Puerto Rico, Island Of Racial Harmony?

Code Switch

NPR

Society & Culture

4.6 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2020

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Many Puerto Ricans grow up being taught that they're a mixture of three races: black, white and indigenous. But on the U.S. census, a majority of Puerto Ricans choose "white" as their only race. On this episode, we're looking into why that is, and the group of people trying to change it.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jean Dumbi. I'm Shireen Marisol Maraji and this is Code Switch from NPR and we're here with our colleague Adrian Flodido
0:07.6	Who's now working full-time for NPR's national desk, but I mean you just can't stay away. I mean
0:12.4	Because he loves us. What's not to love? Hey you too. I miss you. I miss you. Hey. I miss you every day. We miss you too
0:19.2	But you're here and you wanted to start this off with music. Uh, yeah song
0:25.0	By Ruth Fernandez who was a famous Afro-Portarican singer the soul of Puerto Rico they called her
0:32.6	And the lyrics are from a famous poem written in the voice of a black Puerto Rican talking to a white
0:39.0	Puerto Rican
0:47.6	She says yesterday you called me black
0:55.3	I
0:58.2	But today she says I got an answer
1:09.6	She says my mom my mother she sits in the living room
1:18.6	Hmm, but what about what what about your grandmother where is she?
1:23.2	And the implication here in in the sun is that this white guy has his grandmother hidden away
1:31.6	And she's hidden away because she'll give away the family secret
1:35.7	So what's the family secret that the white Puerto Rican dudes grandmother is actually not a white person?
1:41.9	Right that that she's that she's black
1:44.4	And
1:50.4	And the lyrics are pretty famous in Puerto Rico because they get it's something that isn't you know talked about very very much on the island racism
1:59.2	And yet even more specific anti-blackness yeah, and and to that point she reen
2:04.8	You know, it is census season right now. Is it census season? Is it really census season?
2:10.0	It is census season
2:11.6	Jane and you know this
	...

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