only 0.2% acknowledged Haitian descent. Currently there are many black illegal immigrants from Haiti, who are not included within the Afro-Dominican demographics as they are not legal citizens of the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro–Puerto Ricans</span> Racial or ethnic group in Puerto Rico with African ancestry

Afro–Puerto Ricans are Puerto Ricans who are of African descent. The history of Puerto Ricans of African descent begins with free African men, known as libertos, who accompanied the Spanish Conquistadors in the invasion of the island. The Spaniards enslaved the Taínos, many of whom died as a result of new infectious diseases and the Spaniards' oppressive colonization efforts. Spain's royal government needed laborers and began to rely on African slavery to staff their mining and fort-building operations. The Crown authorized importing enslaved West Africans. As a result, the majority of the African peoples who entered Puerto Rico were the result of the Atlantic slave trade, and came from many different cultures and peoples of the African continent.

Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics, Afro-Latinos, Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos, are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Black people living in the United States with ancestry in Latin America, Spain or Portugal and/or who speak Spanish, and/or Portuguese as either their first language or second language.

White Dominicans are Dominican people of predominant or full European descent. They are 17.8% of the Dominican Republic's population, according to a 2021 survey by the United Nations Population Fund. The majority of white Dominicans have ancestry from the first European settlers to arrive in Hispaniola in 1492 and are descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese who settled in the island during colonial times, as well as the French who settled in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many whites in the Dominican Republic also descend from Italians, Dutchmen, Germans, Hungarians, Scandinavians, Americans and other nationalities who have migrated between the 19th and 20th centuries. About 9.2% of the Dominican population claims a European immigrant background, according to the 2021 Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas survey.

White Puerto Ricans are Puerto Ricans who self-identify as white due to a rubric of laws like the Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar dating back to the 1700's where a person of mixed ancestry could be considered legally white so long as they could prove that at least one person per generation in the last four generations had also been legally white. Therefore, people of mixed ancestry with known white lineage were classified as white, the opposite of the "one-drop rule" in the United States. In the 2020 United States census, the number of people who identified as "White alone" was 536,044 or 16.5%, with an additional non-Hispanic 24,548, for a total population of 560,592.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixed Dominicans</span> Dominicans of mixed racial origins

Mixed Dominicans, also referred to as mulatto, mestizo or historically quadroon, are Dominicans who are of mixed racial ancestry. Representing 73.9% of the Dominican Republic's population, they are by far the single largest racial grouping of the country.

References

  1. ↑ Jose Lee-Borges. Los Chinos en Puerto Rico. Second Edition. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Callejon. 2016. pp. 17-18. ISBN   9781615051700
  2. ↑ Enck-Wanzer, Darrel (2010). The Young Lords: A Reader (PDF). New York and London: New York University Press. p. 136.
  3. ↑ Enck-Wanzer, Darrel (2010). The Young Lords: A Reader (PDF). New York and London: New York University Press. p. 137.
  4. 1 2 3 "Afro-Puerto Ricans - Minority Rights Group". Minority Rights Group. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  5. ↑ African Aspects of the Puerto Rican Personality by (the late) Dr. Robert A. Martinez, Baruch College., Retrieved July 20, 2007
  6. ↑ Sidney W. Mintz. Three Ancient Colonies: Caribbean Themes and Variations. Harvard University Press. 2010. p. 175.
  7. ↑ Sidney W. Mintz. Three Ancient Colonies: Caribbean Themes and Variations. Harvard University Press. 2010. p. 175.
  8. ↑ Briggs, Laura. "La vida, moynihan, and other libels: migration, Social Science, and the making of the Puerto Rican welfare queen". Centro Journal. XIV (1, 2002). The City University of New York Estados Unidos: 75–101. ISSN   1538-6279 . Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Acts of the Third Regular Session of the Fifteenth Legislature of Puerto Rico, February 8 to April 15, 1943 [Leyes de la Tercera Legislatura Ordinaria de la Décimoquinta Asamble Legislativa de Puerto Rico, 8 de Febrero a 15 de Abril de 1943]. Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. 1943. pp. 404–411.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Williams, Eric (1945). "Race Relations In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands". Howard University History Department Faculty Publications. 23. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Exigen disculpa publica al Secretario General del PPD por hacer comentario racista y denigrante contra loiceños". Periódico Presencia (in Spanish). 26 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ↑ Hernández, José Rafael (2 June 2020). "Grupo de loiceños se unen a protestas en contra de violencia racial". Periódico Presencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Líder del PIP insiste en educar sobre derechos humanos, la erradicación del racismo y la xenofobia en las escuelas". Periódico Presencia (in Spanish). 13 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  14. ↑ Hernández, José Rafael (8 June 2020). "UPR de Carolina presenta foro virtual sobre el racismo y la discriminación". Periódico Presencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. ↑ Hernández, José Rafael (11 June 2020). "Para el 17 de junio vista contra vecina racista en Canóvanas [For June 17 hearing against racist neighbor in Canóvanas]". Periódico Presencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "Puerto Rico Protesters Honor George Floyd, Denounce Island's Legacy of Racism". Democracy Now!. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  17. ↑ Alamo, Hector Luis (May 9, 2022). "Racist Flyer Circulates Ahead of Puerto Rico Election". Latino Rebels (in Spanish). Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  18. ↑ Representation of racial identity among Puerto Ricans and in the U.S. mainland
  19. ↑ "Puerto Rico's History on race" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
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