Immigrant NYC, Episode 8: Becoming Nuyorican (1898-2010)
Channel: Samuel Finesurrey, Ph.D.
Date: 2020-09-10

This episode explores the intimate history Puerto Rico and the mainland US that led to a significant community of Puerto Ricans developing in NYC. Beginning during the Spanish Colonial period this video traces the revolutionary organizing of Puerto Ricans in exile in 19th Century New York City. Yet the episode is centered in after the Spanish-American War when governance over the island was transferred to U.S. authorities. It examines the evolving status of the population. Initially, Puerto Ricans were deemed by the U.S. Supreme Court non-Citizen subjects, denied both autonomy and equal status. During World War I, in an effort to swell U.S. military ranks, Puerto Ricans were made citizens so that they could be drafted. After World War II the New York government encouraged migration to NYC so that the city's factories could exploit cheap Puerto Rican labor. An powerful Puerto Rican community developed in the city and vied for political influence through radical organizing during the height of the Civil Rights movement.