Puerto Ricans have faced colonization. Its commonwealth status with the United States is that of a colony. “Nearly 4 million people on the island are U.S. citizens, but are unable to vote in presidential elections unless they migrate to the mainland. 50 percent of Puerto Ricans on the island voted for options favoring continuation of commonwealth status, 47 percent favored statehood, and less than 3 percent voted for independence.” (Richard T. Schaefer, 2006, 19/#2)
Consequences faced by Puerto Ricans start off with segregation. For Latinos, separation patterns are similar to the African American populations, “the highest patterns of isolation occur in the cities with the larger number of Hispanics”. (Richard T. Schaefer, 2006, 22/#1) Fusion is also another consequence faced by Puerto Ricans; “originating as they do out of the mixing of the Spanish and indigenous Indian cultures”. (Richard T. Schaefer, 2006, 22/#4)
Journal Entry
When I was 8 years old my mother and I boarded my first plane to New York City. We left the San Juan airport and there were many tearful goodbyes as we left. My mother told them not to worry, and that we would be just fine in New York City. We were going to go and meet my Grandma Angela there, and many others from our family. I remember my grandmother telling me about when she had migrated to New York City. She was in a wave of Puerto Ricans that came to the New York and Texas in the 1950s, known as the “The Great Migration”.