The NYT vs Historians thing has been sitting heavy with me. I mean there are conversations to be had about citational practices, sure, and I have opinions, yes, but it feels gross to turn this into a battle of elite guilds. 1/n I'd rather get into a significant discussion of what was actually written, why it was framed as an "unknown history," why it took so much effort to "discover" what many already "knew" -- in other words why Haiti's Odious debt has been actively SILENCED for centuries. 2/n

Newly released census data shows a DRAMATIC PLUMET 📉in Puerto Ricans who identify solely as "white": from 75.8% to 17.1%. This might seem surprising, but it affirms what Godreau and I argue in the latest issue of @AmAnthroJournal (a thread 🧵)
elnuevodia.com/noticias/local… We argue that following the federal mismanagement of BOTH Puerto Rico's debt crisis and Hurricane Maria, residents gained new awareness about their place within the imperial racial formation of the United States. (2/🧵)
yarimarbonilla.com/project/nonsov…

Many are asking themselves how #JessicaKrug managed to fool anyone into believing she was Afro Latina. Well, let me tell you: we were both fellows at the Schomburg and I suppose she fooled me. (a thread 🧵) I mean, I don't feel hurt or betrayed in this moment because the truth is I always knew something was off with her, but I thought the pathologies she displayed were the product of systemic violence, and not of her twisted racial fantasies...

Primary elections in Puerto Rico were thoroughly botched on various counts: (1) officials allowed the elections to proceed even though for weeks many were warning this would not be possible.... ...(2) They allowed voting to begin even as many centers had no ballots, and could not logistically get them until late afternoon if at all. (3) There was a suspension in voting midway, which many argue was illegal and unconstitutional...

Ten days after historic earthquakes began in Puerto Rico the president has yet to sign major disaster declaration. How long do children + elderly need to sleep in tents/cars, with health conditions worsening and suicides spiking for this to be considered a disaster? 1/n I don't hang big hopes on federal funds—2+ years after Maria the government is just starting to release *those* funds, and with major conditions that are not imposed on US states—but declaring a disaster is just THE BARE MINIMUM expected of the government 2/n

I’ve been asked why Americans should care about events in Puerto Rico. Here are some reasons (among many). #thread #Telegramgate #RickyRenunciaYa #RickyLeaks 1/ Demonstrators in Puerto Rico are demanding accountability, an end to cronyism, misogyny, racism, homofobia, media manipulation/attacks, and lack of empathy at the highest levels of power—this should all sound familiar to a mainstream US audience.

Folks upset about how Trump deploys us/them language to refer to Puerto Rico would do well to remember that this is encoded in US law. Puerto Rico *belongs to but is not part of* the United States. supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/… 1/n When Trump tweets about Puerto Rico as a “place” in quotes he lays bare the non-place of the colony and its lack of sovereignty. When he refers to himself as doing more for PR than any other human being he shows how the colonies have always been imagined as less than human. 2/n

As Toni Morrison said, "The function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being." Trump's tweets have folks scrambling this morning to prove our tragedy, our loss, our pain, our humanity... 1/n Let's not let Trump's disregard for the People of Puerto Rico distract us from the work that needs to be done here. Our disaster neither begins nor ends with him. Let's use the spotlight he casts on us through his disregard to talk about the real issues Puerto Rico faces... 2/n