The Puerto Rican and Allied Struggle for Representation in Chicago, 1950-1983
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Loyola eCommons Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2017 Survival Under Oppression: The Puerto Rican and Allied Struggle for Representation in Chicago, 1950-1983 Marisol Violanda Rivera Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Latin American History Commons Recommended Citation Rivera, Marisol Violanda, "Survival Under Oppression: The Puerto Rican and Allied Struggle for Representation in Chicago, 1950-1983" (2017). Dissertations. 2846. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/2846 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Copyright © 2017 Marisol Violanda Rivera LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO SURVIVAL UNDER OPPRESSION: THE PUERTO RICAN AND ALLIED STRUGGLE FOR REPRESENTATION IN CHICAGO, 1950-1983 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN HISTORY BY MARISOL V. RIVERA CHICAGO, IL DECEMBER 2017 Copyright by Marisol V. Rivera, 2017 All rights reserved. ! TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: THE ORIGIN STORY: EARLY MIGRATION EXPERIENCES AND ORGANIZATION IN CHICAGO ............................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER TWO: THE YOUNG LORDS: FROM STREET GANG TO POLITICAL ACTIVISM ................................................................................................................................. 51 CHAPTER THREE: ORGANIZATION UNDER STATE SURVEILLANCE ........................... 75 CHAPTER FOUR: THE JOURNEY FROM RADICALISM TO REPRESENTATION .......... 105 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 124 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 138 VITA ............................................................................................................................................ 151 iii ! LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. A Trifle Embarrassed, by Udo Keppler, 1898 ............................................................... 30 Figure 2. The Cuban Melodrama, by Charles Jay Taylor, 1896 ................................................... 31 Figure 3. Caballeros de San Juan Photo, Thomas G., 2016 .......................................................... 49 iv ! INTRODUCTION Dime con Quién Andas, Y te Diré Quién Eres is a typical phrase Latino youth hear while growing up. The idiom translates into “Tell me whom you hang out with, and I will tell you what and who you are,” or “You are judged by the company with whom you associate.” The saying applies to the political sphere in Chicago. The company a person affiliates with, social networks, and political allies or adversaries can make or break a political career, affect employment prospects, and determine social and economic opportunities in cities run by established political systems. When Richard J. Daley won the election as mayor of Chicago in 1955, he exerted de facto reign over the city.1 As the Democratic political establishment solidified, Latinos migrated to Chicago in larger numbers during the 1950s through the 1970s.2 Nevertheless, Latinos found themselves without political representation and with few opportunities for political empowerment or economic improvement in the city.3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1Richard J. Daley as mayor of Chicago held the power as both chair of the Cook County Democratic party in Chicago as well as the mayoral office, asserting control of the Democratic political structure within the city. This allowed him to shape the city itself as he saw fit through the use of city services, infrastructure, patronage, and bossism. 2Though migrating in more significant numbers, it should be noted that Mexicans migrated to Chicago as early as the 1910s and Puerto Ricans migrated more heavily during the postwar years. See Arrendo, Innis, Rua. 3See Lilia Fernandez, Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Post War Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), loc 5186. Patricia Mendoza, “Latinos and the Growth of Political Empowerment in Illinois,” in La Causa: Civil Rights, Social Justice and the Struggle for Equality in the Midwest, edited by Gilberto Cardenas, 601-973 (Houston: Arte Publico Press, 2004), 602-678; Congressmen Harold Washington Briefing Notes in Box 25, Folder, 7 and Harold Washington Supports the Latino Community in Box 25, Folder 5 (Chicago: Harold Washington Pre-mayoral Collection). 1 2 The literature on Chicago politics demonstrates that the origins of the powerful Democratic political structure emerged with the election of Anton Cermak as mayor in 1933.4 The Chicago Democratic Party, controlled by ethnic whites, particularly the Irish, monopolized politics and controlled the vast majority of city and other local governmental positions. Democratic Party leaders valued loyalty above all else and exchanged it for “patronage,” including jobs, promotions, and multi-million dollar city contracts. Chicago’s government adhered to a hierarchical structure in which everyone knew what was expected of them, from the ward boss to the precinct captain to the voters themselves. Those placed in positions of power would work for the good of the party, delivering votes from their ward to the appropriate candidate, or face the loss of their employment and patronage.5 Generations of early Irish American immigrants dominated the Democratic Party and did not readily permit other migrants’ participation. Access to high paying, steady, job opportunities, and the ability to advance within Chicago required connections to the correct people. These networks were positioned beyond the social networks of most Latinos.6 Therefore, Latinos often found themselves outside the halls of political power. Yet like earlier ethnic white groups, Latinos realized that obtaining power was necessary for group advancement. This dissertation will investigate the political evolution of Latino empowerment by !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor, American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley: His Battle for Chicago and the Nation (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000), 48-57; Roger Biles, Richard J. Daley: Politics, Race and The Governing of Chicago (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University, 1995), 23-24. 5Cohen and Taylor, American Pharaoh, 1-169; William Grimshaw, Bitter Fruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931-1991 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 94-107; Milton Rakove, Don’t Make No Waves, Don’t Back No Losers: An Insider’s Analysis of the Daley Machine (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 9-10 and 106-131. 6In this dissertation, Latinos will refer to Puerto Ricans and Mexicans and their US-born descendants unless otherwise noted. 3 exploring three Latino organizations in Chicago from the Puerto Rican migration during the 1950s through the election of the first African American mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, in the 1980s: the Young Lords Organization (YLO), the Latin American Defense Organization (LADO), and the Spanish Action Committee of Chicago (SACC). The experiences of the organizations overlapped. These groups comprise progressive Latino organizations in the aftermath of the 1966 Division Street riots–many times, working in conjunction to gain more equity for their community within the city. The YLO began as a youth gang in the 1950s and grew into a political organization by 1968.7 All three organizations grew from Latino dissatisfaction with their lack of political power and representation within Chicago’s political arena. Denied representation within the city, these three organizations were politically progressive groups that worked to create political access in the 1960s.8 Latinos sought to gain empowerment as they moved into the city, yet found themselves with no political representation and no one to defend them. In a city based on a system of quid pro quo, they required an avenue to enter the political sphere. Their long journey for empowerment generated distinct approaches. Some groups worked outside the system as protest organizations voicing their concerns about social and economic needs of Latinos.9 While these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7During their years as a gang, YLO membership began with adolescents near their early teens. Membership in this type of organization was not out of the ordinary for ethnic teens. Whereas this activity allowed access to ethnic whites to gain “whiteness” and all of its privileges, the same cannot be said for all ethnic minorities who followed the same path. This will be further discussed in Chapter Two. 8LADO, SACC, and YLO were officially founded as community organizations in the 1960s after the Division Street riots. The Young Lords existed previously as a gang