THE PUERTO RICANS

by Christopher Rand ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 1958

A sympathetic examination and expert presentation of the latest minority group- the half million Puerto Ricans who in the last decade have left the shanties of their native island to live in the slum tenements of Nueva York. This study takes them from their habitat ""down on the island"" where they looked more natural- and certainly less dingy- to the precincts of Manhattan where they can find housing. It surveys their job opportunities, homes, special tastes in foods, music, dancing. Lacking the high cultural concepts of other, older immigrant groups, the ""ghetto mentality"" seems more sharply divisive, makes their education a more difficult challenge, for the schools- the churches- the settlements who work with them and for them. The color line, unexpected and damaging, and the hostile attitude of the Negroes is both a source of friction and exclusion. Delinquency- and drugs- attend their search for a better life in the squalor of the city.... These pieces, which in their original New Yorker appearance attracted wide interest and commendation, provide an informed view of this people's struggle toward assimilation and advancement and one which is also warmed by tolerance.

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 1958

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1958

Categories: NONFICTION