Day 2

This summer is the year of migration and genealogy. In the sweltering heat of political tension, issues of migration in Chicago, and across the United States, there is a heat wave of ignorance and prejudice sweeping across Black and Brown communities. On Father’s Day, I told my father that I was attending the Puerto Rican parade in Humboldt park, and his first response was “so you think you’re Puerto Rican now?” Rather than falling for his guilt trip bait, I responded “ No entiendo ingles.” I then proceeded to speed to Division. 

How do we address our prejudice? 

First, let’s briefly talk about the shared history of sugar production in Louisiana and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States in 1898, a consequence of the Spanish-American War, and included in the agreement known as the Treaty of Paris in 1898. As a result of U.S. occupation and military leader Charles Herbert Allen. The island of Puerto Rico became an island of exploitation, sugar production, and the origin of the American Sugar Refining Company. You know this company today as Domino sugar. Puerto Rican natives and workers are vulnerable to the violation of human rights yet, under the jurisdiction of a government intentional about the profitization of the commodity known as “sugar.” 

What are the commonalities of Puerto Rican and African culture?

More than the vestiges of sugar cultivation, is a long history from artisanship to activism. Preserved wooden carvings, Congolese masks, and Kokabola coconut masks, and various forms of material culture that are shared between Taino Indians and Africans. While the congruency and creativity of indigenous and African cultures valued through artwork, the division and regurgitated prejudice widens the gap between W Division in Humboldt park across to Jeffery over East. 

What are the continuities and connections of Puerto Rican and African American injustice? 

History is not solely about the chronology of dates and facts, but the continuities and connections that stitch together patterns and through lines across geographical boundaries. For Chicago’s sake, our history stitches the open wounds of redlining and gentrification that have unravelled the seams of strength, self-determination, and sovereignty.The continuities of activism in Humboldt park and the West side of Chicago are found in the shared objectives of Cha Cha Jimenez and Fred Hampton. Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez alchemized the Young Lords organization into a political group advocating for affordable housing, healthcare, food, and mobilizing power against gentrification. In the same light, the charismatic leader Fred Hampton, was persistently proactive in the care of the Black community, firmness against displacement, and persistence concerning food and housing initiatives. So how do we lose sight of the essence of efficacy across cultures? As high rises, tax increases, and sneaky Starbucks encroach upon the Woodlawn, South Shore, and Pilsen neighborhoods, don’t let your prejudice cloud your judgement and common interest against gentrification and displacement.