City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 5-2018 Suing for Spanish: Puerto Ricans, Bilingual Voting, and Legal Activism in the 1970s Ariel Arnau The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2602 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] SUING FOR SPANISH: PUERTO RICANS, BILINGUAL VOTING, AND LEGAL ACTIVISM IN THE 1970s by Ariel Arnau A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2018 © 2018 Ariel Arnau All Rights Reserved ii Suing for Spanish: Puerto Ricans, Bilingual Voting, and Legal Activism in the 1970s by Ariel Arnau This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ___________________ ____________________________________ Date Clarence Taylor Chair of Examining Committee ___________________ ____________________________________ Date Helena Rosenblatt Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Thomas Kessner Robyn Spencer Lorrin Thomas Victor Vazquez-Hernandez THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Suing for Spanish: Puerto Ricans, Bilingual Voting, and Legal Activism in the 1970s by Ariel Arnau Advisor: Clarence Taylor This dissertation examines how the legal activism of a Puerto Rican group of activist-lawyers and community members contributed to the reshaping of voting law and language policy during the 1970s.