BY TED LEONARD
BOSTON - Five hundred people, most of them Puerto Rican,
picketed the Boston Herald December 7. They were protesting an
article by columnist Don Feder that had appeared in the major
daily November 30.
Commenting on the plebiscite vote in Puerto Rico, the column was entitled "No statehood for Caribbean Dogpatch." Feder wrote, "We need more non-English speakers in this country like we need more welfare recipients, higher crime rates and an alien culture - all of which we'll get with Puerto Rico statehood."
The action was the largest in support of Puerto Rican or Latino rights in Boston in nearly 30 years. Participants in the day-long vigil included supporters of independence for Puerto Rico, statehood, and maintaining the current "commonwealth" colonial status. Chants were in Spanish and English.
Northeastern University student Mayari Sánchez, a participant in the picket line, told the media, "I think all of us, young and old, are more aware now that if we don't do something about this kind of racism, we are never going to advance."
Responding to the protest, the publisher of the paper, Patrick J. Purcell, ran a signed editorial the following day. In "An apology to readers" he wrote, "To those who took offense at his words, I offer my personal apology."
Participants in the event are discussing whether the apology is enough or a boycott of the paper should be organized.
Jaime Rodríguez, president of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights and an organizer of the protest, said, "Puerto Ricans have a long history of protest and activism, but for the past 10 or 20 years we've been dormant. Not anymore."
Other organizations that sponsored the action were the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Massachusetts Hispanic Political Action Committee, the Puerto Rican Veterans Association of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys, the Massachusetts Hispanic Voter Registration and Education Coalition, and others.
Ted Leonard is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees.