Students of the Reporting and Producing Online News class live-blogged Schomburg Scholar Juan Gonzalez’s talk on March 24, 2021.
Juan González is an award-winning journalist, and co-host of Democracy Now!, the independent multimedia news platform that is celebrating its 25th anniversary. González spent 29 years at the New York Daily News as a columnist, where he investigated a government cover-up of the hazardous environmental conditions workers faced in Ground Zero. He is a two-time recipient of the George Polk Award for commentary. He was inducted into New York City Deadline Club’s Journalism Hall of Fame, and was also a founder of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. González is a professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of several books, including Harvest of Empire, a history of Latinos in the U.S, which is in its third edition.
Hadassah Edelkopf, Matt Wikfors, Sean Hannigan, Kevin McKenna, John Galietta, Emma Desiderio, Anthony Picinich, Tori Waschek and Jenna Craig contributed to this report.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:05 pm
Two issues, the research you have done on Latino 2020 vote.. how the rest of the country sees us: Latino vote in 2020 and what it means for the future of Latino voters going forward and Puerto Rico’s future (statehood vs self-determination)
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:07 pm
“Media missed a story on the Latino vote”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:07 pm
I was stunned how quickly it developed which was that there had been an unexpected shift in the voting patterns of the Latino community nationwide. A dramatic shift more towards the Republican candidate than in the past.
jgalietta
March 24, 2021 – 6:07 pm
“There was a narrative that developed that there had been an unexpected shift in the voting of latino communities nationwide towards the republican candidate”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:07 pm
The media based initial conclusions on one poll (Edison Poll).
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:08 pm
The polling looks at percentage by people who are questioned as they leave polling places
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:09 pm
It accounted for change in how people voted early.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:09 pm
The Edison poll has problems… it showed a huge increase (nationwide).. more people voted as a percentage than any other election.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:09 pm
Historical turnout for the entire country”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:09 pm
159 million total ballots cast in election (more people voted in percentage of eligible voters than in any election since 1900s)
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:10 pm
Raised questions to if there is such a thing as a ‘Latino vote’.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:10 pm
Raised question of whether there really is such a thing as a Latino vote (second part of the narrative)
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:11 pm
This raised the question of there is something such as a Latino vote.. something that doesn’t really exist?
shannigan
March 24, 2021 – 6:11 pm
George Bush in his 2 elections in 2000 and 2004 got much higher percentages of Latino vote.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:11 pm
Republicans over the years have had higher percentages of the Latino vote than Trump (Bush’s high of 40%).
jgalietta
March 24, 2021 – 6:11 pm
If you look at the historic voting trends over the last 40 50 years, the Trump percentage was about in the middle of what we’ve seen from Republicans in that timespan.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:12 pm
McCain got 31% of Latino vote (lost to Obama)
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:13 pm
-Four years ago, Trump had a big problem with support for the Latino vote in Florida and Texas in 2016 (some Latinos did not vote for Trump)
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:13 pm
Trump got a large percentage of Hispanic votes.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:14 pm
No one knows how exactly Latino vote.. the reality is that more Hispanic voted more than 2016.
shannigan
March 24, 2021 – 6:15 pm
At least 4 million more Latino voters voted in 2020.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:15 pm
Edison poll said Latino was 13% of total vote – enormous increase going by Edison vote.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:17 pm
The surge was from the atmosphere was created…the anti Hispanic criteria.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:17 pm
A new awakening in the Latino community as more and more people come of age.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:17 pm
Why the turnout: Latinos were defending their families and how their communities are portrayed.(agains an anti-immigrant sentiment.”
shannigan
March 24, 2021 – 6:18 pm
There’s a huge portion of Latinos in the US that are still not eligible to vote.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:18 pm
The population of Latinos not eligible to vote should be taken into account since the discussion only pertains to those who can vote.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:20 pm
Latinos generally more progressive on some issues.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:21 pm
Conservative portions of Latino voters have grown.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:21 pm
Example of Venezuelans and Nicaraguans in Florida.
shannigan
March 24, 2021 – 6:21 pm
There’s this idea that the Latino community is monolithic […] I specifically said that is not true, yes Latinos are from different countries or class backgrounds but are generally progressive […] the Latino community keeps evolving.”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:22 pm
“It’s true the Latino vote isn’t monolithic. It never was monolithic.”
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:22 pm
“6 Latinos in US senate”
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:22 pm
6 Latinos in the US Senate- unheard of
apicinich
March 24, 2021 – 6:22 pm
“Do you realize there are currently six latinos in the United States Senate…six.”
jgalietta
March 24, 2021 – 6:23 pm
More and more latinos are being elected at the local level, on city councils, school boards, etc.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:24 pm
I think it’s going to continue to grow at breathtaking speed.” (when asked about what will happen to Latino vote in 2024)
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:25 pm
Over 11 million voted in 2018
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:25 pm
What happened in 2018 is that over 11 million Latinos went to the poll, which is almost double the number who participated in the off-year election.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:26 pm
AOC is representative of young people wanting to be heard/seizing the moment.
craig
March 24, 2021 – 6:29 pm
It’s always been “more progressive than not but with a significant conservative element.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:29 pm
A lot of professional people who have come from universities in Latin America..experts of Latino community…Latino community has always been more progressive.. with a conservative aspect.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:32 pm
forced to unite to demand equal treatment
craig
March 24, 2021 – 6:34 pm
There’s no place you can go in the US without there being a major Latinx community.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:36 pm
I found out that.. forty percent of the school people were Latinx.. huge amount working in poultry..Guatemalans and Mexicans come to places that you never saw.. fast-growing Latinx communities.” EX: A town in Idaho, the majority of the city council was Hispanic.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:40 pm
Now moving on to Puerto Rico portion of talk.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:40 pm
its neither sovereign nation nor state
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:41 pm
In Novemeer 2020, Puerto Ricans had a referendum on the issue
craig
March 24, 2021 – 6:41 pm
52% of Puerto Ricans said yes that they want statehood (in November)
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:41 pm
52% said yes to statehood, 47% said not
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:42 pm
I think that both proposals have their problems.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:42 pm
“I think both proposals that have been submitted have their problems”.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:42 pm
“The big picture is that Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States for 123 years.”
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:42 pm
It used to be an open colony, then it became a “commonwealth” with its own elected government and autonomy “but not really”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:43 pm
“It basically was a disguised colony for the next 50 years.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:43 pm
“The US government ended all pretenses that Puerto Rico had any control over their destiny.”
craig
March 24, 2021 – 6:43 pm
2016 control board
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:43 pm
“The big picture is that Puerto Rico has been a colony of the US, for the first half was controlled by the US, then for the second half it was a commonwealth with its own elected government but not really, was a disguised colony. The US government ended all pretenses that they had control.. you people don’t know how to run anything”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:43 pm
2016: U.S. instated control board in Puerto Rico
jgalietta
March 24, 2021 – 6:44 pm
It will have been five years since 2016 when the control board was put in power, it ended all illusions that Puerto Rico was anything but a colony
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:44 pm
Richie Torres, the new Bronx Congressman is part of the move to go immediately to statehood.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:46 pm
49 co-sponsors are supporting the statehood bill
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:46 pm
Torres, Soto bill has 49 cosponsors
jgalietta
March 24, 2021 – 6:47 pm
Think what we could do if Puerto Rico became a state, if the District of Columbia became a state?
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:48 pm
“Question of a nation has a separate language and culture than the U.S.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:48 pm
It’s a little more complicated than just getting a few more Democrats in Congress.”
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:48 pm
Puerto Rico would have to sacrifice its language.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:48 pm
“The United States would never admit a state into the union that teaches its childrne another language and teaches its children in another language.”
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:48 pm
The US Congress will never admit a state into the union that teaches its children in another language and conducts its courts in another language.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:49 pm
You are asking to Puerto Rican people in essence to commit cultural harakiri.
apicinich
March 24, 2021 – 6:49 pm
The United States has made that clear. You must make English the language in the schools and you must make English the language in the courts.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:50 pm
The only reason I believe that they presented that bill was because they were afraid the other bill was gaining steam.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:51 pm
Doesn’t think it will go anywhere.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:51 pm
I believe that neither bill is going anywhere because the Democrats and Republicans are both split.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:51 pm
“The two-party system of Puerto Rico has collapsed.”
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:51 pm
The two party system of Puerto Rico has collapsed.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:51 pm
The two-party system in Puerto Rico has collapsed….third party candidates gained huge support (in 2020).
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:52 pm
Fewer Puerto Ricans are voting.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:52 pm
Puerto Rico has lower votes than the U.S.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:52 pm
85% of Puerto Ricans used to vote in every election,
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:53 pm
Depopulation of island is a big problem.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:54 pm
Today, 2/3 of all Puerto Ricans is in the US.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:54 pm
14% population decline in Puerto Rico since 2010/
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 6:54 pm
2/3 of all Puerto Ricans are in the US.. the largest population decline ever!!
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:55 pm
Hurricane Maria is one factor.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:55 pm
Increasingly young people graduating are coming to US.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:55 pm
Majority elderly population on island now.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:55 pm
The Puerto Ricans in the US have a lot more influence and responsibility.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:56 pm
Puerto Ricans have much more political representation in United States than in Puerto Rico.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 6:57 pm
Puerto Rico is a separate nation. It has it’s own language, it’s own culture, it’s own territory.
apicinich
March 24, 2021 – 6:57 pm
Puerto Rico is a separate nation.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:57 pm
Puerto Rico is a separate nation. it has its own language, culture and its own territory.. because its is a separate nation, you can not treat it like any other piece of land.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:57 pm
Puerto Rico is a separate nation. it has its own lagnauge, it has its own culture, it has its own territory. Because it’s its own separate nation, you can’t treat it like any other piece of land.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 6:57 pm
Whatever solution is determined, we need to remember that US + Puerto Rico are separate nations.
apicinich
March 24, 2021 – 6:57 pm
The United States is one nation, Puerto Rico is another nation. They can have a relationship. They can have a close relationship.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:58 pm
We need to keep in mind that this debate is not the same as statehood for territories like Alaska or Hawaii.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 6:58 pm
Anglo-Americans never settled Puerto Rico like those territories.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 6:59 pm
The reality is global capitalism has become so ubiquitous that it can control your country without ever having to invade it.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 7:00 pm
It is the colony of the richest country in the world.” (referring to Puerto Rico.
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 7:00 pm
Many don’t want to give up citizenship.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 7:00 pm
The problem of Puerto Rico that it is the colony of the richest country in the world. even the crumbs in the country is probable than other parts in the world.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 7:01 pm
They don’t want to give up that citizenship.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 7:01 pm
US citizenship has value.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 7:01 pm
{econciling U.S. citizenship with being a separate nation.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 7:01 pm
It’s easy to get married hard to get divorced.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 7:01 pm
“divorce situation” analogy
edesiderio
March 24, 2021 – 7:02 pm
There has to be a solution that satisfies both interests.
craig
March 24, 2021 – 7:03 pm
1. Free integration of the people into the oppressor’s nation. 2. Full independence. 3. Free association <— says this one is the best long term solution
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 7:04 pm
United States no longer needs Puerto Rico.
hedelkopf
March 24, 2021 – 7:08 pm
It is an amazing racial and culture of people, the native Hawaiians became a much smaller population than the rest.
j
craig
March 24, 2021 – 7:08 pm
Puerto Rico has “enormous cultural power” but not much political power.
kmckenna
March 24, 2021 – 7:09 pm
So much pride of Puerto Ricans- big parade in NYC too.
hedelkopf
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 7:10 pm
Puerto Rico would be the poorest state in the U.S.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 7:11 pm
It’s an industrialized colony.
mwikfors
March 24, 2021 – 7:11 pm
Most workers are industrial workers, but there are no jobs.
jcraig
March 24, 2021 – 7:11 pm
Unemployment in a good year is 12%.
jgalietta
March 24, 2021 – 7:12 pm
There are not enough jobs under the current economic model in Puerto Rico.
I loved this you placed all the quick chat posts, and it was so interesting to go over them and read them
I liked that that you put the posts on here, to be able to go over them and see what people wrote