Author: y.livian

Introduction:

• The film can allow viewers to understand the racial discrimination the Puerto Ricans faced in New York City at the time.

Plot Summary:

• A short analysis of the film based on my thesis.

Puerto Ricans in New York:

• Why they came to New York
• How they came
• When did they come
• What Americans thought of them
• I will use Briggs’ novel “Reproducing Empire as it teaches us a lot about people views towards the Puerto Ricans.
• Ex: Most New Yorkers were not happy about this as they believed the Puerto Ricans were poor people who cause problems.

Body #1: Gangs

• Jets vs. Sharks
• How the jets started the issues between the two gangs
• We see that racism is evident, as the Puerto Rican immigrants are harassed and assaulted by the Jets, a neighborhood gang composed of the Anglo, Italian, Polish, and Scandinavian second-generation immigrants that lived in the neighborhood prior to the arrival of the Puerto Ricans.
• All of the members of the Jets are immigrants from European countries, yet they treat the Puerto Ricans like trash, saying that they are “foreigners” and ought to go back to Puerto Rico.
• I will use one of my New York Times articles:
• The Other Puerto Ricans: Headlines have obscured the fight that most must make against slum living and intolerance. The Other Puerto Ricans

 Body #2: Cops

• Officer Krupke and Detective Schrank, treat the Puerto Rican’s with contempt. They refer to them as “PR’s” and “Spics”, along with other racial slurs. At one point in the musical, Detective Schrank asks Riff, the leader of the Jets, where the fight with the Sharks will be. He confides in Riff that they are on the same side and that he will even “lend a hand” in the fight against the Puerto Ricans.
• I will use one of my New York Times articles:
• ‘I Don’t Think the Cop Is My Friend’: So say many of New York’s Puerto Ricans, accusing the police of prejudice and brutality. And the police retort: ‘Why don’t they learn their responsibilities as citizens?’ ‘I Don’t Think the Cop Is My Friend’

Conclusion:

• restate thesis that has been proven

• Ethnoracism and the “Sandwiched” Minorities- http://search.proquest.com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/214765882/449149CE585E4B8APQ/1?accountid=8500
• THE PUERTO RICAN PARADOX: Colonialism Revisited- http://search.proquest.com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/218141662/E4B15F90FBCB4243PQ/2?accountid=8500
• Nation, Migration, Identity: The Case of Puerto Ricans- http://search.proquest.com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/222648085/810FDB77F7EC4B96PQ/4?accountid=8500

I was able to locate these sources on the Baruch Newman Library database.

I will be writing about Option #1: West Side Story

West Side Story is a musical that explores the rivalries of the “Jets” and the “Sharks.” The “Sharks” from Puerto Rico are in a rivalry with the “Jets” who are from America. The two gangs both believe that they are the kings of the streets. Tony, who was a former “Jets” member and best friend to gang leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria. Maria is the sister of Bernardo, who is the leader of the “Sharks.” At the dance, Tony and Maria started dancing, which got Bernardo furious. Bernardo being the protective brother he is forbade Maria to see Tony and made her leave the dance. Maria and Tony were very in love and the two started to secretly see each other without the gang members knowing.

In Briggs’ novel, “Reproducing Empire,” we learn a lot about what people thought about the Puerto Ricans. In the mid to late 1940’s many Puerto Ricans moved to New York. Most New Yorkers were not happy about this. They believed that people who are Puerto Rican are poor and cause problems. Joseph Monserrat once said that when he was raised in Harlem he was often called a “Spik.” “I am now referred to as being culturally deprived, socially disadvantaged and a product of the culture of poverty.” We see that the whites were really not accepting of the Puerto Ricans.

In the film, West Side Story, the Puerto Ricans are poor and do at times cause problems. Although we are not finished with the film yet, it is clear to us the the whites are not accepting of the Puerto Ricans and the Puerto Ricans want nothing to do with the whites.

On Monday we saw part of the film “White Zombie.” The film takes place in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The film is a little strange as we see that Zombies exist. Zombies were generally used as servants or slaves to people of power, or people who had the power to create them. Similar to our readings, the majority of the population of Haiti are blacks, and the slaveowners are whites. In “The Magic Island,” by W.B. Seabrook which also takes place in Haiti, we see that Blacks are not slaves and are now considered equal to whites. Owners very much disliked the fact that blacks were now equal to them and that they now have to pay them. We see many similarities within the movie and passage. In the movie there was a couple who was looking to get married. They came to this mans house to do so, however the man had different intentions. He was in love with the lady and wanted to marry her himself. He didn’t know what to do and in the end he decided to Poison her and eventually turn her into a zombie. He of course did not do this on his own, he got help from a zombie specialist and one who has many zombie slaves. This specialist decided the he wanted the lady to himself adding another slave. In both the reading and the passage we see that although the blacks may not be slaves anymore, the zombies now are. People desired having slaves which led to them turning zombies into slaves.

In Browns article “Icons, Shamans, and Martyrs” we learn a lot about the slaves living in Jamaica at the time. Slaves were constantly killing themselves because they believed that death was better than being a slave. They would rather be dead than have to go through such terrible things. Henry Coor said that the terrible punishments, hunger, and unbearable workloads led to slaves to killing themselves: “I remember fourteen Slaves, that it was generally said, and I believe it was, from bad treatment, that them rise in rebellion on a sunday, who ran away into the woods, and all cut their own throats together.” These slaves believed in reincarnation, the belief that there is life after death. Owners would put the heads of the dead people on poles to try and prove to their slaves that reincarnation did not exist. Slaves would constantly gather to speak about their culture and their beliefs of reincarnation. They also practiced Obeah, which is the practice of harnessing supernatural forces and spirits for one’s own personal use. Today I went to the African Burial Grounds. I found that this article shared many similarities to the exhibit I saw. The exhibit showed us how the Africans stuck to their culture at all times. African funerals were not allowed at the time, however they would still find a way to bury each other by the way of their culture.

“What a striking difference exists in many respects between the rosy-cheeked milkmaid of London, and this, her stable sister of the milk-way of Kingston – in dress, manner, and complexion how dissimilar!” (123)

Isaac Mendes Belisario was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1795. He trained with famous artist Robert Hills. Belisario is famous for his series of lithographic prints: Sketches of Character. The image above is known as the Milkwoman. This lithograph shows us that racist London criers affirmed and naturalized blacks as ugly and dirty people, and considered whites as beautiful and healthy people. In regards to the image, Belissario states: “What a striking difference exists in many respects between the rosy-cheeked milkmaid of London, and this, her stable sister of the milk-way of Kingston – in dress, manner, and complexion how dissimilar!” This quote shows us a lot. The Milkmaid of Kingston is showed as some dirty lady, who has big feet, and wheres no shoes. People of colored were not considered the same as whites. Whites looked down upon them. The whites thought that they were better, prettier, and pretty much more perfect. Belisario’s drawing give us an idea of what the general view of blacks was, and shows us how little respect the whites had for them. Overall, Belisario’s lithographs give us viewers “amusement” based on mimicry.

“The rebel leaders were men who had enjoyed their masters’ trust.” (15)

This is a very interesting quote mainly because the leaders of the revolt, were the privileged slaves who were treated better then most slaves. These slaves had many more advantages, lived much better lives, and were treated harshly like most slaves. Robert Gardner, a privileged slave at the time even states the he “was quite happy.” (16). It was almost as if he was white himself. Many of the leaders were men who were class leaders and deacons in the Baptist church. These slaves had decent jobs, such as John Tharp who was a driver and a “Doctor-man,” and Thomas Dove who was a literate headman at Belvedere. These slaves were inspired to rebel by newspapers of the abolitionist movement. Its shocking that the privileged slaves led the rebellion because these privileged slaves never really had any issues with the whites and were treated rather well. Most would expect the slaves who were treated harshly to lead the revolt. The main difference is that the privileged slaves have a voice. They are respected by others, including whites, and they have the ability to actually help make a change. This revolt was later named the Baptist War, because of its identification with the Baptist.

1. What convinced the Privileged slaves to lead the revolt?
2. Why were certain slaves treated better than other slaves?

“The dominion of the master had to be absolute…but that absoluteness made the master something other than human as well.” (Colin Dayan)

I agree with Colin Dayan on this quote. In the 1800’s African Americans suffered from slavery. They were held as slaves for the sole reason being that they are colored. Slaves were not paid by their masters and were treated poorly. In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglas, and in the Dread Scott Decision in 1857 we see examples of slaves who were tortured by their masters.

In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” Frederick Douglass tells us what he went through while being a slave. Masters made sure their slaves were uneducated and made sure they would never be educated. Douglass mentions to us that he doesn’t even know his age and so do to most slaves. His father was a white man, one who he didn’t know well. His father may have even been his own master, which is just cruel. Douglass tells us a story of when his Aunt Hester went out one night knowing that she would get in trouble for doing so. She was brutally beaten. Her master, Captain Anthony, was known as “a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slave- holding. He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave.” While beating Aunt Hester we see how little respect he has for her: “Now, you d — -d b — -h, I’ll learn you how to disobey my orders!” We learn a lot from Frederick Douglas on how terrible slaves were treated by their masters.

In The Dred Scott Decision of 1857 we learn a lot about a slave who goes by the name of Dred Scott. The Dred Scott Decision was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on US labor law and constitutional law. It stated that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into the U.S., and sold as slaves,” whether they were slaves or they were free, were not considered or allowed to be an American citizen and therefore they were not permitted to sue in federal court. Scott unsuccessfully sued for the freedom of himself and his family. Scott said that since he and his wife lived in Illinois, a state in which slavery was illegal, they should be freed. We see from this that people of color were not treated as people by not only their masters, but also by other white citizens.

“This regime is going to be changed; a new order of things will be born, and the old slavery will disappear. Yet do not think that the liberty that you will enjoy means laziness and inactivity……..you will no longer suffer the humiliating punishments previously inflicted upon you. You will be your own master and live contended.” (122)

Leger Sonthonax and Etienne Polverel were sent to Saint-Domingue to prepare the general emancipation of the slaves. Slaves were treated terribly by their owners, and change was needed. In this quote the two men say that everyone is free, everyone will be paid for work, everyone can be their normal self, and everyone can finally be happy. Of course Kings most probably wouldn’t like this as they are only content when they are around slaves. People need to be treated equally. Color should have nothing to do with your Social class order. All African Americans who are currently in slavery are free to now do what they want, as they are now a regular French citizen. The fact that slaves were treated so terribly, had so much work, and were not even paid is just so sad. These people deserve to be paid and finally they will be getting paid for their hard work. In this quote Sonthonax also says that just because you are free doesn’t mean you should be lazy and inactive, you should continue to work hard, and for this you will be rewarded. The African Americans never did anything to harm anyone and they did not deserve to be enslaved just because of their color. This is the change that they have been waiting for for a while, a change that they deserve. If someone hurts their worker they will be fined and possibly lose their salary. These new laws are a big change for all the citizens, some may not like these changes, but these changes needed to happen.