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1-1-2007 "I Was the One Percenter": Manny Diaz and the Beginnings of a Black-Puerto Rican Coalition Ande Diaz Roger Williams University, [email protected]
Sonia S. Lee
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Recommended Citation Diaz, Ande and Lee, Sonia S., ""I Was the One Percenter": Manny Diaz and the Beginnings of a Black-Puerto Rican Coalition" (2007). Office ofn I tercultural Center Staff Publications. Paper 3. http://docs.rwu.edu/intercultural_staff_pub/3
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The rest of the ci ty had va ri ous re sponses to such an interracial demon "I Was the One Percenter": stration of grievance. "When East Harlem turued out for the integrati on Manny Diaz and the Beginnings boyeou, it was the first time in the community'S history, or the city's, that Puerto Ricans joined with Negroes in protest and pursuit of a w mmo n l of a Black-Puerto Rican Coalition goal," proudly claimed Patricia Cayo Sexton, a social worker in cast Harlem . Bayard Rustin boasted that th e most significant fac t in thi, protest was tJlat "Negro and Puert o Rican communities had j oined SONlA S. LEE A.."ID ANDE D1AZ together to work for common objecti ves.'" Many Puerto Rican leaders, however, did not sharc Sexton and R ustin's cnthusiasm. A month later. when Gercna organized a subsequent march from City Hall to the Board lNTROUUCTlO~: THE DlLE~1MAS OF A NE\" AI.I.IANCE of Educati on offi ce to focus all ention on the plight of Pu"rto Ri" an chil dre n a mo nth after the boycott., numerous Puerto Riean leaders de On [he morning of Fe bruary 3, 1964, Manny Dial woke up wondering nounced his decision. Pentecostal ministers from East Harle m tltoclarcd. how many Puerto Ric'an , [ud"ms would not go to school that day. Puerto "Politics and Christ don ' t mix," while others claimed that Gerena was a Ri cans were known for having thc highest high school drop-our and sus· "Communist."5 Gerena la ler confessed that he "received vicions auacks pension ra t.e in New York City, but the reasons for stu dents' absences that. by some of our racist Puerto Ricans" for his collaboration with blacks, day were de liberate. premeditated, and volunt. ary. for more than t. wo while Diaz revealed that somc Puerto Ricans told him that "he was too decades since urban renewal pruj et: ls ~cgn!gatcd th em into increa "natural" about the ir decision to coalesce forces; rather they came to FROM ISLAND nOY TO CO)1MUNITY ACTIVIST: gethe r through a comlllon be li ef th at a coalitio n woul d stra tegicall y TnE FORMATION OF A POLITICAL AND RACiAL lDEl\'TITY serve the interests of both groups. The IllOSt significant barrier th at separate d bl ack and Puerto R ican Born in 1922 in Humacao. Puer10 Rico, DiaL felt comfol1able socializing communities initiall y was th e differe nce between lh e ir rac ial consc ious with li ght and dark -skinned Puerto Ricans since hi s childhood . Son of ne sses. Black racial conscio usness taught them that the world was Filome na Zoe Ve lazquez. a SC8l11slress. and Manuel Diaz Gomez. a m u stric tly divi ueu between whites and b lacks. Pue rto R ican racial con sic ian ancl bodega owner. DiaL was born in a family thm had experienced sciollsness, however, provided a m uch more fluid syste m of social hi e r generati ons of interrac ial mix in g. Diaz's hometown, H um.aeHu , wa ~ an arc hy. As poli tical scientist Mark Q. Sawyer and others argued, Pueno Ricans, as weJJ as their neighboring islanders, such as C ubans and Do minicans. developeu a -system of "inc1 usionary disc ri mina ti on ," in which a rcal system o f discrimination based on shade gradations functioned in tande m with a per("c i l'cd system of incl usion.' Puerto R icans made diffe renti ations between " li ght" and "dark" physical complexion, suc h that the majority of the Puerto Rican upper class was "bia nco" (white) and the m ajority o f the lower class was "negro" (black) or "mil /oro " L (mixecl). Tlh' percep tion, however. thaL one coul d " white n" oneself through intcrracial marring(; or sLl cialmo bi li ty, leu all of Ih em. wheUler "hlan co" or "l1eg ro," tu bd icvc llml tht'y beloogeu Lo a raciall y inclusive, clCTllOcral ic socicly. Pue T1 0 Ri cans who rni gr ~l cd 10 New York City in the postwar rcaliLe<.i that. they conld no 1011£" , holu llrliO their P llCrlO Ri can rueial , cnsibilities once They CO " fronted ll1C more bi nary ~yslC m orAr neri (: an rac ia l segrc gat ion A, sociologist Sa muel Bc:(anccs nrgucJ. li ghter Puerlo Ricans sa\v that th eir privileged statlls as "blallco" (white) in Puertll Rico became un certai n amon g whi le AIllt:r1ean s who migh l nmv view them us belonging 1.0 an iT1ferior " PlI cno Rican race:' " hile uar!"er P uerto Ricans saw tbat t. heir social stigma as "negro" in Puerto R1CO wuuld dete riorate if they heca l11 e "black" in tire U.S.' As a group of mib'Tltll ts witb a ntcially am higuous identit.y. they rcaliLcd thnt they coulu harness the social privilege of whiteness as lri ~h , hallan, and Jewis h inu])igrants lli d---ur ut leas t at tempt. to do so- nt' they could fot'ge a c oaliti on toward raci al and eco nomic equality by identifying with and allying with black Americans.') Dial cbose tbe lallcr and successfu lly led many other Pueno Ricans to fol low him. He chose to form fri emb bips and alliances w ith blackA.II1cricans ami adopted their political strategies because he found Pueno Ricans' best allies among civil ri ghts acLiv ists. By doi ng so, he sbaped P uert o Ricans' positioning within the terrains of U.S. polit ics. ",hich would allcct many generations to come. Manny Dia" wil h parents on Harlem rooftop c. 1934. 56 Journal of American I':thnic Ili~tor-y I Spdng 2007 l.ee ~Hld l>ia7 57 important sugar cane growing area of the island since the nineteenth cen Su rprisingly, however, Diaz's experi ence with w hites was never ab tury, ancl as a result. it had been popolated by a large number of African solutely hostile. In his memories, at least, he preserved the stories of slaves. Having grown up in an area of the island with an especially heavy whites who humiliated him, but also of those who genuinely befriended African presence, Diaz claimed that, "at the age of five, my mental set was him. In Biloxi, Diaz recounted that he was partially protected from the already ... there's nothing wrong with being black." lo trauma of such an experience because hi s four white fri ends, who had It was not untjl hejoined the U.S. Anny Signal Corps in 1942, however, come from the '.: orth , showed the ir di sapproval of the bartender's racism. that he began to understand that he might be "black." Ironicall y, by fi ght When they came out of the bar. one of hi s friends. an Irish man named ing for his own country, he began to realize how diffe rent he was from Shortly Dolan. "threw the bottle on the w indow of the bar, the window other Amcricans for the first time. Puerto Ricans from the island were shattered, and we started running." The shattering of a window may have drafted into the 65th Infantry Divi. ion during World War II , but Puerto cost the bartender little damage compared to Diaz's humiliation, but in a Ricans from the mainland were conscripted into white and black units s mall way, his friends had protected Diaz's dignity. The soldier from arbitraril y. I I As Diaz cxplained. "As a Puerto Rican, they never knew how Texas also broke down his barriers once they began to work with e ach to classify us. It depended on who looked at you behind that desk whether other in the kitchen. "Lo and behold, atier two weeks, this guy and I be you went into one army or th e other 'U'Iny. I have some blonde, blue-eyed came good friends. That was unexpected. For th e tirst couple of days, I c ousi ns who went into the black army. I was put into the white army." wouldn't even talk to him. But I t'uess the hardship of being a KP Whether hi s selection into the white army was a sign of good or ill fonune, (kitc hen police) brought us together.";' Such were the contrailictory ex he hegan to experience anti-black racism for the til's! time in his life by periences of a Puerto Rican rnan caught in the midst of an arbitrary sys training in a white platoon in the South. tem of racism-he was humiliated and protected, be littled and be friended. He experienced racism tlrst hand. but still recognized the fear, We were sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. That was the hellhole ambivalence, and humanity of his enemy. Diaz saw that he had been un of the un iverse .... They decided to give us a furlough, so my j ustly kept from certain opportunities-for example. he knew that he self and four other guy, went into a bar in Biloxi. We ordered five had never been able to reach a rank beyond a corporal because he was beers. The bartcnder placed a beer iu front of all my buddies. but caught drinking heer in the barracks. an act overlooked for many of hi s not in front of illC. So I asked him, where is my beer" He said, white peers. Even so. he was able to go to the white PXs (Post Exchange "Back there, boy." He had a beer for ille at the end of the counter stores) in England where he passed as w hite. "While I am Pue rto Rican. of the bar, so J said, "No thank you." I told my buddies I'd wait for I could pass," he ex plained." As Diaz trave led through the American th em outside. South and Europe, he realized that hi s racial identi ty was geographically contin gent-he was a Puerto Rican in New Yo rk City. a black man in This was the first time Diaz had heen publicly humiliated due to hi s skin the South. and at times a white man in Englancl As he began to under color. After such an experience, Diaz vowed, " \ never wanted to go back stand how arbitrary the syste m of racial hierarchy was, however, he be to Biloxi again,,'I:! gan to feel a "kinship toward black peopk." This incident, howeve r. would not be Diaz's last encounter with white His idr ntificati on with black i\tucrieans solid ified when h~ entered the racism in the SOllth, During a dress parade, Diaz got into a fight with a Ci ty Colk ge of ~ew Yo rk (CCNY). A t CCNY, Di az met Kenneth B. wbite soldier [rom Tnas who hacl stepped on hi s heel repeatedly. " 'Hey, Clark, a black psychologist who would soon become hi s mentor an d the wa tch it" " Diaz warned him. "He stepped agai n u third time, and I just scholarly architect of the BmH'I1 v. Board ofEdllcar;OI1 e01)rt decision whirled around and punched him on the nose." Whcn the two of them were of 195-1 . " He jusl opened m y eyes and opened my mi nd in terTlls of summoned by their captain, they both were se ntenced to tWIl weeks on raci~m .... I knew it was bad, I knew J was bei llg discriminated ng ainsl, kitchen police duty, which meant that they had to peel potatoes everyday but I had ne\'er seen it in a context, a societal contex t as Ken C lark p ut [or a couple of hundred soldiers. Such experiences made hi m aware that, it," ex plained Di87:." Whil e taking all the classes that Clark offered at though he was not as dark as some African Americans, he was not white. 13 CCNY hetween 19-1(; and I ()~ I and later writing a master's thesis under 58 Journal of American E1hnic Il h tuf) I Spring 2007 Lt~c ::tn d Diaz 59 his supe rvision, Diaz began to understand the mea nin g of hi s experienccs the teachings of Kenneth Clark and Malcolm X, Diaz hccarne dee ply com in the contex t of the larger political forces that dete rmined hi s choices. mitted to pursue racial and class equality by the end of hi~ formal educa As a co ll ege student interested in understanding class a nd racial op tion in the late 1950s. Hi ~ tlr ~t experienccs as a social worker. however. pression, Diaz also joined the National Association for th e Advancement proved very challeuging as he was thrown into the thick of ethnic battles of Colored People (NAACP) chapter at CCNY. Diaz explained that, even between Puel10 Ricans and white ethnic immigrant> in Eas[ llarlem and though he was not black, "The NAACP was my first choice hecause the re the Lower East Side. He fi rst began to work as a social worker at the was no other choice.'·J7 In thc late 19405, Puerto Ricans did not have ef Union Settle ment in East Harlem in 1953. William Kirk, the Settlement's fecti ve structores through whicb they could voice their political opinions. director, hired Dial not onl y because he had all the right crede ntials, bLll The Puerto Rican Aliflflza Obrera (Workers' Alliance) and the Liga Pun· also be cause Dia7 was Pu erto Rican and a former gang member. As a lorriquei/a (Puerto Ri can League) had urganized Puerto Ri can socialists young boy, Diaz had belouged to the Dukes, the most notorious Puerto in the I \l20s. but they were no longer active after th e 1930s. I ' Vito Mar Rican gang in rca st Harlem in th e I 930s.'J He had joined th e gang simply cantonio. congressman of the 17tb District in East Harlem from 1936 to for self-protection because "if you didn 't belong to a gang, yoo were de 1950, represented Puerto Ri cans' most loyal political advocate in the years fenseless."" Thi s experience, however, would prove in\'aluable to him in previous to World War II. The onset of the Cold War and McCarthyislll , the late I\ISO , si nce cit y ,ocial workers were desperately trying to solve however, effecti vely destroyed his political strength since he was seen as the problem of juvenile delinquency among Puerto Ricans. having [00 lllany "communist political tendencies." 19 When a large num· The cit y had seen an enOrmous emergence of youth gangs since the ber of l'uel10 Ri can migrants camc to New York City following World War 1940s. Althoogh Iri sh and It alian gangs previously were viewed as com 11 . the Migration Division of the Offiee of the Commonwealth of Puerto monplace and refl ecti ve of a healthy level of male adolescent boisterous Rico helped them deal with the primary issucs of housing, jobs, and edu ness. youth gangs became a social menace whe n th ey became racially cation.'II The Commonwealth Office, however, could not provide a means charged and more violent in the postwar eraH As th e number of black of expression of the most politically radical Puerto Rican voices since it southern and Puerto Rican migrants coming into the city incrcasc:d , Irish was an institution constrained by the U.S. and Puerto Ri can govern· and Italian yu uth gangs began to defenu their turfs. Simultaneously, as ments.') Lacking networks w ith powerful Pue rto Rican political groups, World War II veterans returnecito their old neighborhoods. th ey intro DiaL sought for alternative places wherc he could further hi s own intel· duced youth gangs to more sophisticated weaponry, allowing th e youth Iectual development. He found his home at the NAACP chapter at CCNY to substitute knives, homemade revolvers, and rifl es for sti cks, stones. and As a graduate stodent at Columbia Univcrsity's School of Social Work. bottles.'" The use of more sophisticated weaponry was pre,alent among Diaz met Malcolm X in the early 1950s and forged a friendship that would Italian , Iri sh, black , and Puerto Rican youth ali ke, but tbe media bcgan to eo large his role as a civil rights acti vist. When he he,n'd Malcolm X speak focus its anenti on on llie violence of black and Puerto Rican youth gangs. fo r th e first time. Diaz saicl. " I was awc,tricken, I really was. [I fett] ad Movies, novels, and newspaper articles recounted storics after stories miration. revereoce. all of these thin gs. I was surprised he would even talk of young black and Puerto Rican yoong males, who had dropped out of to me." Upon Malcolm X's in vitation, Diaz was able to share a c up of hi gh schoo l. de pended on welfare, engaged in c rim inal acti\'ity, and had coll'ee and his own life story. ··1 Ie was asking me about the Puerto Ricans psychological problems. In movies such as Kn ock 0 11 Anv Dour ( 1949). in New York. and what were our problems. and how do wc reel about wh ite urb an missionari es . such as teachers, doc tors , nUlls. priests, and racism and so fo)1h ... so we ki nd of hit it off. I felt more relaxed and pol ice officers. were portrayed as those who would save these urban sav more able to share on a fricnclship basis, not just an awcsome figure that ages. They were ini tiall y rejected. often raped, assaulted. and deni grated. happe ned to wa lk through my life."" To a young man who was looking but eventually they de li vered the delinquents from their mi serabl e li l'es2f for inspiration, Diaz's personal encounters witb Malcolm X left a deep im In reality, juvenile delinquency had resulted largely from the social dis plint on his poli tical views. ruptions caused by urhan renewal. Since the I 940s. urban renewal proJects Having hall a personal experience of racial di scrimination whi le serv displaced poor New Yorkers into new neighborhoods that lacked social in g ill lhl:: U.S. army and having contcxlu alized such experiences through cohesion . Title I of the Housing Act or 1949 created the Urban Redevclop 60 .lourn.11 of Anwrican Ethnic History I Spring 2007 Lee and Diaz 61 me nt Agency and gave the federal govemment the autbority to subsidi ze of the new land . the Puerto Rican influx offers a great chall enge.'·" Their three-fourths of the cost oflocal slum clearance and urhan renewal. A de determination seemed honorable, but how exactly would they ove rcome sire to revive the city with modem te chn ology led politicians and business thi s challenge? leaders in l\ew York City to replace slum buildings with new lu xury apart Dia7. was Lh e perfect solution to their problems-he had both the offi ment buildings, offices, medical hospitals. and research uni versities. Al cial credentials and the sodal inte ll igence to deal with gang member:.. A though poor whites and non- whites alike were displaced. non- whites bore year after the report, William Kirk hired Diaz as the tee nage supervisor. the brunt of the instahi lity brought by urhan renewal. Once di splaced, th ey Two weeks into th e program. Diaz's credibility already was tested. Three had more difficulty findi ng alternative housing and often ended up pay members of th e Rebels, an I talian gang, had vowed to "get rid of the ing more for rent than white residents 28 He nce, civil ri ghts activists often blacks and spics before Christmas." At the time, the Union Settlement had referred lO "urhan renewal" as "Negro remo val.·· 29 M ov ing from neigh a meager number of black and Puerto Rican members, but Diaz recog. borhood to neighhorhood and transferring from one school to another, ni zed th at this was "a power struggle as to who was this new guy who's the children of poor hl ack and Pu erto Rican migrants became the most taking over our program." After Diaz issued a two-week suspension to helpless victims of urban re newal and structural racis m. Boys often gang members for briuging weapons into the settlement, one of the Rebel tried to regain their dignity and mascu linity within the sub-c ulture of leade rs dresscd in a "zoot suit, and a long c hain below his knec," carne youth gangs, hut in turn they became inc re aS ingly ma rginalized as so up to him and said. "Don't you li ve at 1062 COlgate Avenue? Don't you cial olilcasls. 30 have a wife named Alice? Don't you have a daughter named Lisa'?" Fa The white leadership of the Union Settlement in East Harlem under mili a ,. with such intimidation ta ctics, Din responded, "Motherfucker! stood that both structural injusticc and dlC individu al choice of youth gang You 'd better pra y that my wife and my daughter don't faU down a flight of members caused juvenile delinquency. hut they desperately lacked the stairs o r get run ovcr by a taxicab . . . but if anything should happen to killlW-how to effectively reach out to the youth in their neighborhood. The them. I'm goi ng aftcr your lhroat. And it ";; you and Ill e." Surpriscd an d inll ux of Puc Ito Rican migrants and the out-migration of Italians and Jews perhaps pleased by Manny's familiarity with hi s street language. the Rebd into the , lI burhs h3d significantly cha nged the face of East Harlem in th e membe r then laughed aud said, ·'Ok, I' ll come back in a couplc of weeks:' 1940s. Je wish synagogues became Pcnt.ecostal churches. and Italian gro As Dial. explained years later, " lhat was the point at which I eamed my ce ries beca me hodegas. ·; ; Ye t. the old resident" did not know how to adjust Master's in Social Work. becau se I dropped all my school training. and 1 to the newcomers. In 1952, settlcIllent leaders ex pressed some of their went to being a IiLlk gangster in the streets of East H"rlem. " ~ l concerns with the Pueno Rie,ln community in East Harl em in a re port [t was also the turning point for the Settleme nt. After this incident, titled ··New Yo rk C ity's Pu erto Ri ca ns: Asset or L ill bili ty "" They were black and Puerto Rican gang members joined the Sctl.lemcnt. By opening alarmed that Pueno Ricans' mOu A into the city had overloaded the city"s up the SetU ement to bl ack and Puerto Ri can yout.h. Diaz was able to shape relief roll s. They also could not undefl>tand why '·the juvenile del inquency a larger racial transformation of East Harlem as a ncighborhood. Settle rate is bigher in East lIarlem than in an} oth er palt of thc ci ly ... land I the ment organi zati ons, churches, schools, and public housing in East Harlem narc ot ics problem has never been as seri ous as it i, today ..· Given that opened up for blacks and Puerto Ricans. such that by 1960. it became 40 per Puerto Rican migrants made up more than 30 percent of East lIarl em, they cent Puerto Rican, 30 percent black, and 10 percent Italian." Furthermore. seemed to be 4uite a liabil ity for the neighborhOod. '2 The scrtlemelll house during hi s six years of work as a program director at Uni on Settl ement, leaders, however. did not hlame them completely. They ackll O\, ledgcd that Diaz strategicall y used his leadership to train many other Puelto Ri cans. language and color bru:riefl>, along wit h lack of ,"ill s ami hou>ing proh In 1954. he brought Toni Pantoja into the Settlement. Through the Settle lems, aggravated the social problems of lhe Puerto Ricans. Despite their ment's resources. , uch a$ lcJephones and mill1eograph machines. Pan , u,picion shout their new neighbors, the "port co nc luded that it was the toja. Diaz, a nd many othcr Puerto Ricans formed the Hi spanic Young Settlement', role 10 help Puerto Ricans assi mi late into Ameri~an sudet}: Adult Association (HYAA) .'" Through HYAA, Puerto Ricans such as ··the task of assimilmion i ~ ... gigant iC. To the Uni on Settlement, which Maria Canino, Josephine Nieves, John Carro, Herman Badillo, and Marta has aided generati ons of newcomers to avai l themsch·es of the possibilities Valle came to learn the basics of community organizing and formed the 62 Juurnal HI' AmcriCfi u Ethnic Hi .... tory JSpring 2007 Lee and Vi.az 63 Puerto Rican Forum a nd ASP1R A , an educati o n advocacy g roup for pired to create new modes of political res istance and transformation. By Puerlo Rican youth.3' Many o f the m foll owed the footsteps of Diaz by engaging in sit-ins in 1960, black and white coll ege stude nts in Greens pursuing degrees in socia) \vork and e ngaging in community organi zing boro, North Carolina, inrroduced a new form of non-vio le nt c ivil disobe through the Settlement. The Settlement's role in organi zing them was so dieuce to a nation hungry for change. That same year, sociologists Richard crucial that Dial later claimed that, " if anybody ever w rites the history or A. Cloward and Lloyd E. Ohlin proposed a new way to understand j uveni le the development of the Pue l10 Rican community in New York in accurate delinquency. By arguing that juvenil e delinquency was the result of a "di s terms, the Settlement would have to play the central role, nut in the lead crepancy between aspiration and oppol1uniry" instead of psychological and ership, but in the facilitatio n."" cultural patho logies, they call ed fo r a " reorgani zation of slum communi ti es."'" Cloward and Ohlin's theory became know n as th e "opportunity the JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AM) NAT10~ CIVIL RIGHTS: ory" s ince it argued that juvenile delinquents lacked not illlelligence or cul FO RGING NEW ALLIANCES TO FIGHT POVERTY ture, but rather 0PPoI1unity. When John F Ke nnedy becam c the president in 1961 , sucb a theory led the new administration to create programs that Dial had successfully trained local Puerto Rican leaders through the Set would tackle juvenile delinque ncy in s ixteen locations across th e country tlement. hur hy 1960, he became illvolved in a larger, national m ovement by solving the problems of poverty rather than cultural pathOlogy. Instead that aimed to eradicate poverty and racial discriminalion. The decade of providing youth with rehabilitative programs, they would offer them broughl a nev.' wave of aCl ivists and thi nkers acruss the country who as jobs and education. By 1962, a gl'OUp of sociologists, social workers. and public officials in New York City, funded by the President 's C ommittee on Juvenile Delinquency and the Nntional Institute for Mcntal HcaILh , de cided to launch Mobilization for Youth (MFY) in the Lower East Side. the lirst e,x perimental anli-povellY program in the countlY'" Hav ing met DiaL Ihrough the Columbia Ulliversity School of Social Work, Richanl Cloward rcf'erred D ial to lvU:Y, wbere he was hired as the di rcelOr of community affairs ami special projects. As the only Puerto Ri c.11l staff to be hireu ful l ti lll~ in a prop 'am IlK·ated at a predominantly Puerto Rie:1Il n ~i ghb o r ho od , DiaL, would pl aya ('fll ciul role ill the org.a nilat lo n. Initially. MJ-'Y leaders did not know how to organize Puerto Ricans. Puerto R ican migranls had j u.,,( hecomc a signi ficant enough presence in Ihe c ity that public ofticials began to pay attention to them in Il le 1950s. but it waS Do t dear whether they shoul d be treated as black or white. Th~ President-s Committee Executive Director David Haekcll and A ltomey General Rohel1 F. Kennedy o riginally selected the Lower East Side as the first testing lahoratory for an ant i-poverty program because it was seen a" a ne ighborhood of white immigrants. incl uding [ uropC'lIlS from Polancl. the Ukraine. and Iwly. According to Herbert Krosney, author of Beyol/d We//are; f'o vc/'tv ill rire Stlpercirv (1966), "the fact that there were white, in lhc I1cigbborhootl maue good propaganda and a guod public image." ' Neighborhoods MICh as Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant, w hi ch were known '" black neighborhoods, would not get federal fu nds fo r their iYfanny Diu/ tDuring Rnhen F. KelUledy around the Lower F.il,r Side of New youth programs until the government tested its j ll venile delinquency pro York City. c. 1963. gram with a safer. "whiter" neighborhood. argued Kr o:-.ney.11 JournaJ uf American Ethnic History I Spring Z007 64 Lee and [liM 65 In realit y, however, the Lower Ea assimilationist Puert o Rican-individual hard -work would guarantee W hen President Lyndon B. John son announced his ambitious "War on th em a way up, so there was no need for an organi zed social prOiest. Poven y" agenda in t. he summer of 1964. he in advertently opened up the To Di az. however, such hopes were fooli sh dreams. He had given the m civil rights agenda to Puen o Ri cans. DUling his firs t. State of the Union ad up after experie ncing white racism in th e World War II army and, most dress on Ju ne 8, 1964, he called ro r "an un conditional war t. o defeat recently, in th e I.ower Easl Side. As soon as Pue rt o Rican mothers from poverty" and proposed the "maximum feasible part ic ipa tion" by poor MFY began to orgnui ze Lhemselves and demand betLcr housing and edu people themselves to determine their path out or povcrty. Alth oQgh most cation. newspapcrs such as the Nell' York Tim,'s began LO denounce th e Americans understood that the War on Povert y was a program designed to group a.s "red-infesLcd," "ridden by scandal," and hopelessly inefficient . alleviate black povert y, Puerto Ricans seized th e raciall y ne utral language MFY leaders pleaded with public Mficials in the c ity to be gi ve n a fa ir of the legislation to fight against their own poor condiLions. Following chance to "slage orderly proLests against unfavorable conditions" and sim the Preside nt's announcement, " group of black, white, and P ueno Rican ply to practi ce de mocracy, but their acti ons were db missecl as "commu civil rights acti vists in New York City gath ered to discuss Puerto Ricans' nist" and "s ub versive ." Like many o ther c ivil ri g hts orga ni za ti ons stifl ed need to create independent structures of power. The designers of th e by anli-Communist hysteria, the MF Y became subject to vicious attacks HARYOU-t\CT's program, Cyril Tyson and Kenneth C lark, and Dircc by those who fe lt that they brought too much Change too rapidly. Paul tor of MF Y Richa rd C loward met with Pantoja, Diaz, and Gerena. To Screvane, chairman of the Mayor's Poverty Council and the Anti-Pove rty gethe r, they concluded that the powe r base of Puerto Ricans in New York Operati ons Board, had come to tbe concl usion th at the group was too un City was severely limi ted . Because thc only institution that reprcsel\led predictable and thus th at it needed to be brought un cler city offi cials' ex tbeir needs was the O nice of th e Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Puerto aminati on and controP9 Such experi ences taught Diaz that Puerto Ricans' Ricans had li mi ted access to lobby ror change. The Commonwealth Of advancement c o n ~ rantl y would b" sti tled by more powerfu l white leaders fice's mandaLe was to ease a d j u ~ l m e nl issues fur in coming PucrlO Ri cans. and tb at th ey would perpe tuall y be treated as second-closs citizens. Iden but not to challenge discriminatory practi ces. Puerto Ricans did not have tifyi ng wit h blacks' de faCiO status as second-class citi zens. Diaz began a ny civil righ ts organi zations equi vale nt to bl ack Americans' Nati o nal to sec that adopting bl ack poli tical tactics acru all y might help Puerto Ri Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Na cans fo nn political cohesion as "Puerto Rican" in a white-dominant world. tional Urban League (N UL), or the Congress of Racial Equali ty (CORE). By 1964. seve ra l other Puerto Rican leaders began to reach similar con all of which had extensive national networks. Furthermore, P uerto Ri clusions. Antonia Pantoja, who was working at the Commission on In ter cans lac ked a physical space that th ey could conLrol, such as black group Relati ons (COIR). also began to see th at the plight or Puerto Ricans Harlem, because they were scattered th roughout seventeen differe nt and black Americans might not be too di ffe re nt. Although , he previously neighborh oods in New York City·' The absence of a Puerto Rican ncigh hod worked exclusive ly with P ue rto Rican groups such as ASPIRA and borh ood mea nt th at they coul d not apply for rederal funding based o n the Puerto Rican Forulll in Ihe early I % Os. she bega n lO und erstand the ne ig hbo rh ood affili ati on like black leaders in Harlem and Beclford natu re o f racism in th e U.S. by working with me mhers of the NAACP. Stuyvesant had done. If Puerto R icans were scattered th roughollt the city, th e Urban League. and the Ame riean lcwish Committee through the Com how would each cl uster of Puerto Ri cans apply for funding separately'7 mission. S be realized that in th e U.S. it did not matter whether she was Cloward offered the m the pe rfec t solution- he called it the "holdi ng as dark as a lI eg ra (dark-ski nn ed with kinky ha ir) o r as light as a grifa compa ny."·' He suggested that a core group of Puerto Ricans apply for (light-ski nn ed wi th kinky hair) . As she worked closely with com direc federal a nti -poverty funding through a ho lding company. which would tors, s he confessed. "for the first time. I unde rs l.O od that I was a black thc n develop contracts with different groups ofPuetto Ri can organizat ions woman." She began to lIl eet with black leaders of th e Harlem Youth Op scall ered throughout th e city. The holding company would offer a salary portuniti cs Unl imited·Associated Community Te ams (HARYOU-ACT), for the director and would pay for rent and t.e lephone se rvice.s, but the who were organizing an anti-poverty program in Ce ntral Harlem. By rest. would be left to the devices of each organi zation ill Eas t. Harlem. the working with them, she began to envision how Pnerto Ricans could de South Bronx. Williamsburg. and oth er neighborhoods. Diaz. Ge rena. an cl ve lop a similar plan to attack povert y within the ir community'" Pa ntoja all agreed 6 ] Under the leaders hip of Pantoja, the Puerto Rican 72 Jourllul of Amcrkan Ethnic History I Spring 2007 Lt'.t' and I>iaz 73 Foru m submitted a proposal and received $42,000 fro m the cily's admin more than money lo organize th eir conununities; they needed sustained re istrationM Through Gerena's hometown groups, wbicb were Puen o Rican lationships of trust and a common vision thai would help pcople overcome groups organized by th e island hometowns from which they came. a hun petty competition for money or positions of power. dred Puerto Ri can community leaders signed up to head anti-povcrl Y pro Fo r black and Puerto Rican anti -poven y leaders in particular, they grams in their neighborhoods. Through Di n's work ex perience with the needed a muell broader visio n than a simple call for "minority" ri ghts or MFY, these Puerto Ri can leaders began to learn th e basics about corrunu a common "while" enemy in order to work with each other-they needed nity development and youth leadership programs. Aft cr six months of to understand how racism worked differently among their particular com truining, these Puerto Rican leaders, along with seve ral Puerto Riean so omnities, and how they themselves perpetuated racist patterns of thought cial workers from the Puerto Rican Forum, ofticiall y formed tbe Puerto with one another. They needed to see tllat black xenophobia was no less Rican Community Development Project (PR CDP)65 Of th e PRCDP, Diaz damaging than white xenophobia, and Puerto Rican racism waS no less later explained, "that was the first time these organi zati ons were able to traumati zing th an white racism. breatlle. It was st,u·ters. It worked beautifully."66 Nevertheless, many of them came to see each other as common vic· A year later, Diaz was able to secure additional funding to the PRCDP tims of ra cia li zati on and coloni zation. Puerto Ricans and blacks bOlh by talking dire<.:tl y to Sargent Shriver, director of the Offi ce of Equal Op were U .S. citi ze ns, but th ey were accorded a second-class statu s and portunities in Washington. DC. Diaz had met Shriver while working for the treated as a racial "Othe r." In many ways. the discrepancy bel ween their MFY, and was U1U S able to secure an appointment with him. He took along ofllcial and actu al status led both groups to feel mOre reSentmenl regard · with him fou r of his good fri end s: lawyer Joe Erazo, Reverend Ruben ing the in feriority imposed upon them, at th e same time that it provided Dmio Col on, businessman Luis Hernandez, and labor o rgani zer Gerena. more freedo m to voice th eir gri evances. Unlike typical immigranls, When th ey staled the case of Puerto Ri cans in New York City to Shriver, he Puerto Riean protesters did not have to fear deportation. As Puerlo Ricans responded positively, but demanded an immediate proposal : "Get thee a began to see th at they were being racialized in th e same way as black hotel, get tllce a secretary, and get thee a proposal on my desk hy 9 anI to Americans. and as bl ack Americans began to view themselves as subj ec ls morrow morning." After staying up all ni ght, they submitted a proposal to of "internal coloni ali sm," th ey found a common identity as coloni al and 69 Shriver the following morning, and received $3.5 milli on for the PRCDP. racial subj ects This was an iucredible feat-$3.5 million wa s more than they had ever The lives of Diaz and hi s allies thus left a deep lega~y of cross-racial expected. Tt was ten times less than the $40 million th at black anti-povert y coalition building fo r many blacks and Puerto Ri cans wh o began to see groups in New York City had received, but they kn cw that Pu crto Riean bOlh groups through a common lens. Diaz insisted th at it was al ways "is Ncw Yorkers were insignificant to most Washin gton official s. I'illed wi lh sues" Ih al made strong coalitions possible. To him , a coalili on-bui lder great cxcitemenl and hope, Di az and others retu rn ed to New York to launch needed lO ask four quesrjons before committing to an issue: I) is it rele lhe nati on's fi rsl Puerto Rican anti- poverty program. 67 As Robert de Le6n, vant? 2) is it understandable and accessible? J) is it of critical importance anolher anli-poverty leader, recounted, "T was convinced we were going and 4) is il fe asiblc or workabl e?"'O to end the War on PoverlY. Because there was so much money, we thought, Cross-ethnjc allia nccs were not merely professional. Diaz's three mar my God, we cannot gu wrong. We're gonna do this ."6S riages lO womell of Jewish, Scottish, and Pueno Rican ,mcestr)' illustrated Diaz's choice lo trust people across ethnic lines. His pu bli c reputation as CONCLUSION: A LEGACY OF CROSS-ETHNIC ALLI A;\I CRS somebody who was "tight with everybody" demonstrated that creating re lationships of tr ust was a way of life to him. For Diaz, having a racial or As many U.S. hislorians have shown. Lc6n was wrong. They could not ethni c identity entailed defending the rights of their group whenever such do it. and they did not do it. As many came to see after th e years of great rights were trampled upon, but it did nol create circles of absolute inclusion hope and anticipation. solving the pro blem of poverty required mu cb morc nor exclusion. Diaz allowed people of all shades and ethni cities to enter than simply giving the poor an "opportunity" for a job- they needed rcal his circles of fri endship and alliance, but he constantly lestcd whieh of jobs. Anti-povert y leaders themselves came to see th at they needed much th em he could IrU SI. He argued that healthy coalitions were bui lt not as a 74 .'ournal (If A.me rk ml Ethnic II bto r~1 I Sflring 2007 Ll;'c .md Diaz 75 result of "progressive and enlightened humanita ri a ni sm," but rather as a rrom the JOllma/ (~l ;\ me r it:(J/1 F:tllI/.h Hisfol), ror the ir cll t"O uragcmenl and thOfOUgh reY ie\\ result of "w nflicting and contending social movements re fl ecting differ o r lhe IlIilIl UScript. 2. G ilhe llo Geren 15. PoSt exchange is ,\ service marl.. u'tt!t1 1'01 a st ore on a military base that !jells good~ nOOI ( 1949), Rlackboard JI/ngle ( 1955), Rock. Rock. Rock (1956), e,y TOl/8h (1959), The (0 mililal), personnel and Ihl.!i r r<1 lTlilie ~ or 10 authorized civi lians. From Ihc American Her YOIflI8 SOl · age.~ (1961 ). ;'Uld W(',H Sid,.. SfOry (1961) , iUlge DictiOIlOlY a/the Eng/iJh 1..I.lI1guage. I-ounh Edition (Boston, 2000). 28. While bl:lcks and Puerto Ri can~ compri e;ed onl y 13 pe rl:en t of lite ~i t y' s population J6. Intt'fview Wilh Manny Diaz by Blanca Vazquez. Octobe r 3,2002. jJi 1950, they mude up 37 pe rcent of the displaced . 1\ survey of Pue n o Rjean te na nt s in 17. Interview wilh Man ny Diaz by Blanca VClzq uez, Oc tober 3, 2002. the mid-1 950s n~ vl~aled Ihat Pucrto Ricans paid more in monthly re ms (S49 on average) 18. V irginia E. Sa nchez KOrTol. From Co/cm;o (0 Cmllllltillily: The Hi slOIY ofPuerto than non-whiles (S43) li nd whilc') ($37). From Schneider, Vampires, Vragolls. Wid Egrl" Ricans in Ne w York City (Berkeley, r A, 1983), 195; Ce ~u.r Andrew Iglesias, cd .. Mem ian Kings, 42-44. o ir.~ of IJt'I'ltardo Vega: A COl1lribll/iOJl 10 /h(' Hi,llOn' of'he /J//e n Q Ricall COII/llwn;r)' in 29. Jewell Be ll ush and Murray II all-.knecht , " Rdo(.;Cllion ll nd Manuged Mobility," in New York (.:-Jew Yor!.... 1984) I fir&! edited as Memorias de! Bcnw/'do VeNa by C~sa r An Urban R(!nC'H'a(: People. Politin, lIIU/ Plonning, ed. Jewell Be lltl ~ h a nd Murray drew I g l e~ia:::. and published by Ediciones Hurac~n in 1977, tnlJlslmed b) Juan Flores H.II, knoeht (Garllen City, NY. 1967).37 1. in 19841. 30. RichMd A. Clo'Wu rd a nd Lloyd E. Ohlin, f)eIiJlquew' )' und Oppommi/J: A The 19. " Puerto Ricall c; Gel Campai gJl ,",,',uning," New York Timf',\, OCloher 17. 1949. orr of f)elinqlwl1t GangJ. (Glencoe, IL. ) 960). 20. Operati on BOOlstrap, an imJlI ~ lria li L.a lj o n program designed by New Deal adm in 3 1. Dan Wakdie ld, Islllnd illlhe Ciry: the World ofSpanish Harlem (Boston. 1959), 16. istralOrs in the 1930s 49. By 1960. bJacks tomprised l-t percent or the c it)'· ... populiltlon, but Puerto Ricans profit organizations to ~p in orf n l~W Mf li cturCS. Em ~i il correspondence with Cyril Tyson made lip n liu Ie over hair of thai amount at 7.9 percent. Li ghter-skinned Puerto Ricans may by Antle Diaz., January 17, 2007. huve had (In easier Lime gelting jobs than black Americans. bUI Puerto Ricans as a com 63. In terview with Manny Dia? hy Soni a I.ee. July 28, 2005. munity lacked blacks' nalional political in ftut.:m:c. (J4. Pantoj a. M emoirs {If (f Vi5iollory. 111 - 19. 50. Interview with Manny Diaz by -Sonict u.~ c . July 28. 2005; (;UrreSpnfHIt!.nce wit h 65. lmcrview with ,V1 ann y Diaz by Sonia Lee, July 28, 2005: Pucno Rican Forum. Tltt' Gil bcrto Gerena-Va lL' nlin by Sonia Le<.·, St'plew ber 12.200.'). Pu(-rro Riel/II COlI/lIlIIllity ()t'lTlopmel1r Proj(!cr: VII ProYP.f"tO PIIl.' rlorriqueiro de Ayuda 5 1. I\l:lnny Dial nnd Rol;llHl Cintro n, "Schoollntegra tioll and Quailty Educati on." Mutlla para el De.wrmllo de 1(1 COII/unidad (~ew York. I~ 75) . Pueno Rican leaders whu Januilry 13. 1 9~ , Microform 11. Bayard Ru <; tin Papers. 11,)4 · 1987, (Frederick, Y1D . 1988), headed PRCDP includt:"d Francisco Tri ll u. Joseph Erazo. Erasto Torre :-. . M:lria Cmino. Government Documems and Microforms. Harvard L'nivcrsit} Pablo COll o , Monscrrme Flores, Julio He rn fm del.. Lui s Qucro Chicsa. Max S anog:t1t!t, 52. iJiaz. and Cinrr6n. "S choo l l Jll egr ~ t[ i o n and Qmtlity & IU C; il ion." and Jo.<., ephi ne N i t"\'t:~. 53. Diaz ;;lf1d Cintron. "School lntegration and Qu~di t y [ Jue ;lIion."· I)ia/'!) ~Iale me nl 66. Inten 'iew willi M.llln y Diaz by Soni ~1 Lee, Jul y 2K. 2005. thut Pue rt o Ri c:.ms werc nOt iJ1 t e re~t~ d in rm;ial inlegr:J1ilJll 1"13'; heen echoed by several 67. COl1\'ers:J uon with M;lllny Din. J o~c J\![oralcs. and Jose Morale<;, Jr., by Soni a Lee. oth er Pue rl O Ri ciHl community leaders a nd seh01ars, such as Soni a Nieto. As [\ former h nuary 22. 2005. It'!;)cher in P.S. 25, New York City's fi rst bilingual school. ,\Jie lo claimed thaI "lflte gration 68. Interview wlt ll Robel1 de LeO n hy SO n.i :l Lee, July 2 1.2005. wa<., \'iewed as a large ly black and white issue. and Pue rto Ri c..' ans and others who did not 69. Robert B I ~l lJ IlC r , Racial Opprf!H ion in America {""Jew York. 1972): RaU16n Gros fi lilently 111[0 these e.negorics were often excluded from co n ~j I'rofe!otsQr of Social Policy in Fordbnrn Unj\ \-----I I ~ 1 Ii