Stateside Puerto Ricans

Stateside Puerto Ricans

Erik Estrada Sonia Sotomayor Nicholas Estavillo Susie Castillo Carmelo Anthony Jennifer Lopez File:Samuel Ramirez.jpg Samuel A. Ramirez, Sr. Ana Ortiz Horacio Rivero, Jr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias Joseph M. Acaba Rosie Perez File:Lin-Manuel Miranda WH.png Lin-Manuel Miranda Victoria Justice Hans Hertell Rita Moreno Esai Morales File:AidaAlvarez.jpg Aída Álvarez Victor Cruz Mari Carmen Aponte
Regions with significant populations
throughout the Northeast, Florida, Chicago Metro Area, and Cleveland Metro Area, with growing populations in other Southeastern States
Languages
Spanish and English
Religion
Protestant, Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Criollos, Mestizos, Mulattos, Taíno, African people, Europeans

A Puerto Rican American (Spanish: Puertorriqueño americano or Puertorriqueño estadounidense), or Stateside Puerto Rican, is an American born in either Puerto Rico or the United States that is of full or partial Puerto Rican origin and has lived a significant part of their lives in one of the states of the United States or the District of Columbia."

At nine percent of the Latino population in the United States, Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic group nationwide, and comprise 1.5% of the entire population of the United States. Although the 2010 Census counted the number of Puerto Ricans living in the United States at 4.6 million, more recent estimates show the Puerto Rican population to be over 5 million, as of 2012.

Despite new demographic trends, New York City continues to be home to the largest Puerto Rican American community in the United States, with Philadelphia having the second largest Puerto Rican community. The portmanteau "Nuyorican" refers to Puerto Ricans and their descendants in and around New York. A large portion of the Puerto Rican population in the United States reside in the Northeastern states and Florida, though there are significant Puerto Rican populations in the Chicago metropolitan area and other areas in Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Texas, and California, among others.

Identity

File:Teartro puerto rico1.jpg

Teatro Puerto Rico (1950s) in the South Bronx, New York.

Puerto Ricans have been migrating to the United States since the 19th century and have a long history of collective social advocacy for their political and social rights and preserving their cultural heritage. In New York City, which has the largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the United States, they began running for elective office in the 1920s, electing one of their own to the New York State Assembly for the first time in 1937.

Important Puerto Rican institutions have emerged from this long history. Aspira was established in New York City in 1961 and is now one of the largest national Latino nonprofit organizations in the United States. There is also the National Puerto Rican Coalition in Washington, DC, the National Puerto Rican Forum, the Puerto Rican Family Institute, Boricua College, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies of the City University of New York at Hunter College, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, and the New York League of Puerto Rican Women, Inc., among others.

Ricky Martin at the annual Puerto Rican parade in New York City.

The government of Puerto Rico has a long history of involvement with the stateside Puerto Rican community. In July 1930, Puerto Rico's Department of Labor established an employment service in New York City. The Migration Division (known as the "Commonwealth Office"), also part of Puerto Rico’s Department of Labor, was created in 1948, and by the end of the 1950s, was operating in 115 cities and towns stateside.

Migration history

Since 1898, Puerto Rico has been under the control of the United States, fueling migratory patterns between the mainland and the island. Even during Spanish rule, Puerto Ricans settled in the US. However, it was not until the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898 that a significant influx of Puerto Rican workers to the US began. With its 1898 victory, the United States acquired Puerto Rico from Spain and has retained sovereignty since. The 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act made all Puerto Ricans US citizens, freeing them from immigration barriers. The massive migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States was largest in the early and late 20th century.

U.S political and economic interventions in Puerto Rico created the conditions for emigration, "by concentrating wealth in the hands of US corporations and displacing workers." Policymakers promoted "colonization plans and contract labour programs to reduce the population. US employers, often with government support, recruited Puerto Ricans as a source of low-wage labour to the United States and other destinations."

Puerto Ricans migrated in search of higher-wage jobs, first to New York City, and later to other cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston. However, in more recent years, there has been a resurgence in immigration from Puerto Rico to New York and New Jersey, with an apparently multifactorial allure to Puerto Ricans, primarily for economic and cultural considerations, with the Puerto Rican population of the New York City Metropolitan Area increasing from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,201,850 in 2012, maintaining its status as the largest metropolitan concentration of Puerto Ricans by a significant margin on the U.S. mainland. However, Puerto Ricans are also moving to other states in large numbers as well, and Central Florida currently is the top destination among the Puerto Rican community in the United States.

New York City

See also: Puerto Rican migration to New York and Nuyorican

National Puerto Rican Parade in New York City, 2005.

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, large numbers of Puerto Ricans migrated to New York, especially to the Bronx, and the Spanish Harlem and Loisaida neighborhoods of Manhattan. Labor recruitment was the basis of this particular community. In 1960, the number of stateside Puerto Ricans living in New York City as a whole was 88%, with most (69%) living in East Harlem. They helped others settle, find work, and build communities by relying on social networks containing friends and family.

For a long time, Spanish Harlem (East Harlem) and Loisaida (Lower East Side) were the two major Puerto Rican communities in the city, but during the 1960s and 1970s predominately Puerto Rican neighborhoods started to spring up in the Bronx because of its proximity to East Harlem and in Brooklyn because of its proximity to the Lower East Side. There are significant Puerto Rican communities in all five boroughs.

Philippe Bourgois, an anthropologist who has studied Puerto Ricans in the inner city, suggests that "the Puerto Rican community has fallen victim to poverty through social marginalization due to the transformation of New York into a global city." The Puerto Rican population in East Harlem and New York City as a whole remains the poorest among all migrant groups in US cities. As of 1973, about "46.2% of the Puerto Rican migrants in East Harlem were living below the federal poverty line."

The struggle for legal work and affordable housing remains fairly low and the implementation of favorable public policy fairly inconsistent. New York City's Puerto Rican community contributed to the creation of hip hop music, and to many forms of Latin music including Salsa and Freestyle. Puerto Ricans in New York created their own cultural movement, and cultural institutions such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

New York City also became the mecca for freestyle music in the 1980s, of which Puerto Rican singer-songwriters represented an integral component. Puerto Rican influence in popular music continues in the 21st century, encompassing major artists such as Jennifer Lopez.

Chicago

See also: Puerto Ricans in Chicago

Puerto Ricans first arrived in the early part of the 20th century from more affluent families to study at colleges or universities. In the 1930s there was an enclave around 35th and Michigan. In the 1950s two small barrios emerged known as la Clark and La Madison just North and West of Downtown, near hotel jobs and then where the factories once stood. These communities were displaced by the city as part of their slum clearance. In 1968 a turnt around gang, the Young Lords mounted protests and demonstrations and occupied several buildings of institutions demanding that they invest in low income housing.

Division Street (Paseo Boricua) in Chicago, facing east from Mozart Street, one-half block west of California Avenue.

Demographics of Stateside Puerto Ricans

Race

Half of the Puerto Rican American population is of Southern European descent, primarily descending from Spain. A large portion of the population is made up of multi-racials, especially mixed race groups such as Mulatto, Mestizo, and Tri-racial, having significant amounts of European, African, and Taino ancestry. There are a smaller number of Afro-Puerto Ricans.

"Race of Major Hispanic Groups: 2010" (PDF). Pew Hispanic Center.

Race by Puerto Rican national Origin, 2010
Country of Origin	White	Black	Taino	Asian	Mixed-race
Puerto Rico	53.1%	8.7%	0.9%	0.5%	36.7%
Total: 4,623,716	2,455,534	403,372	42,504	24,312	1,697,944

Population history

In 1950, about a quarter of a million Puerto Rican natives lived "stateside," or in the United States. In March 2012 that figure had risen to about 1.5 million. That is, slightly less than a third of the 5 million Puerto Ricans living stateside were born on the island. Puerto Ricans are also the second-largest Hispanic group in the USA after those of Mexican descent.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1910	1,513	—
1920	11,811	+680.6%
1930	52,774	+346.8%
1940	69,967	+32.6%
1950	226,110	+223.2%
1960	892,513	+294.7%
1970	1,391,463	+55.9%
1980	2,014,000	+44.7%
1990	2,728,000	+35.5%
2000	3,406,178	+24.9%
2010	4,623,716	+35.7%
Source: The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives

Population by state

Relative to the population of each state

The Puerto Rican population by state, showing the percentage of the state's population that identifies itself as Puerto Rican relative to the state/territory population as a whole is shown in the following table.

State/Territory	Puerto Rican-American Population (2010 Census)	Percentage
Alabama	12,225	0.3
Alaska	4,502	0.6
Arizona	34,787	0.5
Arkansas	4,789	0.2
California	189,945	0.5
Colorado	22,995	0.5
Connecticut	252,972	7.1
Delaware	22,533	2.5
District of Columbia	3,129	0.5
Florida	847,550	4.5
Georgia	71,987	0.7
Hawaii	44,116	3.2
Idaho	2,910	0.2
Illinois	182,989	1.4
Indiana	30,304	0.5
Iowa	4,885	0.2
Kansas	9,247	0.3
Kentucky	11,454	0.3
Louisiana	11,603	0.3
Maine	4,377	0.3
Maryland	42,572	0.7
Massachusetts	266,125	4.1
Michigan	37,267	0.4
Minnesota	10,807	0.2
Mississippi	5,888	0.2
Missouri	12,236	0.2
Montana	1,491	0.2
Nebraska	3,242	0.2
Nevada	20,664	0.8
New Hampshire	11,729	0.9
New Jersey	434,092	4.9
New Mexico	7,964	0.4
New York	1,070,558	5.5
North Carolina	71,800	0.8
North Dakota	987	0.1
Ohio	94,965	0.8
Oklahoma	12,223	0.3
Oregon	8,845	0.2
Pennsylvania	366,082	2.9
Rhode Island	34,979	3.3
South Carolina	26,493	0.6
South Dakota	1,483	0.2
Tennessee	21,060	0.3
Texas	130,576	0.5
Utah	7,182	0.3
Vermont	2,261	0.4
Virginia	73,958	0.9
Washington	25,838	0.4
West Virginia	3,701	0.2
Wisconsin	46,323	0.8
Wyoming	1,026	0.2
USA	4,623,716	1.5

The states with the highest net flow of Puerto Ricans from the island relocating there include Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Between 2000 and 2010, these states were the major destinations for Puerto Ricans migrating from the island to the fifty states. New York, remains a major destination for Puerto Rican migrants, though only a third of recent Puerto Rican arrivals went to New York.

Although, Puerto Ricans constitute over 9 percent of Hispanics in the nation, there are some states where Puerto Ricans make up over half of the Hispanic population, including Connecticut where 57 percent of the state's Hispanics are of Puerto Rican descent and Pennsylvania where Puerto Ricans make up 53 percent of the Hispanics. Other states where Puerto Ricans make up a remarkably large portion of the Hispanic community include Massachusetts, where they make up 40 percent of all Hispanics, Rhode Island at 39 percent, New York at 34 percent, New Jersey at 33 percent, Delaware at 33 percent, Ohio at 27 percent, and Florida at 21 percent of all Hispanics in that state. The U.S. States where Puerto Ricans were the largest Hispanic group were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Hawaii.

Relative to the Puerto Rican population nationwide

The Puerto Rican flag in East Harlem in New York City, outside of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, winter 2005 (photo by Angelo Falcón).

Puerto Rican population by state, showing the percentage of Puerto Rican residents in each state relative to the Puerto Rican population in the United States as a whole.

State/Territory	Puerto Rican-American Population (2010 Census)	Percentage
New York	1,070,558	23.15
Florida	847,550	18.33
New Jersey	434,092	9.39
Pennsylvania	366,082	7.92
Massachusetts	266,125	5.76
Connecticut	252,972	5.47
California	189,945	4.11
Illinois	182,989	3.96
Texas	130,576	2.82
Ohio	94,965	2.05
Virginia	73,958	1.60
Georgia	71,987	1.56
North Carolina	71,800	1.55
Wisconsin	46,323	1.00
Hawaii	44,116	0.95
Maryland	42,572	0.92
Michigan	37,267	0.81
Rhode Island	34,979	0.76
Arizona	34,787	0.75
Indiana	30,304	0.66
South Carolina	26,493	0.57
Washington	25,838	0.56
Colorado	22,995	0.50
Delaware	22,533	0.49
Tennessee	21,060	0.46
Nevada	20,664	0.45
Missouri	12,236	0.27
Alabama	12,225	0.26
Oklahoma	12,223	0.26
New Hampshire	11,729	0.25
Louisiana	11,603	0.25
Kentucky	11,454	0.25
Minnesota	10,807	0.23
Kansas	9,247	0.20
Oregon	8,845	0.19
New Mexico	7,964	0.17
Utah	7,182	0.16
Mississippi	5,888	0.13
Iowa	4,885	0.11
Arkansas	4,789	0.10
Alaska	4,502	0.10
Maine	4,377	0.10
West Virginia	3,701	0.08
Nebraska	3,242	0.07
DC	3,129	0.07
Idaho	2,910	0.06
Vermont	2,261	0.05
Montana	1,491	0.03
South Dakota	1,483	0.03
Wyoming	1,026	0.02
North Dakota	987	0.02
USA	4,623,716	100

Even with such movement of Puerto Ricans from traditional to non-traditional states, the Northeast continues to dominate in both concentration and population.

The largest populations of Puerto Ricans are situated in the following metropolitan areas (Source: Census 2010):

1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 1,177,430
2. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA - 269,781
3. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 238,866
4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 207,727
5. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 188,502
6. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 143,886
7. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 115,087
8. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA - 102,911
9. Springfield, MA MSA - 87,798
10. New Haven-Milford, CT MSA - 77,578

Communities with the largest Puerto Rican populations

• New York City: 723,621 Puerto Rican residents, as of 2010; compared to 789,172 in 2000, decrease of 65,551; representing 8.9% of the city's total population and 32% of the city's Hispanic population, are the city's largest Hispanic group.

• Philadelphia: 121,643 Puerto Rican residents, as of 2010; compared to 91,527 in 2000, increase of 30,116; representing 8.0% of the city's total population and 68% of the city's Hispanic population, are the city's largest Hispanic group.

• Chicago: 102,703 Puerto Rican residents, as of 2010; compared to 113,055 in 2000, decrease of 10,352; representing 3.8% of the city's total population and 15% of the city's Hispanic population, are the city's second largest Hispanic group.

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Puerto Ricans (Source: Census 2010)

1. New York City, NY - 723,621
2. Philadelphia, PA - 121,643
3. Chicago, IL - 102,703
4. Springfield, MA - 50,798
5. Hartford, CT - 41,995
6. Newark, NJ - 35,993
7. Bridgeport, CT - 31,881
8. Orlando, FL - 31,201
9. Boston, MA - 30,506
10. Allentown, PA - 29,640
11. Cleveland, OH - 29,286
12. Reading, PA - 28,160
13. Rochester, NY - 27,734
14. Jersey City, NJ - 25,677
15. Waterbury, CT - 24,947
16. Milwaukee, WI - 24,672
17. Tampa, FL - 24,057
18. Camden, NJ - 23,759
19. Worcester, MA - 23,074
20. Buffalo, NY - 22,076
21. New Britain, CT - 21,914
22. Jacksonville, FL - 21,128
23. Paterson, NJ - 21,015
24. New Haven, CT - 20,505
25. Yonkers, NY - 19,875

Communities with high percentages of Puerto Ricans

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentages of Puerto Ricans as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010)

1. Holyoke, MA - 44.70%
2. Buenaventura Lakes, FL - 44.55%
3. Azalea Park, FL - 36.50%
4. Poinciana, FL - 35.82%
5. Meadow Woods, FL - 35.11%
6. Hartford, CT - 33.66%
7. Springfield, MA - 33.19%
8. Kissimmee, FL - 33.06%
9. Reading, PA - 31.97%
10. Camden, NJ - 30.72%
11. New Britain, CT - 29.93%
12. Lancaster, PA - 29.23%
13. Vineland, NJ - 26.74%
14. Union Park, FL - 25.81%
15. Allentown, PA - 25.11%
16. Windham, CT - 23.99%
17. Lebanon, PA - 23.87%
18. Perth Amboy, NJ - 23.79%
19. Southbridge, MA - 23.08%
20. Amsterdam, NY - 22.80%
21. Harlem Heights, FL - 22.63%
22. Waterbury, CT - 22.60%
23. Lawrence, MA - 22.20%
24. Dunkirk, NY - 22.14%
25. Bridgeport, CT - 22.10%

The 10 large cities (over 200,000 in population) with the highest percentages of Puerto Rican residents include:

1. Rochester, New York: 13.2 percent
2. Orlando, Florida: 13.1 percent
3. Newark, New Jersey: 13.0 percent
4. Jersey City, New Jersey: 10.4 percent
5. New York City, New York: 8.9 percent
6. Buffalo, New York: 8.4 percent
7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 8.0 percent
8. Cleveland, Ohio: 7.4 percent
9. Tampa, Florida: 7.2 percent
10. Boston, Massachusetts: 4.9 percent

Migration trends

File:PR Migration 1995-2000.jpg

Puerto Rican migration patterns, 1995-2000 (graphic by Angelo Falcón)

New York was the only state to register, the reasons for and impact of these declines have yet to be fully researched. Especially in the New York case, this has been the subject of much speculation but little serious analysis to date. But it is quite clear that most of the migration was to Central Florida. Between New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago, the cities with the three largest Puerto Rican populations, Philadelphia is the only one that actually seen an increase, while the other two have seen decreases. This is probably due to Philadelphia's proximity to New York City, and its cheaper cost of living. In addition, despite this decline, New York City remains a major hub for migration from Puerto Rico and within the United States.

Dispersion

The Puerto Rican population in the United States, 2000 (graphic by Angelo Falcón).

Like other groups, the theme of "dispersal" has had a long history with the stateside Puerto Rican community. More recent demographic developments appear at first blush as if the stateside Puerto Rican population has been dispersing in greater numbers. Duany had described this process as a “reconfiguration” and termed it the “nationalizing” of this community throughout the United States.

New York City was the center of the stateside Puerto Rican community for most of the 20th century. However, it is not clear whether these settlement changes can be characterized as simple population dispersal. The fact that remains is that Puerto Rican population settlements today are less concentrated than they were in places like New York City, Chicago and a number of cities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

Concentration

Residential segregation is a cause of stateside Puerto Rican population concentration. While blacks are the most residentially segregated group in the United States, stateside Puerto Ricans are the most segregated among US Latinos.

• Bridgeport, Connecticut (score of 73)
• Hartford, Connecticut (70)
• New York City (69)
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (69)
• Newark, New Jersey (69)
• Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, Ohio (68)

Stateside Puerto Ricans also find themselves concentrated in a third interesting way — they are disproportionately clustered in what has been called the "Boston-New York-Washington Corridor" along the East Coast. This area, coined a "megalopolis" by geographer Jean Gottman in 1956, is the largest and most affluent urban corridor in the world, being described as a "node of wealth ... [an] area where the pulse of the national economy beats loudest and the seats of power are well established." With major world class universities clustered in Boston and stretching throughout this corridor, the economic and media power and international power politics in New York City, and the seat of the federal government in Washington, DC, this is a major global power center.

Segmentation

These shifts in the relative sizes of Latino populations have also changed the role of the stateside Puerto Rican community. Thus, many long-established Puerto Rican institutions have had to revise their missions (and, in some cases, change their names) to provide services and advocacy on behalf of non-Puerto Rican Latinos. Some have seen this as a process that has made the stateside Puerto Rican community nearly invisible as immigration and a broader Latino agenda seem to have taken center stage, while others view this is a great opportunity for stateside Puerto Ricans to increase their influence and leadership role in a larger Latino world.

Socioeconomics

graphic by Angelo Falcón

Income

The stateside Puerto Rican community has usually been characterized as being largely poor and part of the urban underclass in the United States. Studies and reports over the last fifty years or so have documented the high poverty status of this community. However, the picture at the start of the 21st century also reveals significant socioeconomic progress and a community with a growing economic clout.

The Latino market and remittances to Puerto Rico

The combined income for stateside Puerto Ricans is a significant share of the large and growing Latino market in the United States and has been attracting increased attention from the media and the corporate sector. In the last decade or so, major corporations have discovered the so-called "urban markets" of blacks and Latinos that had been neglected for so long. This has spawned a cottage industry of marketing firms, consultants and publications that specialize in the Latino market.

One important question this raises is the degree to which stateside Puerto Ricans contribute economically to Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Planning Board estimated that remittances totaled $66 million in 1963.

The full extent of the stateside Puerto Rican community’s contributions to the economy of Puerto Rico is not known, but it is clearly significant. The role of remittances and investments by Latino immigrants to their home countries has reached a level that it has received much attention in the last few years, as countries like Mexico develop strategies to better leverage these large sums of money from their diasporas in their economic development planning.

The income disparity between the stateside community and those living on the island is not as great as those of other Latin-American countries, and the direct connection between second-generation Puerto Ricans and their relatives is not as conducive to direct monetary support. Many Puerto Ricans still living in Puerto Rico also remit to family members who are living stateside.

Gender

The average income in 2002 of stateside Puerto Rican men was $36,572, while women earned an average $30,613, 83.7 percent that of the men. Compared to all Latino groups, whites, and Asians, stateside Puerto Rican women came closer to achieving parity in income to the men of their own racial-ethnic group. In addition, stateside Puerto Rican women had incomes that were 82.3 percent that of white women, while stateside Puerto Rican men had incomes that were only 64.0 percent that of white men.

Stateside Puerto Rican women were closer to income parity with white women than were women who were Dominicans (58.7 percent), Central and South Americans (68.4 percent), but they were below Cubans (86.2 percent), "other Hispanics" (87.2 percent), blacks (83.7 percent), and Asians (107.7 percent).

Stateside Puerto Rican men were in a weaker position in comparison with men from other racial-ethnic groups. They were closer to income parity to white men than men who were Dominicans (62.3 percent), and Central and South Americans (58.3 percent). Although very close to income parity with blacks (65.5 percent), stateside Puerto Rican men fell below Mexicans (68.3 percent), Cubans (75.9 percent), other Hispanics (75.1 percent), and Asians (100.7 percent).

Educational attainment

Stateside Puerto Ricans, along with other US Latinos, have experienced the long-term problem of a high school dropout rate that has resulted in relatively low educational attainment.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while in Puerto Rico more than 20% of Hispanics have a bachelor's degree, only 16% of stateside Puerto Ricans did as of March 2012.

Political participation

Puerto Rican Democratic members of the United States Congress Luis Gutierrez (left), José Enrique Serrano (center), and Nydia Velázquez speaking at the Encuentro Boricua Conference at Hostos Community College in New York City, 2004

The Puerto Rican community has organized itself to represent its interests in stateside political institutions for close to a century. In New York City, Puerto Ricans first began running for public office in the 1920s. In 1937, they elected their first government representative, Oscar Garcia Rivera, to the New York State Assembly. In Massachusetts, Puerto-Rican Nelson Merced became the first Hispanic elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the first Hispanic to hold statewide office in the commonwealth.

There are four Puerto Rican members of the United States House of Representatives: Democrats Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, José Enrique Serrano of New York, and Nydia Velázquez of New York, and Republican Raúl Labrador of Idaho, complementing the one Resident Commissioner elected to that body from Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans have also been elected as mayors in three major cities: Miami, Hartford, and Camden. Luis A. Quintana, born in Añasco, Puerto Rico, was sworn in as the first Latino mayor of Newark, New Jersey in November 2013, assuming the unexpired term of Cory Booker, who vacated the position to become a U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Melissa Mark-Viverito was elected Speaker of the New York City Council in January 2014.

There are various ways in which stateside Puerto Ricans have exercised their influence. These include protests, campaign contributions and lobbying, and voting. Compared to the United States, voter participation by Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico is very large. However, many see a paradox in that this high level of voting is not echoed stateside. There, Puerto Ricans have had persistently low voter registration and turnout rates, despite the relative success they have had in electing their own to significant public offices throughout the United States.

To address this problem, the government of Puerto Rico has, since the late 1980s, launched two major voter registration campaigns to increase the level of voter participation of stateside Puerto Rican. While Puerto Ricans have traditionally been concentrated in the Northeast, coordinated Latino voter registration organizations such as the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (based in the Midwest), have not concentrated in this region and have focused on the Mexican-American voter. The government of Puerto Rico has sought to fill this vacuum to insure that stateside Puerto Rican interests are well represented in the electoral process, recognizing that the increased political influence of stateside Puerto Ricans also benefits the island.

Note: C-VAP stands for Citizen Voting Age Population (Citizens 18 years of age and older) (graphic by Angelo Falcón)

This low level of electoral participation is in sharp contrast with voting levels in Puerto Rico, which are much higher than that not only of this community, but also the United States as a whole.

The reasons for the differences in Puerto Rican voter participation have been an object of much discussion, but relatively little scholarly research.

Voter statistics

When the relationship of various factors to the turnout rates of stateside Puerto Ricans in 2000 is examined, socioeconomic status emerges as a clear factor. For example, according to the Census:

• Income: the turnout rate for those with incomes less than $10,000 was 37.7 percent, while for those earning $75,000 and above, it was 76.7 percent.
• Employment: 36.5 percent of the unemployed voted, versus 51.2 percent for the employed. The rate for those outside of the labor force was 50.6 percent, probably reflecting the disproportionate role of the elderly, who generally have higher turnout rates.
• Union membership: for union members it was 51.3 percent, while for nonunion members it was 42.6 percent.
• Housing: for homeowners it was 64.0 percent, while it was 41.8 percent for renters.

There were a number of other socio-demographic characteristics where turnout differences also existed, such as:

• Age: the average age of voters was 45.3 years, compared to 38.5 years for eligible nonvoters.
• Education: those without a high school diploma had a turnout rate of 42.5 percent, while for those with a graduate degree, it was 81.0 percent.
• Birthplace: for those born stateside it was 48.9 percent, compared to 52.0 percent for those born in Puerto Rico.
• Marriage status: for those who were married it was 62.0 percent, while those who were never married managed 33.0 percent.
• Military service: for those who ever served in the US military, the turnout rate was 72.1 percent, compared to 48.6 percent for those who never served.

See also

• Teatro Puerto Rico
• Young Lords
• Puerto Rican people
• List of Puerto Ricans
• History of Puerto Rico
• Demographics of Puerto Rico
• List of Stateside Puerto Ricans

Bibliography

• Acosta-Belén, Edna, et al. (2000). “Adíos, Borinquen Querida”: The Puerto Rican Diaspora, Its History, and Contributions (Albany, NY: Center for Latino, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, State University of New York at Albany).

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External links

• Puerto Rican Americans
• Origins of the Young Lords
• US Puerto Ricans.org Re/envisioning the Diaspora
• Boricuation Cultural Foundation
• Centro De Estudios Puertorriquenos/Hunter College
• Lincoln Park Puerto Rican Oral Histories/Grand Valley State University