Nuestras Raíces • Latino History of Rhode Island

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Nuestras Raíces • Latino History of Rhode Island

Nuestras Raíces is a collection of the stories and lives of Latinos in Rhode Island. Our research is on-going and more stories will be added.

The Latino Oral History Project of RI (Nuestras Raíces) was started in 1991 and is managed by the Hispanic Heritage Committee of RI Latino Arts. It is a collection of the stories and lives of Rhode Island’s Spanish-speaking pioneers. The Latino Oral History Project of RI encourages Latinos of all ages to tape, video or write down their own and other people's life stories.

06/26/2023

A local historian has spent decades documenting what brought Latinos to Rhode Island.

05/21/2023

Did you know that in May of 1969, Rhode Island opened the first New England Consulate office to Ecuador? Mercedes Messier, who's office was in Pawtucket, served as the Consul from 1969-1972. At the time, there were approximately 300 Ecuadorians in Rhode Island.

04/25/2023

In April of 1988, a group of teenagers in Federal Hill attacked a Guatemalan couple as they were getting into their car. The youths smashed the car's windows, struck the man with a baseball bat as he ran back to the safety of his apartment house, and threw stones at his wife as she ran down an alley to safety in a coin-operated laundry. Out of fear, the couple moved to Olneyville the next day.

Area residents said that for several months young people have harassed and hurled ethnic and racial slurs at the couple as well as at other Hispanics who recently moved into Federal Hill.

A group of teens later admitted to a reporter that they do not want Hispanics in the neighborhood. No one admitted having a role in the harassment, but all agreed that having Hispanics in the neighborhood would increase what they say are the community's drug problems.

A coalition of Hispanics and Blacks led a march down Atwells Avenue to raise awareness of this injustice, which they say had been ignored by local police officials.

04/01/2023

A 1972 Providence Journal front-page story headline IMMIGRANTS 'DO THE JOB' and the story reads: "Immigrant workers are the backbone of the work force in many Rhode Island manufacturing plants … manufacturing executives say they are their best workers. The work is hard and the pay often is low, particularly in textile and jewelry plants where the immigrants are most heavily concentrated … but executives say that immigrants have provided a solution to a severe labor shortage that for years has gone hand in hand with chronic unemployment. One textile executive says: 'We tried everything to attract American workers. We took out ads in newspapers, offered training programs and put in order to the job bank at DES … Americans don’t want to work … Without Colombian and Dominican workers, I would be unable to meet production quotas and we would go out of business.'"

03/26/2023

A 1974 report published by Model Cities and an Urban League liaison lecture Hispanics at their lack of unity and their inability to “defend themselves” due to cultural barriers. ‘While the young seem interested in learning English, many older immigrants make no effort to pick up the language,’ said the report. It said Hispanics had few leaders and urged them to ‘get out and fight’ as Blacks have done in the last 10 to 15 years. It describes the Spanish-speaking community as 'poor, unskilled and having less formal education than the general public.'

A group of Hispanics took offense and fired back saying the report was inaccurate and they resented the image of the Spanish-speaking people portrayed by the report. The group adds that it caused tensions between the two groups when Black leaders came forward to *show us how to speak out.*

During a public meeting to respond to the report, one speaker received loud cheers as he states 'Unlike the Black leaders, we have a strong voice, and it speaks two languages!’

03/23/2023

In 1977, a coalition of Hispanics demonstrated at the offices of the RI Dept. of Employment Security against a bill pending in the General Assembly that would fine employers who hire “illegal aliens.” If passed, the bill would require Hispanics to present documents to identify themselves as citizens, unlike other citizens.

In 1982, the Journal reports that leaders of a statewide Hispanic organization say a push by the Reagan Administration to find “illegal aliens” is tarnishing the image of hard-working Hispanic-Americans. About 30 Hispanic residents then met at the Calvary Baptist Church to discuss their growing fears about what they consider an over-agressive approach by immigration officials. They make this statement: "We feel it's harassment and it is creating a negative atmosphere for the Hispanic community,"as raids on the factories disrupt production and make employers wary of hiring any Hispanic individual, even though they are American citizens."

In 1991, a coalition of immigrants group opposes efforts to make English the official language in the United States stating the move is a slap at immigrants. The group held a State House news conference because of concerns about provisions in the fiscal 1991 budget, being debated in the House, that would bar undocumented "aliens" from receiving welfare benefits. In Rhode Island, local officials craft a similar bill designating English as the state's official language, where it failed with few supporters. Similar attempts in each of the next three years were also defeated. Its opponents turned out in large numbers, warning that the bill "would only serve to divide the community further."

In 2007, then-Governor Carcieri states that he didn't know "why in God's name" the state should provide English-language interpreters, at taxpayer expense, "for people who want benefits from us." A federal civil-rights complaint was filed, and non-English speakers ultimately got help with benefits.

The debate continues.

03/05/2023

In the Fall of 1972, 50 children who spoke Spanish as their native language enrolled in a “new bilingual program” at the Mary E. Fogarty School in Providence. Mercedes Messier, director of the Latino American Community Center, and a group of Hispanic parents had advocated for months for this program, speaking to members of the Providence School System about the fact that bilingualism provides numerous benefits to the brain. Furthermore, they added that bilingual education had the added benefit of exposing students to different cultures. More importantly, learning in two languages helped Spanish-speaking children retain their culture while staying connected with the adults at home who do not speak English. In January, the program was slated to be extended to the Gilbert Middle School and Central High School.

Here is the description: “Spanish-speaking children will be taught the normal American curriculum in Spanish and a similar number of English-speaking students will study the same curriculum in English. For one period a day, the children will change teachers, with the Spanish-speaking children studying English as a foreign language and the English-speaking children studying Spanish.” The description of this program reminds one of what today we refer to as a dual-language program.

03/02/2023

In March of 1976 40 individuals from Acción Hispana protested outside St. Joseph's Hospital at Peace and Broad Streets to call for employment of Spanish-language interpreters. While the hospital provided information that they have several Spanish and Portuguese speaking interpreters on call, the Latino group explained it was not the same as hiring interpreters on staff.

02/23/2023

In 1974, the first Spanish-language information television program was launched in partnership with the Latin American Community Center. It was called "En Español" and aired on RI Channel 36, the state's educational TV station. An unidentified Spanish-speaking "reporter" (seen here) walked the streets with mic in hand asking people questions ranging from "¿De dónde eres?" to ¿Que piensas tú de los servicios que se ofrecen en Providence para Hispanos?"

02/19/2023

This story appeared in the Providence Journal in 1972 and is an early mention of Fefa's Market in a story about the growing immigrant community in Rhode Island. Next to the Irish and Portuguese communities, the article confirms that Hispanics (Latinos) were next largest.

02/04/2023

On February 4 ,1976 the southern portion of Guatemala City was hit with a major earthquake that stretched into Honduras. In all, over 12,000 people were killed. In Rhode Island, the Guatemala community, all very recent immigrant which numbered 1,000, sprang into action and began collecting donations of clothing, medicine, and medical equipment. With no Spanish-language radio or television in Rhode Island to keep them abreast, this small community relied on receiving news from family or friends in New York.

01/18/2023

In January of 1944, 60 Mexican laborers arrived in Rhode Island as part of the Bracero Program. The men were here to fill a shortage of workers due to WWII and to lay down track for the New Haven Railroad. They arrived the morning after a 3-inch snow and sleet storm and stayed in a labor camp in East Greenwich. brrrr!

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02863

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