Puerto Rican Day Parade Raises Many Questions

Has The Puerto Rican Day Parade Forgotten Its Roots?
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 12: Revelers in an FDNY fire truck parade up Fifth Avenue in the Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 12, 2011 in New York City. The Puerto Rican Day Parade draws hundreds of thousands and was first celebrated in New York City in 1958. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 12: Revelers in an FDNY fire truck parade up Fifth Avenue in the Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 12, 2011 in New York City. The Puerto Rican Day Parade draws hundreds of thousands and was first celebrated in New York City in 1958. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

In the 1950s, before they became a prominent part of New York City’s tapestry, Puerto Ricans often found themselves unwelcome as they tried to carve out a place for themselves: sometimes beaten by their neighbors, given the lowest-paying jobs and even at times disenfranchised from voting by English-only literacy tests.

So, in 1958, Puerto Rican leaders decided to hold a modest parade where they could march arm in arm with pride through the heart of Manhattan. Fathers taught their children about their roots by pointing to floats dedicated to Puerto Rican towns known for coffee beans, bananas or sugar cane. Mothers tapped their feet to the African-inspired drum music that evoked memories of growing up on the island.

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