The Historical Progression of the Puerto Ricans and African-Americans
Introduction
The American nation is known to have seen a considerable insurgence of different races into the country, and this was activated predominantly by the slave trade and colonialism. One of the major groups which came into the country was the Africans who would eventually rise in numbers. Another minority group in the country living in the United States of America is the Puerto Ricans who have a very strong connection with the people living on the Puerto Rico Island. Contrary to the existing common belief, it is very true that they are still not considered to be a part of the American society. These people can be identified by the use of Spanish as their communication language. Most of the Puerto Rican Americans speak both English and Spanish. These people constitute the largest multi-lingual group of the American population. The Puerto Ricans are known to have come to the United States from the early 1800s, and since that time they have show the collective socialization and cultural action, as they continue voicing out their social and political rights, and working hard in the preservation of their culture and heritage (Teresa, 2008).
New York City is known to have the highest concentration of the Puerto Ricans in the country. They began competing for the elective offices since the early 1920s elections when they had their own member in the City Assembly. In the year 1900, about 114 Puerto Ricans were recruited to working in Hawaii during the famous Labor Migration era to the islands in the Pacific Ocean. There is another Puerto Rican community which has a long history, namely the community living in Humboldt Park, Chicago. From the 1950s to the early 1990s, the Humboldt Park in Chicago was considered to be a dead economic zone, and this title was given by the city developers and planners, and the Park became the breeding ground for gangs, such as the Kings Latin, the Latin Maniac Disciples, the Young Lords, and the ISC, Insane Spanish Cobras. Although this group of the population had a large number of families in their communities, some property developers and owners, and even businessmen, the majority of the people in the race saw lesser opportunities.
On the other hand, the African Americans found their way through the slave trade. Since the seventeenth century, very many occurrences have been happening with this group as they continued to fight against the oppression and racism which had been increasing against them (Braude, 2002). The African Americans are known to have been in the country since the late 1600s, and later, all the more African Americans came to the country as the slave trade continued to take shape. Later, as all the more advancements continued to rock the world, changes continued to emerge in the social, cultural, political, education and economic systems of the African Americans. However, we will agree that different groups have different features and growth patterns within a given nation in all aspects like economy, culture and politics. Taking this into consideration, this paper will compare and contrast these historical developments between the Puerto Ricans and the African Americans.
The Social, Political and Economic History of Puerto Ricans and African Americans
The early Puerto Ricans are known to have migrated to the United States with the intention to get jobs in the industrial and service sectors. Generally, this race has rather a complex socio-economic and political history just like any other racial grouping in the country. To begin with, the culture of this race in terms of social issues has been fueled by very many dynamics. This is because the Puerto Rican island saw a great insurgence of different races since the 1700s, thereby making the social issues of this quite complex than it can be imagined (Teresa, 2008). A number of occurrences which give these people a rich social history includes the existence of some African Americans on the island, the migration of the Chinese into the island, the eventful migration of the Corsicans into the same island, the French, the Dominicans, the German, Jews, Romans, Spanish, Ortoiriod people, the Irish, among others. These groups made the Ricans strong in terms of their culture and social issues. It can therefore be very hard to discuss this race without looking at the social dynamics and historical progressions of these people.
These people also have a complex economic history. During the early years of settlement of the racial group in the United States, all the people were involved in working as casual laborers in the industrial service (including women and children). During those days, garment manufacturing industry was one of the leading sources of jobs and employment in the country (Braude, 2002). The majority of the men lived in the urban areas, most of them working in the dynamic American Service Industry, for example, in a restaurant, where they had to move and clean saloon tables, bar-tend, sometimes wash dishes etc. With time, more and more men ended up finding better earning jobs in the steel manufacturing industries, automobile assemblies, the shipping industry, meat packing industries etc (Braude, 2002).
Besides, during the very first years of their migration to the mainland, there occurred a sense of ethnic misunderstandings, especially around the New York City. This was because it had been rumored that the majority of the Puerto Ricans had been given all jobs with a certain degree of community respect and significance like barbers, barmen, grocers, and car park attendants. Since the beginning of the 1960s, the majority of these Puerto Ricans are known to have been making movements to and fro the mainland where they worked as contracted casual laborers. At times they would work in harvesting food crops and vegetables in some states, and then go back to their places upon reduction of contracts (Ortiz, 2008). Basically, the last few years have not been good for these people in terms of economic progression. Since the Puerto Ricans are now known to have been wholly assimilated into the American culture, the majority of their young men and women have been able to change the dynamics by going into other states and countries in search of white-collar jobs expecting to be paid better wages and salaries. There has also been an improvement in the professionalism as more and more people in the race continued getting better education, thus, changing the economic patterns. Therefore, we can agree that these people had different economic conditions, which favored the elites mostly, and those who were able to access better education, something that has brought better fruit to their individual professionalism, social and cultural influence sin their private lives.
Basically, most Puerto Ricans could have better positions in the society and conditions of life as compared to the African Americans, who were not regarded as equal to the other racial groups in the country. Besides, the African Americans were highly involved in Civil Wars which saw them not acquiring the necessary economic growth (Garcia, 2001). On average, the majority of the Puerto Rican homes and families have been unable to earn a better income to provide them with better living standards the statistics has shown that, on average, only two percent of their families have been able to receive the income of over 75,000 U.S. Dollars (Ortiz, 2008). In terms of culture, this race has been able to enrich its culture adopting the cultural variants of all the international groups who have visited their island in different historical timelines. This has shaped the social dynamics, although globalization has been changing these patterns of late.
In majority of the areas occupied by the Puerto Ricans, there has been an increasing level of unemployment which has been weakening their living standards (Bernabe, 2007). From the 1990 census of the country, about thirty-two percent of all the Puerto Rican men and about fifty-eight percent of the women had not been featured in the countrys labor force database. One of the major reasons that have been attributed to this frightening statistics is the change in the American employment patterns. These patterns include the industrial and manufacturing sectors, which had initially been dominated by the Puerto Ricans. Especially in the garment producing industry, there was an increasing job scarcity, thus, affecting the racial group. Also, the last two decades in the United States have seen a form of institutionalized form of racism, and an extra-ordinary proliferation of the single-parent led households in majority of the urban and suburb areas, something which majority of experts believe is the cause for the rising unemployment rates. Basically, the Urban Puerto Rican is known to be one of the American racial groups that have been greatly harmed by the increasing rates in the country.
Unemployment has also been noted to be the biggest source of challenge, especially economic, facing this community, and this has been so for the last twenty-six years. The people of the Puerto Rican have a strong political and governmental history just like any other group in the country. From the beginning of the twentieth century, and all the following years, the Puerto Ricans had stable political activities which exhibited themselves in two major paths. The first of these two paths was focused on the acceptance of all associations which would be accepted to the overall American Government Systems (Garcia, 2001). The second political path was aimed at giving the Puerto Rican autonomy in which they would be the rulers of themselves and by so doing separate themselves from the United States community as a whole this way alone they would be able to get the freedom and independence they really needed. This second path was something that could not be easily accepted unless through the application of radical systems or means. It would be through the application of these radical means that they would be in a position of acquiring the necessary freedom they so much wanted.
In the end of the nineteenth century, the majority of the Puerto Rican front-runners and leaders, and especially the ones who lived in the New York, were trying to fight for freedom from the Spaniards around the Caribbean Sea (Garcia, 2001). Upon ceding control of the Puerto Rico Island from the other integral parts of the United States between the American and the Spanish, the fighters of the war vowed to bring fighting in an attempt of separating the island from the leadership of the other states. Maria Eugenio Hostos is known to have been the sole founder of the Patriot League, which had the aim of helping in the transition of the Island to be a part of the United States and controlling the islands independence. It should be also noted that it was very hard to achieve full independence. A number of groups, such as the League, were able to pave a better way of social-economic relationships with other states of the United States. Still, the majority of the Puerto Ricans stood for very many years blocked from engaging widely in the political system of the country.
Later in the year 1913 in New York, the Puerto Ricans were able launch La Prensa, which was a Spanish-language daily newspaper. Very soon after that, the following decades saw these people trying to come together with the aim of forming groups which had political objectives with them. More and more radical groups continue to grow up in the country. The following two decades saw a majority of the Puerto Ricans as well as some Latino political movements and organizations beginning to form, and of which were quite more radical in comparison with the others. Later in the year 1937, the Puerto Ricans for the very first time elected Mr. Oscar Riveera Garca to the New York City Assembly, and this made him the very first official elect representing the Puerto Rican race. It is also recorded that some Puerto Ricans had been supporting some radical activists in the New York City, and staged a big riot in favor for Albizu Campos, and demanded for independence (Ronald, 1999). During this riot, about 19 people died, and the so called Camposs political movement died as well.
The years between 1952 and 1959 saw a very big proliferation of the community in terms of organizations, which were called the Ausentes. Over 75 hometowns and societies formed strong organizations under the secure umbrella of the great Council of Hometowns. The purpose of these organizations was mainly to provide the necessary services in favor of their people and as well would serve as a stepping stone for great political involvement. Come the year 1959, the very first New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade, NYCPRDP, was as well held (Ronald, 1999). A number of experts have since then viewed this as a great political and socio-cultural breakthrough for the Puerto Ricans as part of the United States community.
Some other concerns have been indicated that the minimal participation of the Ricans in the American politics, either in New York City and any other place in the nation, has been something of great concern to the leaders of the group (Taylor, 2007). This trend has thus been blamed on the countrywide reduction in the turnout of the American voters during those days. Still, a number of studies have revealed that the Rican group has been registering higher voter turnouts as in comparison with their counterparts living the mainland, and this has led to the provision of a number of reasons Some experts have pointed this to be caused by the group being a minority among the wider communities of the United States. Other people have even made suggestions that the Ricans have always been un-courted by any of the major political systems and parties in the country. The lack of better opportunities such as employment and education among the group has also been the cause for their lesser participations in the welfare of the nation. The fact that remains is that, once united for a common cause, the Puerto Rican group can form a grand political force in the country.
Generally, the group has been forced into certain instabilities and power imbalances (Taylor, 2007). They have by so doing become greatly impoverished they have lost most of their social touch and influence and have become highly marginalized. Therefore, the focus urged by the group leaders has been to shift the systems, make themselves wealthy, and be able to defend their political rights that have been greatly sidelined by the other majority races in the nation. In summary, any use of archival information will give an empirical data showing how the power of these people once rose, and then fell, and the following years saw great fluctuations in the people interests and passions, and all these brought the greatest differences between the Puerto Ricans and the other communities forming the American society.
On the other hand, African Americans are the most highly involved group in relation to the entire American political progression than any other racial minority group in the country. They have been indicating the greatest registration of voters and political participation since a long time span. African Americans have also been known to have attained the highest level in terms of education systems as compared to all other minority groups which immigrated to the country (Whalen, 2005). They also have the most active participation within the Congress representation. They have been greatly involved in politics and the main reason why their vote counts in this country. Historically, the African Americans have been noted to be fervent Republican Party supporters after the Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, made the greatest contribution in helping grant freedom to these slaves during their struggle. For the following years, the African Americans became great supporters of the party, but things began to change course in the 1930s (Whalen, 2005).
The African-American voting trend began to favor the Democrats during the historical period of the Great Depression. This was when Franklin Roosevelt came up with a deal in form of a program which would provide the African Americans with the economic relief, and this saw their vote becoming solidly for the Democrats, and later the civil rights were hastened further by presidents Johnson Lyndon and J.F. Kennedy in the mid 1960s. After abound 50 years, the number of marriages among Americans began to fall and the cases of divorce seemed to increase in numbers (Ortiz, 2008), and these rates have been high among the African Americans. Since then, African Americans have still been noted to favor the American values that are extremely traditional in terms of marriage and family. In terms of social issues, the African Americans still hold some traditional views in terms of music, culture, abortion, and even marriage. They have also been known to have the most pro-active racial group in the country which fought for most of their rights for the longest timeline ever.
In terms of economy and history of the Black Americans, it will be agreed that they have moved a long way. Since their very first appearance in the nation, these people had been poor and bad living conditions. Most of their time they were busy with the fight for their rights and freedom which would take a very long time to come their way. The majority turned to peasant farming which would not support a greater percentage of their lives (Ortiz, 2008). Working as slaves, they were very poor, and especially those who lived in the suburbs. Later as years went by, more and more African Americans acquired education very soon they started getting good jobs, and later could improve their economic situation. Today, more and more African Americans are able to get a decent education, thus being able to improve their lives. Another important economic activity they have been involved in is the music and movie industry that facilitated their economic progression.
Therefore, in terms of economy, the African-Americans, especially good educated ones, can be said to have greatly benefited from their progression which sprang, since the Civil Rights Movement. Also, the effects of the historical marginalization of the group must have played a greater role in placing the largest number of the African Americans below the poverty line. Today, this disparity in racial poverty is on the decline. The middle class in the race is rising, an indication that their economic positions will be better in the coming days (Abrams, 1984). Back in 2000, about 47 percent of the African Americans were reported to own presentable private homes. The rate of poverty within the group has also decreased from 26.0 percent in the year 1998 to about 24.0 percent in the year 2004.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can agree that the African Americans have been able to prosper more than any other racial grouping in the United States of American. In terms of politics, the African Americans have been so much involved so that the current president of the country has an African decent. Therefore, it will be attributed to their efforts and their large numbers which has seen them come this far. This people have also been able to dominate some major sectors of the economy such as music, movie, and television which is a major export earner for the country. On the other hand, the Puerto Ricans have also been able to acquire some political and socio-economic progress than majority of the other racial groups in the country. The group can as well acquire a great political mileage if they would become more united than ever before. The African Americans have hence been able been able to bring a greater professionalism in their individual lives which greatly compares to that of the native whites in the country.
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