I I'

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EDUCATIONAL STRUGGLES -Close to half a million African American and Puerto Rican students participate in a one-day protest and boycott of New York's public schools that paralyzes the system. The protestors were demanding an end to lingering segregation practices in the city's public schools that deprived them of a quality education.

1-----1 1 964 United Bronx Parents, Inc. (UBP) is founded by Evelina Lopez Antonetty. UBP fought for community control of schools, the hiring of minority teachers, bilingual education, and improving the educa­tion of children in the schools of the South Bronx. (Photo of LOpez Antonetty with future congressmen Hernan Badillo on her left, and Jose E. Serrano on her ri ght, 1 96S). [UBP]

Hostos Community College is established in the South Bronx as part of the City University of New York (CUNY). As the first bilingual higher education institution in the country, the College was created to serve the educational needs of Puerto Rican and other Latino students. [Photo of Hostos Community College]

, J65~ I

-rl 1968~ The Bilingual Education Act is approved by the U.S. Congress to allow bilingual instruction in public schools for children with limited English language ability. Some programs were established in New York City schools as a result of the demands of Puerto Rican parents, community activists, and educators. ASPIRA of New York goes national and becomes ASPIRA of America (currently known as

The ASPIRA Association). The organization now has offices in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC.

1968 -....11 ,.....__,1 1969 1-1 --1 1969 -----------

-.-~/ Boricuas Ocupan

Bronx College

1992

1969 Students at City College takeover the institution. Among their demands were an open admis­sions policy for Puerto Rican students at CUNY colleges, the establishment of Puerto Rican Studies and educational opportunity programs, and increasing the hiring of Puerto Rican faculty and staff. The first Puerto Rican Studies programs are established at City College and Lehman College. Programs were established later on at other CUNY and State University of New York (SUNY) Albany and Buffalo campuses, Fordham University, Rutgers University, and at a few other institutions in the Northeast and Midwest. (Headline from El Diario-La Prensa about a Puerto Rican student takeover of Bronx Community College in 1 970; photo by M. Santini)

The Puerto Rican Studies Association (PRSA) is created as a professional organi­zation that promotes research, teaching, and activism. (Photo of Virginia Sanchez Korrol , first President of PRSA; photo by Christine E. Bose, 1 992). [EAB]

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Puerto Rican students form the Puerto Rican Student Union (PRSU) to mobilize the Bronx communities in combating discrimination, raising political consciousness, and advocating for equal rights for the poor. That same year, many of these students created the New York Chap­ter of the Young Lords Party. (Cover of Palante, 201 1; photo by Michael Abramson, 1971) [Reproduced

by permi ssion from Haymarket Books]

1974 1-T--1

Founding of Boricua College in New York, a private arts and sciences higher education institution aimed at serving the needs of Puerto Rican and other Latino students.

I 1992 1974

(Image of Boricua College seal)

Aspira v. the Board of Education court case leads to the Aspira Consent Decree ruling that established the right of any New York City public school student with limited English profi­ciency to receive bilingual instruction .

INSTITUTION BUILDING AND NEW TRADITIONS The first Desfile Puertorriqueiio in New York took place in 1958, marking the beginning of the Puerto Rican Day Parade tradition. It took only a few years for the Parade to grow and achieve more visibility and recognition. Held annu­ally the second Sunday in June, the Parade is now one of the largest ethnic cultural events in the city and attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators from the United States and Puerto Rico

I 1---Early 1960s

(Phot o o f the cover o f t he Parad e Pro gram , 2006). [NPRDP] 1962 f----

The city of Philadelphia has been attracting Hispanic immigrants since the late 1800s and early 1900s, including a sizeable number of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Spanish cigar makers. Significant increases in the Puerto Rican population occurred during and after World War II with the recruitment of workers to support the city's industrial sector. In 1962, the Council of Spanish-Speaking Organizations (Concilio) was founded to represent the community's socioeconomic and political con­cerns, foster cultural and educational programs, and provide human ser­vices to a growing Puerto Rican and Latino population. The Concillo initi­ated the annual Puerto Rican Festival celebration in 1964 and the Puerto Rican Day Parade became the highlight of the Festival.

1973

The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre is created by Puerto Rican actress Miriam Colon to bring theater to the community. Their first production was free of charge and a catalyst to the growth of His­panic theater in New York and other parts of the country. (Pho to o f Pue rto Rican Traveling Theatre poster). [Miriam Co l6 n Collection]

1971 The Taller Boricua [Puerto Rican Art Workshop] is established in New York to promote the arts within the community. The Taller is currently housed at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center in East Harlem. (Post er by Fernando Salicrup, 1 977). [MDB]

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is founded in New York to provide a community space for creative expression and performance. Best known for its poetry slams, the Cafe has become a major cultural venue for poets, actors, musi­cians, and visual artists from diverse ethnic backgrounds. (Photo by Eddie C. Ong). [PJHq

1 980s-201 Os From the 1980s to the present, the magnitude of the Puerto Rican population growth in the state of Florida--particularly in Orlando, Kissimmee, Miami, Ft. Lau­derdale, and other parts of Central and South Florida--exemplifies the changing patterns of settlement and geographic dispersion of Puerto Ricans from New York City to other old and new locations throughout the United States. Smaller num­bers of Puerto Ricans have been arriving in Central Florida since the 1940s.

The Asociacion Borinqueiia de Ia Florida Central (ABFC), founded in 1977, has been a leader in promoting and delivering family services to the community and a major center of cultural activity. In South Florida, the Puerto Rican Profes­sional Association (PROFESA), created in 1999, fosters professional and busi­ness networks, community empowerment, and cultural awareness. (Welcome to Central Flori da postcard, Centro Journal Cover, Spring 201 0). [Centro]

1

1967

1969 ~

1971 I

1972

I 1973

1980s-201 Os

1982 I

1983

(Photo o f a Hijos d e Ariasco ho m et own club fl oat at t he Philad elphia Puerto Rican Day Parad e). [OGPRUS]

The Museo del Barrio is founded in East Harlem by Puerto Rican activists and becomes an impor­tant cultural institution for the community.

(Post ca rd o f front entrance t o El Museo d el Barrio). [MDB]

A group of Puerto Rican lawyers create the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) in New York to offer legal support to the community. PRLDEF represented ASPIRA in the legal case that produced the Aspira Con· sent Decree (1974) court ruling. In 2008, PRDELF changed its name to LatinoJustice PRDELF. (Photo o f cover of PRLDEF Repo rt). [PRLDEFJ

The Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueiios [Center for Puerto Rican Studies; Centro] is established at CUNY under the leadership of Frank Bonilla. Born in New York in 1925 from Puerto Rican migrant parents, Bonilla served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. After the war he went to college, received a doctoral degree from Harvard University, and became a prominent scholar. In the early 1970s, he joined the CUNY faculty and was named Direc­tor of Centro. (Photo of Bonilla; students holding a Centro banner at the Puerto Ri can Day Parade, c. 1978 [FBP; Centro]

The Institute for Puerto Rican Policy (currently the National Institute for Latino Policy) is estab­lished in New York City. The Institute is a nonpartisan policy-focused enterprise aimed at drawing attention to relevant issues and needs of the Puerto Rican/ Latino community.

2000 ~l!t The Puerto Rican Heritage Society is created in Hawaii by librarian, educator, and com­

munity activist Blase Camacho Souza to document and preserve the Puerto Rican pres­ence and contributions to Hawaiian society that began in the early 1900s

(Cover of Puerto Rican Centennial Calendar Celebrating 100 Years in Maui, 2000). [EAB]

-1986 ~---------------------------------

The Humboldt Park-Division Street Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago is I officially named Paseo Boricua. Two big metal flags of Puerto Rico were installed across Division Street at the beginning and end of the strip. 1-----1 199 5 (Murai "Sea of Flags" by Gamaliel Ramirez at El Paseo Boricua, 2004). [PRCC]

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Beginning of the Comite Noviembre [November Committee] Puerto Rican Heritage Month tradition in New York to foster cultural awareness and recognize the accom­plishments and contributions of prominent Puerto Ricans. (Cover art work by Ernesto Ramos-Nieves). [Co mite Noviembre]

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Poster Col)tent by Ed!'a Acosta-Bele,n Poster Senes Design by )orge Fish Rodrigue

Poster Content: The Puerto Rican Heritage Poster Series was developed by Dr. Edna Acosta-Belen, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies (LACS) and Women's Studies at the University at Albany, SUNY.

Acknowledgments: We want to acknowledge the valuable assistance of the Centro library and Archives and Centro Publications staff; of doctoral student Jacqueline Hayes at the Center for Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (CELAC) and Dr. Hui-Shien Tsao at the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis (CSDA), University at Albany, SUNY; and of Professors Virginia sanchez Korrol at Brooklyn College, Edwin Melendez and Edgardo Melendez at Hunter College, Carlos Rodriguez Fraticelli at the University of Puerto Rico-Rfo Piedras, and Christine E. Bose at the University at Albany, SUNY.

Abbreviations for the collections In the Archives of the Puerto Rican Olaspora (also known as Centro Archives): AHMP (Archivos Hist6ricos de Ia MigraciOn Puertorriqueiia); APP (Antonia Pantoja Papers); BCSP (Blase Camacho Souza Papers); CSVP (Clemente Soto Velez and Amanda Velez Papers); EVP (Erasmo Vando Papers) ; EmVP (Emelf Velez de Vando Papers); FBP (Frank Bonilla Papers); Gen (Centro General Collection); GCOGP (Gilberta ConcepciOn de Gracia Papers); HMV (Records of HoMoVisiones); JAM (Justo A. Martf Photographic Collection); JCP (JesUs ColOn Papers); JoCP (Joaqufn ColOn Papers); MCP (M8ximo ColOn Papers); OGRP (Oscar Garcfa Rivera Papers); OGPRUS (Office of the Government of Puerto Rico); OIPR (Office of Information for Puerto Rico); PBP (Pura Belpre Papers) ; PJHC (Pedro Juan Hernandez Collection, photographs by Eddie C. Ong); Post (Postcards and Stereocards Collection); PRLOEF (Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund); RPP (Richie Perez Papers); UBP (Records of United Bronx Parents, Inc.).

Other Photo Sources: AP (Associated Press); CPMP (Clinton Presidential Materials Project); EAB (Edna Acosta-Belen Personal Collection); EO-LP (EI Diario-La Prensa); ENOl (EI Nuevo Dfa); FLMM (Fundaci6n l uis Muiioz Marfn); ICP (lnstituto de Cultura Puertorriqueiia); MOB (Museo del Barrio); NPRP (National Puerto Rican Parade); NYPL (New York Public Library); PO (Public Domain) ; PRCC (Juan Antonio Corre~er Puerto Rican Cultural Center); UPRPC (University of Puerto Rico Photographic Collection).