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At the end of August, the Smithsonian Institution announced the home for the National Museum of the American Latino: the historic Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall. Coming just before National Hispanic Heritage Month, the decision deserves celebration. The stories and accomplishments of Puerto Ricans — and Latinos — will finally have a permanent place at the heart of our nation’s capital.
But a place on the Mall is not the same as a voice in the Capitol or the White House. U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico have endured nearly 128 years of disenfranchisement, with no vote for president and no voting members of Congress, despite contributing more in federal taxes today than several states.
As Hispanic Heritage Month fades into the final weeks of the midterm campaigns, it is imperative that stateside Puerto Ricans, along with all Latinos, show their dissatisfaction with the island’s status quo by voting only for candidates that will back a legally binding referendum on the island’s status that includes an option for statehood. While my organization, the Puerto Rico Statehood Council, supports respecting the will of the majority of voters who have repeatedly favored statehood, we believe it is imperative that Congress grant Puerto Ricans the right to determine their future through a legally binding island-wide vote that will finally enact the choice of voters.
Puerto Ricans have helped shape American life far beyond politics or military service. In New York, Puerto Rican and Nuyorican musicians helped transform salsa into a cultural force, blending Caribbean traditions with the sounds and experiences of the city before carrying that music to audiences around the world. Artists like Tito Puente, Willie Colón, and Héctor Lavoe helped make salsa not simply a genre but part of the soundtrack of American life.
That influence reaches far beyond music. Puerto Rico-born engineer Olga González-Sanabria helped advance battery technologies used in space exploration. Joseph Acabá became the first NASA astronaut of Puerto Rican heritage. Dr. Antonia Novello, born in Fajardo, became the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Surgeon General. And on the battlefield, the 65th Infantry Regiment, the Borinqueneers, served with the highest distinction through some of the nation’s most gruesome wars.
From stages and laboratories to ballparks, public institutions, and battlefields, generations of Puerto Ricans have contributed to the American story while carrying their Puerto Rican identity with pride. Yet despite those generations of contributions to the United States, Puerto Ricans on the island are still denied the same political representation as their fellow U.S. citizens in the states.
Many of the problems that Puerto Rico faces, such as the difficulty recovering from natural disasters, its lower GDP per capita, and its debt, are all symptoms of the same disease: territorial inequality and disenfranchisement. How can Puerto Rico recover from hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts when there seems to be little urgency to disburse the allocated federal relief funds? How can Puerto Ricans grow in wealth like mainland Americans when they are treated unequally under federal laws? How can the island achieve solvency when federal laws that impact its fiscal policy can be passed without voting input from Puerto Ricans?
Puerto Ricans have made clear that they want the star of their island to be added to the American flag. In four consecutive, non-binding plebiscites dating back to 2012, statehood has won a majority amongst Puerto Rican voters.
As Americans, one of the most important things that we can do when we see an injustice is to vote to end it. According to a recent poll commissioned by my organization, 71% of mainland Puerto Ricans and 68% of Hispanic Americans support statehood. By working together, we can translate that support into votes and those votes into policy that will bring real, lasting change to the island.
When you head to the polls this November, ask yourself whether or not the candidates on the ballot support Puerto Ricans determining their own future. If you don’t know, you should call, email, or write your representatives and ask. Just by asking this question alone, you are elevating the importance of Puerto Rico’s status in Washington, D.C., and on the campaign trail because you are the person who matters most to these elected officials — a constituent who can vote.
The new museum celebrating Latinos’ crucial role in U.S. history should be cheered on by all Puerto Ricans and Hispanics who are proud to be American. But even when the museum is completed, the celebrations will ring hollow if Puerto Rico continues to be denied the full and equal rights afforded U.S. citizens in every state. If Puerto Ricans and Hispanics in the continental U.S. vote together, we can end this colonial relationship by giving Puerto Ricans a referendum to choose the equality, freedom, and democracy already enjoyed by their fellow citizens on the mainland.
George Laws Garcia is the executive director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council. Previously, he served as the acting director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.
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What We’re Reading
¡Somos más! Earlier this month, The Latino Newsletter founder Julio Ricardo Varela moderated a Latino Equity Fund session that presented a new data report from UMass Boston’s Gastón Institute about Latino voters in Massachusetts. The full report is required reading for anyone interested in the state’s Latino community, which now accounts for close to 15% of the total population.
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