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If
you think there are too many images of the Haslip family, if you think
there are too many images of the Torres family, if you think there are
too many images of Pura Belpre, you are right. This is an askewed history,
we are working with the materials we have in the collection and we are
working with the documents that people have donated. So I would be happy
to accept your criticism but then I would also challenge you to go back
to your families, to go back to your friends and ask, where are the old
pictures? Where are all the old materials? Do you know anyone from that
generation who might have letters, documents, letters, flyers? Those are
the things we need to preserve because we all make history.
We want to have a collection that is as inclusive of the Puerto Rican
experience in New York City as possible. So if you find gaps, we are happy
to acknowlege them but then we challenge you to partner with us in trying
to improve the quality, the breadth of our collection. That’s one
of the things, as we were putting the book together, Pedro Juan and I
talked a lot about. We didn’t have enough family images indoors,
just to give you an example.
We have a chapter for example on the effects of World War I and World
War II on the Puerto Rican migrant experience. One of the key elements
of that experience is that while some of the men were fighting, the women
were taking some of those jobs on the homefront, working on all kinds
of industries--we didn’t have any images. We made a reference to
them in the chapter, we didn’t have the images we wanted to juxtapose
next to the images of the soldiers, the women working in the factories
or the women who served. You will find that we need more documentation
of that early period. So part of our sharijng was also a call for people
out there, so you can help us fill in the gaps of the things we don’t
have in the collection at the Centro and also so that we reflect more
on this early moment of Puerto Rican/Latino history in the city.
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