Discrimination Among Puerto Ricans

Discrimination among Puerto Ricans

Throughout history Puerto Ricans have been discriminated against by other groups. The first migration of Puerto Ricans into the United States was in the 1930s. The Puerto Rican migrants established communities in urban cities across the country, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Newark. Many of the migrants were forced to return to the mainland of Puerto Rico due to the discrimination they encountered in the 1960s and 1970s. Puerto Ricans struggled with poverty, unemployment, and racial discrimination due to their ethnicity. Dark skin Puerto Ricans were often excluded of jobs, education, and even housing. This group was lacking essential social and cultural resources needed to surpass poverty. These actions were clearly the result of the dual labor market. Furthermore, they were assaulted by non-Puerto Rican street gangs ("Immigration Puerto Rican / Cuban", n.d.). The challenges that this ethic group faced was unjust and unacceptable to Puerto Ricans.

As the second generation of Puerto Ricans were born into the United States new political movements were constructed as well. Puerto Ricans structured a campaign for greater civil rights, equal opportunity to education, employment, and changes to the status of Puerto Rico ("Immigration Puerto Rican / Cuban", n.d.). The inequalities have occurred as a result of structural discriminatory actions in the labor market and reproduced in the class structure of the economy. Many Puerto Rican workers obtained low-paid unskilled jobs, compared to other groups in America (PIMENTEL, 2008). In the 1951 referendum, the Puerto Rican population voted to become a United States commonwealth, instead of remaining a colony. Furthermore, activists urged social reform and increased economic aid to the island, which was struggling economically for quite some time. The relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico grew strong