Identities and Racism of Puerto Rican Migrants in New York City

Abstract

My article considers Puerto Rican history and its relation to the United States in the twentieth century. Specifically, the article examines the Puerto Rican Diaspora and its community in New York. When we look at Puerto Rican ethnic history, we must note that Puerto Rican racial identity has not been a stable, simple one. Rather, it has been transformed, affected by the context of time and the dominant racial ideology of the Black/White dichotomy in the United States. I discuss Puerto Rican diasporan notions of race by examining struggles over correct physical descriptions created by the 1930 introduction of ID cards for Puerto Ricans living in New York City.