“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” began the now-legendary campaign ad for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, released just four weeks ago. What followed was a powerful, viral video, called “The Courage to Change,” that addressed racial and gender identity and meshed seamlessly with one about her social class position. “I wasn’t born to a […]
Read moreHurricane Maria swept away the illusion of Puerto Ricans’ citizenship
Protesters in San Juan left more than 100 pairs of shoes outside the Capitolio, home to Puerto Rico’s legislature, as a silent rebuke to the government for undercounting the number of residents who died last year from the effects of Hurricane Maria. A Harvard University study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine […]
Read moreA Cartoon History of Colonialism in Puerto Rico
This originally appeared in The Village Voice. Illustrations: Omar Banuchi Words: Ed Morales Written by Ed Morales, Illustrated by Omar Banuchi Originally published in The Village Voice, March 19, 2018
Read moreEmma González: La nueva cara of Florida Latinx
In the aftermath of the horrific Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, a new movement has emerged that constitutes the strongest voice for changing laws about automatic assault weapons since the Columbine massacre of 1999. Emma González, the face of this movement, took a leadership role with a passionate […]
Read moreA new report says Hispanic identity is fading. Is that really good for America?
Last semester, a student of mine named Fernando came to speak with me after the last meeting of my class on Latino identity. He thanked me for getting him to think about not only his roots but his connections with other Latinos, and our contributions to history and culture. He was an engineering student of […]
Read moreWhy I Embrace the Term Latinx
When I first saw the word Latinx – best described as a gender-neutral term to describe US residents of Latin American descent – in print it seemed strange, alien, and unfit for proper pronunciation. But rather than perceiving it as my enemy, I came to embrace its enticing, futurist charms. The term Latinx arises from […]
Read moreLike most members of the Puerto Rican diaspora, I couldn’t reach my family and friends on the island for more than a week after Hurricane Maria made landfall on Sept. 20. All I had to work with was a quick phone call my mother’s neighbor had made to my sister. The neighbor said that my […]
Read moreIn Puerto Rico, Disconnection and Chaos, but Grace Under Pressure
With almost no power and shortages of water and medicine, this island is full of people suffering from PTSD. By Ed Morales October 13, 2017 San Juan—As Donald Trump’s rule-by-disinformation strategy intensifies, three weeks after Hurricane Maria, a reeling Puerto Rico is becoming more of a sideshow for his callous stereotyping and ruthlessness. He is […]
Read morePuerto Rico: Belonging to, But Not Part of
The Trump administration’s delay in sending real aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria is a distasteful display of colonialist racism. But it’s par for the course: our citizenship has always been second-class. “We’re American citizens. How can Trump turn his back on us?” This is one of the pleas I’m hearing over and […]
Read morePuerto Rico Needs Massive Emergency Aid Now—and an End to Austerity
The island has become a target not only for rapacious vulture funds but also for exponents of Katrina-style “disaster capitalism.” September 27, 2017 Hurricane Maria has created a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. Much of the capital city of San Juan is flooded; there is contaminated water in the streets, shortages of gasoline and […]
Read more