Barrio Histories: Recovering Forgotten Voices From Puerto Rican Chicago’s Fight for Vieques

• In Event: Barrio Dreams, Diaspora Memories

Abstract

Chicago-based Puerto Rican activists involved in the international campaign to remove the U.S. military created opportunities to witness and understand Vieques. Activists carried out local campaigns to educate diasporic communities on the history of Vieques and the effects of military operations. They traveled to Vieques to tour historical sites and build relationships with local activists. These realities were not only witnessed and absorbed, they were activated through participation in protests and acts of civil disobedience. But few of these firsthand accounts of Chicago-based Puerto Rican activists were captured. As with most archives, what survives often fails to tell the whole story. In this presentation, I will discuss the tools and processes Digitizing the Barrio has utilized in order to address this key archival silence in our collection. From oral history interviews to collaborations with the community, we’ve sought to exemplify some of the core values of community archives, shared authority and participatory practices.

Author

• Angelica Hernandez, Puerto Rican Cultural Center