The Puerto Rican Avengers are assembling. That was a reply written to me on Twitter about how Donald Trump’s hateful Madison Square Garden rally has inspired Puerto Ricans to vote against him in the upcoming election.
The bat signal went out, and superstars such as Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, The View’s Sunny Hostin, and Jennifer Lopez, among others, answered the call. On Thursday night, Lopez gave a passionate and emotional endorsement for Kamala Harris at her Nevada rally and said every Latino in the country was offended by Trump’s racism.
Numerous articles have been written about how 900,000 Puerto Ricans live in swing states, such as Pennsylvania, and they could be “the October surprise” that tilt this election for Harris. Reggaeton star Nick Jam even pulled his previous endorsement of Donald Trump following the hateful comments.
However, a bigger, ongoing story is missing from our headlines and history books. There are more important issues at play even beyond the election. There’s the story of U.S. colonialism and the dehumanization of Puerto Ricans which has led to utterly disastrous conditions on the island, in which millions can fight and die for our country, but still can’t vote for the next President. They are denied the path to self-determination and still neglected after surviving a devastating hurricane.
I invited Boricua expert and a Godfather of Puerto Rican journalism, Julio Ricard Varela to break down the historical context of the long-justified anger and frustration of Puerto Ricans and how they are exercising their power. Varela is the editor and founder of the excellent new The Latino Newsletter and a frequent contributor to MSNBC.
We go beyond the headlines and dig deeper into why Americans need to finally start listening to Puerto Ricans and paying attention to our fellow citizens who have been historically ignored and demonized.
Grab a chai and give us a listen!
Puerto Ricans Are Flexing, but Will America Finally Listen?