A Brief History of Puerto Rican and US Relationships by Now This and Dr. Yarimar Bonilla, Directora CENTRO, Center of Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College
Bio
Victor Fragoso (1944-1982) was a playwright, poet, and Associate Professor at Rutgers University. He wrote the first two books of poetry by a Puerto Rican that explicitly textualizes homosexuality, dealing with both the personal and political aspects. In 2018, an anthology of some of his most remarkable plays was published as Not the Time To Stay, edited and translated by Consuelo Martínez Reyes. The plays “portray the socio-cultural issues Fragoso sought to expose: the choice and difficulties of migration, the clash between US American and Puerto Rican societies, the oppression of Latinxs in the USA, homelessness, and domestic violence, among others.”
.In 1974, Newark turned violent when police attacked a family-oriented Puerto Rican Labor Day festival of thousands at Branch Brook Park. The police started to disperse people when they noticed gambling and drinking on the edges of the park. Allegedly things escalated when a police horse trampled a small child in their attempt to stop the use of a BBQ. People in the crowd threw stones and trash cans at the police. A crowd gathered and set a car on fire, and police withdrew. Hundreds of police were called to the area, guns drawn, wielding clubs, and shotguns. Shots were fired by police and three Puerto Rican men were injured by shots and six others were beaten.
.The riots continued for various days in the vicinities of the park and the ensuing days at the mayor’s office.
.Various community groups had different demands. The most conservative asked for the hiring of more Spanish-speaking police. Another group demanded the removal of the police from Puerto Rican social events, and the creation of a committee to investigate the riots. A third group had more radical demands, including an end to police brutality, a civilian complaints review board, an end to tactical and mounted units, and the firing of the police chief.
Recommended NYT Article
“Puerto Ricans and Police Clash in a Riot in Newark” by Robert D. Macfadden
The Play “Newark, 1974”
Victor Fragoso uses the play to:
.present the circumstances that produced “the riots” (rebellion) and the discourses that surrounded it
.analyze the amount of official and unofficial political power Puerto Ricans held in Newark
.and present debates about issues affecting the Puerto Rican community and methodologies of grassroots mobilization
Presentation(s) by:
Group Debate
Instructions:
- Read Scene 4 and 5 together
- Considering the issues presented by Fragoso and contemporary developments around these social problems, respectfully discuss which position/strategy (would) you support and why.