Black and Latino Diasporas: Victims of Conquest, Systemic Division and Silicon Valley

by Samuel J. Bolduc, Ed.M. (c) 2019 COPYRIGHT—ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

March 18, 2019

Throughout recorded human history…racial, classist, & economic disparities, fueled by racial strife & inequity have prevailed—which perpetuates a social infirmity that can only be mitigated through the implementation of initiatives that espouse Authentic Social Unity, based on respect for one another, and a diligent disposition and desire to understand the contexts of others through synergistic engagement that involves ones own self reflection, and mutual trust & rapport toward others—to learn and grow from ones interactions and experiences with diversity of contexts, always striving to relate & respect the beliefs & cultural uniqueness of “the other” as we celebrate the intrinsic value of diversity. Throughout my life, I have pondered the Black & Puerto Rican Diasporas, and asked myself, who is going to tell my Parents’ story? Who would share their remarkable story of faith in humanity, & their unflappable strength of character.

This article imagines a GOLDMINE of potential within the creation of an environment of empowered Black & Puerto Rican leaders that dare to dream of better days, and are willing to pay the price, the sacrifice that authenticity sometimes requires; which in many instances has necessitated that many pay the ultimate price, at the expense of their death and the possible decimation of their posterity. But they are guided by powerful examples of fortitude of cause, and the nourishing ointment of a conscience that did not betray its moral compass— These exemplary leaders can be heard by the diligent social activists of today…they can symbolically hear the soothing fruition of an elegant chorus, that carries a message of proactive and peaceful activism that has been conducive to positive change. This Chorus is led by the uncompromising living spirits that died with intact morality, climbed that “mountain” of which Dr. King spoke so eloquently as he proclaimed his uncompromising faith. This Chorus joins Dr. King & his ETERNAL DREAM…and for those that listen closely, saId mighty chorus can be heard as it proclaims “we have been to the mountaintop and harmoniously reside in the promised land”— Every soul that stands up for what is right hears this MIGHTY CHORUS of ALL… that have defended the inalienable principles of Natural Law. They can hear Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, Malcolm X, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, Heather Heyer, Mahatma Gandhi, Claudette Colvin and the soothing tenor solo’s of Rev. Martin Luther King…today’s activists are guided by all that have utilized a cultural bridge, grounded upon the sound rock of transformation. Today’s activists transcends the w races, that are included as the subject of this article’s title, and involve ALL that share the precepts of a better future, a spirit of unity, a future of shared dreams, of respected values, of “equal protection under the law”.  This author speaks of UNITY to enact change in all sectors of Government; both in the USA and Puerto Rico— sadly the underserved minority classes are consumed by a societal cancer, a regressive archetype that thrives on fear and suspicion, and is a foe of civilization that will not be easily vanquished. Said predicaments, are a battle worth fighting, as they exemplify the long-lived justification of the privileged sectors, the Majority, or the rich minorities. The path that we currently traverse may also embody the perpetuity of an arbitrary Systemic curse— in other words, a sanctioned system of government and intercultural relations that have continually justified cruel and unusual treatment through the unfounded principles of dehumanization.

120 concurrent years of U.S Blacks and Puerto Ricans; both U.S citizens, deserving of the protections offered within our U.S Constitution and the “Bill of Rights” have been violated throughout US History & are clearly inscribed in the annals of a collective memory that has learned from the lessons of infamy. One can reflect on the historical narrative that played out as the Spanish/ American War came to a close of hostilities between two empires (1898), this was a conflict in which Spain was defeated, and forced to settle the costs of the armed engagement with many compromises solidified within treaty… which included a gift, their sweetest prize—that happened to no longer be a possession of the Spanish Empire—it was a premeditated move in an imperial game of chess. This fact does indeed add a bitter undertone of the manner in which the US appropriated Puerto Rico and their annexation of the Island as a US Territory. However, Spain placated the victorious invading United States of America Armed Forces—giving away an illegal bounty so that its inhabitants may be bound in conjunction with the revolting horrors that were being executed against Blacks who had already suffered centuries of slavery, in the USA, but the dehumanizing nature that influences these types of regressive ideals & policy are often upheld and driven by the social strata of the ethnic majority, but this design is almost always a conspiratorial ideation of the rich privileged classes who are continually permissive of the most deviant of crimes without any consequences in PR & on the US Mainland which has ruled Puerto Rico with uninformed burdens, servitude, and bondage—enduring the tyranny of imperialism.

Before the U.S invasion, the island of Puerto Rico was already imbued with the right of self-determination, with it’s own coin—still celebrating the ratification of the “Charter of Autonomy” which freed them from the totalitarian rule of the Spanish Empire. Sadly, treaties never seem to matter when it applies to empires—

Nevertheless, the dominated classes & races mentioned above, all of which are centuries behind—in a consumerist “rat race to the top” that happens to be fixed— by a ruling class that has manipulated the outcome and winner of an unscrupulous capitalist roulette of injustice.  

This indifference for the “Ethnic Other” was evident after the passage of Hurricane Maria, and the unacceptable loss of human life and property that showed a distinct indifference, and some would even state “Federal Disdain” toward Puerto Rico and its islander U.S Citizens.  

This reflection and the history of inequality briefly described within this article were plainly visible by this author who was in Puerto Rico just days after Hurricane Maria, and observed a preposterous Federal response in Puerto Rico. I write these words, some of which are reminiscent of my book, “The Ethnic Other”, most of which I wrote with tears in my eyes, and memories of sweat, toil and injustice— 

My entire family and I have lived their lives as an “Ethnic Other”, which is a subject that I do engage with revelations of profound injustice, and the transcendence of hope, empathy & creative educational strategies that can be the impetus to bolster upward mobility, and defy the status quo. I choose to share with my readers a story from the perspective of a Multiracial Marriage (my parents) that stood up to the KKK & chose to dedicate their lives to the poor majority in the developing world, building shelters for hundreds of families, caring for the sick and elderly, and providing access to inalienable human rights of social equity, of equal access to excellent education for ALL. I too have been blessed with a partner and soulmate, we proudly homeschool our three children, a beautiful partnership that also happens to be a multiracial marriage. Our family motto is also based in Faith, Hope, Creativity, Innovation, Empathy, Unity and Perseverance. We champion and empower diversity in all its forms. Our unique journey is infused with a sobering reality of an unequal world, and a rapidly degrading “Collective Memory”. We must endeavor to always reflect on the darker pages of history! Otherwise, we will continue to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors.

We must defeat the erroneous theories of racial or classism-based superiority, but nonetheless socially imbedded perceptions that falsely proclaim divisive rhetoric against diverse social groups or lifestyle choices brazenly claiming that anyone can “be of less value“ than another, as compared to the majority ruling classes. This injustice continues to take place in PR, an Island-State US possession as well as the overt inequalities that plague the USA Mainland…. This brief amalgamation of systemic inequity, are experiences that this author shares in this article & in my book, detailing egregious first-hand experiences lived & observed since my childhood, have developed within me, a “hybrid” perspective of 120 years of concurrent racial travesties, which have stigmatized Blacks on the U.S. Mainland, and Puerto Ricans living on a small Island—that was invaded by the US Army (1898). 

The granting of U.S citizenship, only served to facilitate the exploitation of a 2nd class work-force, a bounty of near slave labor wages, allowed millions of souls the “the privilege” to fight and die on the front lines of combat. The granting of US Citizenship to Puerto Ricans, was debated extensively within our legislative system, countless degrading arguments are enshrined in shameful history, as the US Supreme Court would condescendingly argue as to what real legal protections US citizenship would offer Puerto Ricans on the island. One such argument can be summarized as absolute racial bigotry, as a US Supreme Court Justice argued that Puerto Ricans that reside on the Island were not entitled to a “jury of their peers” because their culture did not have the capacity to comprehend the formation of a fair trial. This moral contempt continues until today. As Puerto Ricans & Blacks have disproportionately spilt their blood for our Country and served with Honor in all branches of our Armed Services and the “defense of freedom” in US conflicts. The numbers simply don’t “add up”, to an equitable system of duty and sacrifice…as Black & Puerto Rican lives have too often paid the ultimate price, on the “altar of freedom”, as compared to their US mainland non-minority counterparts. On the front lines of Korea, and Vietnam and in every major US conflict of the 20th century as well as the current millennium. However, both Blacks and Puerto Ricans always seem to be treated as second class citizens. One Korean War vet that saw more than half of his unit killed, and shared with me His Story, of how he served three years straight without shore leave in the trenches of Korea. In tears he shared his horrific tail of slaughter & human horrors as he stated “I said two prayers every night before trying to catch a little bit of “shut-eye…God, if you let me live through this, I’ll do two things. The first thing I will do when I get back to Puerto Rico is kiss the ground, second, I promise to kneel and pray at my Church in the city of Arroyo.” 

Puerto Rican Women as well, have endured countless injustices under US rule, and they were not spared from a massive US Government backed sterilization program—without their knowledge, documentation exists that reveals this fact. How could this manner of impunity and official misconduct, & countless other heinous atrocities ever be justified?

 “The Ethnic Other”: Puerto Rican Colonial Context attempts to narrate & explain the values and methods through which I was nurtured…and who planted the seeds within me to Embrace Love, Empathy & Creativity as vital components that comprise the essence of educational success. As this new millennium progresses, I remain a staunch ally of technology, but there are ominous ideations at work run by multinational technological behemoths that are promoting technology without humanity, loosing sight of sustainability and likely jeopardizing the very existence of the human race. As hacking and metadata exploitation has moved from the spying of nations to the manipulation of elections, and is now being widely used to illegally appropriate intellectual property and curriculum of change—of heart, for, and by the people. Metadata exploitation has no place in our school districts or public school system nation wide for that matter.

All that is necessary is human capital, not technological trinkets or devices that are utilized without a well researched plan, which reduces the Teaching Profession to a level, more akin to that of a babysitters in the classroom, except this baby sitter could very well be a tablet, “a free software” program or Digital Classroom Instruction Board.  

As an Educational Leader I cannot stress enough, the dangerous untested waters that are now flooding our schools and homes, as a plethora of devices “learn” & predict what our students know or “like”… or perhaps more precisely stated as Corporate IDEATIONS, designed to “TRAIN” our students as they see fit with devices that lack the capacity to interact with empathy. This author can unequivocally state that our young learners and their fertile minds, will build the technology they need by themselves with nurture, facilitation and guidance of a caring educator… because humanity has an innate desire to learn. It has been my distinct privilege to have introduced creative methodologies to teach technology to thousands of students, many of whom have become master programers, graphic designers, engineers, pilots and beyond. And I will teach in Maryland, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Haiti… with or without modern comforts.

Because I believe in the power of context, the empowering force that permits the learner to find their own unique voice— that must be heard. This uniquely creative pedagogical foundation is the product of this author’s humble but proud roots— 

At this juncture, it is my duty to speak out as the educational leader that I am. I shall continue to serve as a tireless advocate for our forgotten poor majority. Unfortunately, these underserved learners & the communities in which they live, have been the first targets of unsound and poorly implemented “EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY FADS” driven by Corporate greed.

We must be enabled to rise as one—through the power of an education that reduces arts integration to its lowest common denominator— CREATIVITY, which is by virtue the power of arts — used as a springboard for learning that empowers the learner and the educator alike to discover the potential of the integrated mind— using the right and left modalities of a collaborative brain with intuitively synchronized usage of all of it’s capabilities.  

The US Government has NO formal program in place, which is instilled with the Mandate of training our Educational Leaders & Regulating our Corporations that are actively using, expanding & developing technologies that openly and aggressively target our learners young minds as “living human test subjects”, with NO regard to scientific method or ethics with which they should be guided and restrained, in order to assure an unbiased use of TECHNOLOGY in our Educational System. We must enact unequivocal Legislation that assures that our schools are not the playing field of Venture Capitalists, & TECH GIANTS, because their interest in intercultural awareness, is only SKIN DEEP. Our learners are far to precious to permit unscrupulous technologies that if left unattended can further cement the social & racial dilemma’s such as the ones mentioned in this article…as Multi-National Corporations & Government Programs run amok, our Public Education System is not immune to this unprepared system of Government as Teachers and school districts fail to meet their obligation as torch bearers of knowledge entrusted with the mandate to create the future leaders of our nations and titans of industry, that will earn their positions based on a contextually relevant education that assures the remembrance of the human factor within any entrepreneurial, technological or educational endeavor. 

My upbringing as “The Ethnic Other” has empowered me to believe in HUMAN CAPITAL over Silicon Valley Capital—that ANYONE can transcend any obstacle when our community is enriched by the unifying capacity of empathy, patience, creativity, and positive strategic change for a sustainable future that affirms our greatest hopes and dreams—created on the edge of possibility!