DIOGENES BALLESTER’S
Ancestral Confessions: Historical evidence of a city
Confesiones Ancestrales: Evidencia de una ciudad
El Museo de la Historia de Ponce
Puerto Rico: 13 de mayo – 7 de octubre
Keeper of History — Holder of Dreams
Portadora de Historia — Poseedora de Sueños
National Museum of Catholic Art and History
New York City: July 15 – September 30
Two concurrent exhibitions in a transcaribbean discourse between Puerto Rico and New York
Brochure (PDF 1.8 mb)
Congressman José E. Serrano
Representing the Sixteenth District of New York
Serrano to FBI: Destroying Records is Counterproductive to Gov’t Openness
Washington, DC – August 22, 2006- Congressman José E. Serrano sent the following letter to the FBI late last week in response to recent revelations that the Puerto Rico field office destroyed certain records in the past. Serrano asked that the Bureau immediately suspend any further destruction of records. In 2000, Serrano and then-director Louis Freeh initiated a years-long effort to promote openness and accountability by the FBI in Puerto Rico.
###
August 17, 2006
Robert S. Mueller, III, Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Dear Director Mueller:
As you know, I and other members of the Puerto Rican community have been grateful for your continued cooperation in the initiative by your predecessor, Louis Freeh, to disclose files related to the Bureau’s actions against supporters of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement. These files have been invaluable in building the historical record of this dark period in our nation’s history, and it is my ongoing interest in this subject that inspires this letter.
It has been brought to my attention that the San Juan field office destroyed certain records on the independence movement in February of 1989. This information came to light as the result of a Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request by Jan Susler of the People’s Law Office.
I write to request that, notwithstanding any standard procedure, you suspend any further destruction of records concerning organizations and individuals related to the Puerto Rican Independence Movement. I would also like to request documentation of the destruction of any such records to date, and their former locations before they were destroyed.
Given the fact that the recent release of the Inspector General’s report on the Ojeda Ríos incident has done little to allay concerns about the Bureau’s modus operandi in Puerto Rico, I believe that the your continued commitment to the preservation and disclosure of these files will be essential to improving the Bureau’s image on the island.
Thank you for your attention to these concerns. I look forward to continuing our cooperation on this matter.
Sincerely,
José E. Serrano
Member of Congress
###
Congressman José E. Serrano has represented the Bronx in Congress since 1990. He is the longest serving Member of Puerto Rican descent.
they embrace bettter services, clean streets, good schools, drug free parks and playgrounds, etc. And everyone is entitled to that, not only those who are coming into a community and displacing those who already live there. That is the case in West Harlem, Central Harlem and East Harlem. Whoever posted the question GENTRIFICATION: GOOD OR EVIL? is basically propagandizing for the forces at work that are displacing good, hardworking, decent people, their children and the elderly. Without giving much thought to his or her views, he or she displays simple biases that equate good city services and schools, etc. with gentrification. Displacing a population by stimulating certain types of economic development is a choice or a decision based on policies that favor one economic class over another. Good government and social policies generate a civil society in which everyone can share in the common weal of the nation, city, and community. Poor policies generate fear, class hatred, displacement and exclusionary practices. Singling out for attack the bright, fine councilwoman is useless. The community of East Harlem knows quite well that she is judicious and fair– with an interest in enlightened policies to guide the development of the community she represents. That is why Melissa Mark Viverito is being maligned by our pro-gentrifier who clearly is not interested in maintaining the integrity and soul of either Black or Spanish Harlem. Both Melissa Mark Viverito and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer bring thoughfulness and humanity to their administrations, and an earnest search for more balanced and fair ways of developing communities.
