Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia

Last updated

Philadelphia has the second largest Puerto Rican community outside of Puerto Rico after New York City. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, an estimated 121,643 Puerto Ricans were living in Philadelphia, up from 91,527 in 2000. Recent 2017 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau put the number of Puerto Ricans living in Philadelphia at 134,934. [1] In 2019, estimates put the number of Puerto Ricans at 146,153. [2] Many Puerto Ricans in the Philadelphia area have engaged in circular migration in which they spend periods of time living in Philadelphia and periods of time living in Puerto Rico. [3]

Contents

History

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Puerto Rican students, laborers, cigar makers, trades people, merchants, and pro-Puerto Rican Independence organizers and exiles emigrated from Puerto Rico and settled in Philadelphia. [3] The tobacco workers liked to hear hired lecturers while working in the factories, they were a self-educated group. [4] In 1910, there were fewer than 100 Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia. In the 1920s, labor recruiters in Philadelphia focused on attracting Puerto Ricans because they were already U.S. citizens: the Immigration Act of 1924 had restricted immigration into the U.S. [5] In the early 20th Century, due to inexpensive housing and the proximity to employment, concentrations of Puerto Ricans moved to Northern Liberties, Southwark, and Spring Garden. Between 1910 and 1945 those three areas had the majority of Philadelphia Hispanophones. [6] Additional Puerto Ricans moved to Philadelphia during World War I, and the period between World War I and World War II. [6]

A mass migration from Puerto Rico to Philadelphia coincided with an industrialization Puerto Rican economy from the late 1940s to 1970. Most Puerto Ricans came from rural areas. [7] During the period many Puerto Ricans worked in factories. Puerto Rican neighborhoods and organizations formed during the area. [3] By the 1950s Puerto Ricans became the largest Latino and Hispanic group in Philadelphia. [5] In the 1950s many pan-Latino areas were becoming predominately Puerto Rican. [6] By 1954, 65% of Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia lived in three neighborhoods north of Center City. In the 1950s Puerto Ricans were settling in those three neighborhoods and two of them became no longer majority white. Spring Garden, the third, remained predominately white. [8] In the period from 1950 to 1970 the Puerto Rican community expanded by over 60,000. [3] By the 1960s an increase of Cubans arrived in Philadelphia, and the proportionate percentage of Puerto Ricans began to decline. [5]

Since 1970, Puerto Ricans coming to Philadelphia have originated from Puerto Rico and from communities outside of Puerto Rico including New York. [3]

Although U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans migrating to Philadelphia encountered racism, discrimination, and limited economic opportunities, and to some extent, still do. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, the Puerto Rican community was notorious for being heavily involved in the city's drug trade. [9] [10] During that time, the Puerto Rican community was also the poorest of all ethnic communities in the city. [11] Retaining strong ties to the island, they also worked hard to make a home here and build a community structure of businesses, organizations, houses of worship, and other institutions that have become the foundation of Latino life in the city. The Puerto Rican community is credited for revitalizing North 5th Street in North Philadelphia by opening numerous Puerto Rican-owned businesses, they have also done this to Kensington Avenue, and Lehigh Avenue(between 5th and Front Streets). [12] Philadelphia is also one of the few large US cities with a significant number of middle-class Puerto Ricans, though in Philadelphia, even the middle class Puerto Ricans live in segregated communities, thus they are more visible. [13] Philadelphia is often considered a preferred destination among Puerto Rican migrants, because of its position as a Northeastern city and its cheaper cost of living compared to other cities in the Northeast region. [14] Throughout the 1950s, many Puerto Rican migrants settled east and west along Spring Garden Street. Puerto Ricans were not always welcome newcomers, however, and many faced prejudice and discrimination in their neighborhoods. As the Puerto Rican population continued to grow in the 1960s, it expanded east towards the Delaware River and north towards Lehigh Avenue. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Puerto Rican community grew further north into Olney and into the lower sections of the Northeast.

Since 2010, Philadelphia replaced the city of Chicago as the city with the second-largest Puerto Rican population, Chicago's slightly shrunk and Philadelphia's continued to grow, more than ever before, not only having the second largest Puerto Rican population, but also one of the fastest-growing. [15] Most sources, including the most reliable, the United States Census Bureau, estimated that as of 2010, Puerto Ricans made up between 70-80 percent of Philadelphia's Hispanic/Latino population. [16] [5] Other sources put the percentage Puerto Ricans make up of Philadelphia's Hispanic population, as high as 90% and others as low as 64%. [17] [18] [19] [20] The influx of other Latino and Hispanic groups between 2000 and 2010, may have slightly decreased the proportion Puerto Ricans make up of the city's total Latino and Hispanic population. As of 2016, it was estimated that Puerto Ricans accounted for 59 percent of Philadelphia's Latino population, down from 71 percent in 2000. [21] Nonetheless, unlike many other large northern cities, which have declining or slow-growing Puerto Rican populations, Philadelphia has one of the fastest-growing Puerto Rican populations in the country.

With increased crime and unemployment in Puerto Rico, migration from Puerto Rico to the US mainland is at all-time highs, with Pennsylvania being the second most popular destination after Florida. [22] Also, many Puerto Rican Americans ("Nuyoricans") are moving to Philadelphia from states like New York and New Jersey, because of the close proximity and cheaper cost of living when compared to New York City, as well as the similarly large Puerto Rican population. [14] Between 2000 and 2010, over 40% of Puerto Ricans who moved from other US states and Puerto Rico itself to Pennsylvania, moved to the city of Philadelphia, the remaining nearly 60% moved primarily to the South Central and Eastern sections of Pennsylvania, as well as to Philadelphia suburbs. Since Hurricane Maria, there has been another huge increase in Puerto Ricans, with the Philadelphia area being among the most popular destinations outside Florida.

Year [23] [24] Puerto Rican
population in
Philadelphia [25] [26] [27] 		 % of Philadelphia
total population
198046,5872.7%
199067,8574.2%
200091,5276.0%
2010121,6438.0%
2019146,1539.2%
2020127,1147.9%

Geography

Philadelphia neighborhoods

2nd Street just north of Allegheny Avenue, the heart of an area known for having the highest urban concentration of Puerto Ricans outside Puerto Rico Area with high concentration of PuertoRicans.jpg
2nd Street just north of Allegheny Avenue, the heart of an area known for having the highest urban concentration of Puerto Ricans outside Puerto Rico

Of Philadelphia's 12 Planning Analysis Sections, the ones with significant Puerto Rican populations include Upper and Lower North Philadelphia, the Kensington section, the Lower Northeast, and the Olney-Oak Lane section locally known as 'Uptown'. [28]

When Puerto Ricans first started settling in Philadelphia they came to the Spring Garden neighborhood. As of 2010, the majority of the Puerto Rican population lives in North Philadelphia, in areas east of Germantown Avenue, between Girard Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, in fact, this area has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country. Especially the blocks between 6th street and B street, north of York street and south of Erie avenue, located in the Fairhill neighborhood, these blocks have some of highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country, with most blocks usually being around 85-90% Puerto Rican alone. [29] This particular area is represented by the zip-codes 19133, 19140, and 19134, though these zip-codes heavily overlap with majority black or white neighborhoods. [30] Fairhill has the highest concentration of Hispanics in the city, a large majority of which, are Puerto Rican. Though, there is also a large Puerto Rican population in Northeast Philadelphia, especially the Kensington section. From these areas, the Puerto Rican population is largely spreading eastward and northward, to other areas in upper North Philadelphia and the lower Northeast, and to a much lesser extent westward as well, to areas around Broad Street. Other parts of the city have smaller populations, including Northwest Philadelphia. On a neighborhood basis, large Puerto Rican populations exist in neighborhoods like Fairhill (locally nicknamed the Badlands), Hunting Park, Juniata, Harrowgate, Kensington, West Kensington, Hartranft, and to a lesser extent, Feltonville, Logan, Olney, Lawncrest, Oxford Circle, Frankford, and Port Richmond. Neighborhoods in eastern North Philadelphia (like Fairhill, Hunting Park) and Kensington tend to be more segregated, with high amounts of poverty and very high percentage of Puerto Rican residents. [31] [29] Neighborhoods further north and northeast, like Olney, Juniata, Lawncrest, and Oxford Circle, tend to be more mixed with large numbers of middle class and working class households, and high integration especially between Puerto Ricans/Hispanics and Blacks. [32]

Surrounding metropolitan area

Many smaller cities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also have large Puerto Rican populations. This includes Norristown, Coatesville, and Chester in Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey and Wilmington, Delaware. Other cities in Southeast Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware with large Puerto Rican populations, however, are not counted as part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. There's also a growing number of middle-class Puerto Rican families in the Philadelphia area, especially in Camden County, with many families who can afford to move from impoverished areas of North Philadelphia and the Camden to better off places like Pennsauken for example. [16] Despite the moderately high segregation in the metropolitan area, there are significant Puerto Rican populations scattered throughout the city of Philadelphia and many of the surrounding smaller cities and suburbs. [16] Puerto Ricans represent about 4.5% of the Philadelphia metropolitan area as a whole and 60% of Metro Philly's Latinos, making up the majority of Latinos inside and outside of the city.

Institutions

By the 1950s and into the 1960s and 1970s Puerto Ricans became the leaders of Latino and Hispanic community organizations, which been founded and previously operated by Spaniards and Cubans. [5] By 2005 most of the leadership was still Puerto Rican. [33]

Recreation

There is an annual Puerto Rican Day Parade held in Philadelphia, in late September. [34]

Notable Puerto Ricans from the Philadelphia area

This is a list of notable Puerto Ricans from the Philadelphia region, including Philadelphia/Southeast Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware, all of which have areas with large numbers of Puerto Ricans.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunting Park, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Hunting Park is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Kensington is a neighborhood in Philadelphia that belongs to Lower Northeast. As with all neighborhoods in the city, the lack of any official designation means the boundaries of the area vary between sources over time and are disputed among locals. Kensington, as most long-term residents view it, refers generally to the area consisting of Kensington, East Kensington, West Kensington, and Harrowgate. The adjacent Fairhill and Norris Square neighborhoods are more separate but may be included in Kensington; Fishtown and South (Olde) Kensington were historically included. The most conservative boundaries of the neighborhood, shown in the map below, are Front Street and 5th Street to the west, the Amtrak train tracks to the North, Trenton Avenue, the Trenton Avenue train tracks, and Frankford Avenue to the east, and Cecil B. Moore Avenue to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street, between Northwest Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia. It is bordered to the north by Olney Ave along Broad Street, Spring Garden Street to the south, 35th Street to the west and Adams Avenue to the east. The Philadelphia Police Department patrols five districts located within North Philadelphia: the 22nd, 25th, 26th, 35th and 39th districts. There are thirteen ZIP codes for North Philadelphia: 19120, 19121, 19122, 19123, 19125, 19126, 19130, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19137, 19140 and 19141.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Richmond, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Port Richmond is a neighborhood in the River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is notable for its extremely large Polish immigrant and Polish American community, and it has been known as the Little Poland of Philadelphia. The neighborhood is also home to a large Irish American community and sizable German, Lithuanian, Italian, and Puerto Rican communities, along with a historic Jewish community, as represented in the various churches and organizations. In more recent years, a sizable Albanian community has moved in. The Richmond Zip Code is 19134. A small portion of the neighborhood, north of Castor Avenue, falls into the 19137 ZIP code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olney, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Olney is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia. It is roughly bounded by Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, Tacony Creek to the east, Godfrey Avenue to the north, and the railroad right-of-way west of 7th Street to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kensington, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

West Kensington is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is north of Olde Kensington. The Market Frankford El above Front Street forms the line between West Kensington and Kensington. Its bordering neighborhoods are Kensington to the east, Hartranft to the west, and Olde Kensington to the south. It is bounded by Front Street to the east, 6th Street to the west, Cecil B. Moore Avenue to the south and Lehigh Avenue to the north. It falls into the 19122 and 19133 ZIP codes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominican Americans</span> Americans of Dominican (Dominican Republic) birth or descent

Dominican Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The phrase may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. As of 2021, there were approximately 2.4 million people of Dominican descent in the United States, including both native and foreign-born. They are the second largest Hispanic group in the Northeastern region of the United States after Puerto Ricans, and the fifth-largest Hispanic/Latino group nationwide.

Franklinville is a neighborhood of North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. According to the City Planning Commission, the boundaries of Franklinville are roughly a triangle bounded by West Sedgley Avenue, North Broad Street, and West Hunting Park Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Logan is a neighborhood in the upper North Philadelphia section of the city of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The majority of the neighborhood falls within the 19141 zip code, but some of it falls within 19140. The neighborhood is sometimes confused with the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia. Olney Avenue extends from both the Olney and Logan neighborhoods of the city. The Olney Transportation Center is located in Logan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartranft, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

Hartranft is a neighborhood in the central part of North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairhill, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Fairhill is a neighborhood on the east side of the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Fairhill is bordered by Front Street to the east, Germantown Avenue to the west, Allegheny Avenue to the north, and Cumberland Street to the south. The neighborhood serves as the center of the Hispanic community of Philadelphia, and is known for its "El Centro de Oro" commercial strip along North 5th Street. Fairhill is adjacent to Harrowgate and West Kensington to the east, Hartranft to the south, Glenwood to the west, and Hunting Park to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Ricans in New York City</span>

Puerto Ricans have both immigrated and migrated to New York City. The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-1800s when they were still colonized under Spanish rule. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York City did so after the Spanish–American War in 1898. Puerto Ricans were no longer Spanish subjects and citizens of Spain, they were now Puerto Rican citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the Contiguous United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feltonville, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Feltonville is a working-class neighborhood in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located east of Logan and Hunting Park, west of Lawncrest and Juniata, south of Olney, and north of Fairhill and Harrowgate. Feltonville is bounded by Erie Avenue to the south, Front Street to the west, Roosevelt Boulevard to the north, Tacony Creek to the northeast, and G Street to the east.

Harrowgate is a neighborhood in the River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, located immediately northeast of Kensington adjacent to Kensington Avenue. It is bordered by Feltonville, Juniata and Frankford to the north, Fairhill to the west, West Kensington and Kensington to the south, and Port Richmond and Bridesburg to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Philadelphia</span>

At the 2010 census, there were 1,526,006 people, 590,071 households, and 352,272 families residing in the consolidated city-county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The population density was 4,337.3 people/km2. There were 661,958 housing units at an average density of 1,891.9 units/km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stateside Puerto Ricans</span> Ethnic group and nationality and citizens of Puerto Rico in the US

Stateside Puerto Ricans, also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans, or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who are in the United States proper of the 50 states and the District of Columbia who were born in or trace any family ancestry to the unincorporated US territory of Puerto Rico.

The District of Columbia is a federal district with an ethnically diverse population. In 2020, the District had a population of 689,545 people, with a resident density of 11,515 people per square mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Ricans in Chicago</span>

Puerto Ricans in Chicago are individuals residing in Chicago with ancestral ties to the island of Puerto Rico. Over more than seventy years, they have made significant contributions to the economic, social, and cultural fabric of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper North Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Upper North Philadelphia is a section of Philadelphia that is immediately north of Lower North Philadelphia, and can be described as an area that has a "...large and rapidly growing Puerto Rican population".

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on 2015-01-04.
  2. ↑ "Explore Census Data".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Latino Philadelphia at a Glance." (Archive) Historical Society of Pennsylvania. p. 1. Retrieved on January 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Brief history" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Vázquez-Hernández, p. 88.
  6. 1 2 3 Vázquez-Hernández, p. 90.
  7. ↑ Whalen, Chapter One (Archive) p. 2.
  8. ↑ Whalen, p. 184.
  9. ↑ "Drug Market Analysis 2008" (PDF). justice.gov. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Rosenblum, Daniel; Castrillo, Fernando Montero; Bourgois, Philippe; Mars, Sarah; Karandinos, George; Unick, George Jay; Ciccarone, Daniel (2014). "Urban segregation and the US heroin market: A quantitative model of anthropological hypotheses from an inner-city drug market". International Journal of Drug Policy. 25 (3): 543–555. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.12.008. PMC   4062603 . PMID   24445118.
  11. ↑ Tapia, Javier (1 January 1998). "The Schooling of Puerto Ricans: Philadelphia's Most Impoverished Community". Anthropology & Education Quarterly. 29 (3): 297–323. doi:10.1525/aeq.1998.29.3.297. JSTOR   3196195.
  12. ↑ "GCA Story Proto - Taller Puertorriqueño".
  13. ↑ Roberts, Sam (28 December 1993). "New York's Puerto Ricans Split in Economic Success". The New York Times.
  14. 1 2 "Consider living in Philadelphia". New York Daily News .
  15. ↑ "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on 2020-02-12.
  16. 1 2 3 "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  17. ↑ "Temple University Press" (PDF).
  18. ↑ "The new era of Latino politics". Archived from the original on 2014-02-08. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  19. ↑ "Latinos have region's highest poverty rate". Archived from the original on October 15, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2014-10-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ↑ "Philadelphia's Immigrants: Who they are and how they are changing the city". 7 June 2018. The Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved on March 28, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Thedailyjournal - Puerto Rico's population exodus is all about jobs".
  23. ↑ "2010 Census". Medgar Evers College. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  24. ↑ "QT-P10 Hispanic or Latino by Type: 2010, Census Summary File 1". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 22, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ "Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census".
  26. ↑ https://lcw.lehman.edu/lehman/depts/latinampuertorican/latinoweb/PuertoRico/prpopcit.htm [ bare URL ]
  27. ↑ https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2019.B03001?q=Hispanic%20or%20Latino&g=050XX00US42101_160XX00US4206088,4233408,4261000&tid=ACSDT1Y2022.B03001 [ bare URL ]
  28. ↑ "Philadelphia City Planning Commission | Homepage" (PDF). 19 March 2024.
  29. 1 2 "Congreso _ Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  30. ↑ "Zip Code 19133 - 2010 Census for Philadelphia, PA".
  31. ↑ america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/17/on-drug-infested-north-philly-corners-hope-and-good-luck-come-in-a-bag.html
  32. ↑ "NBC News - Breaking News & Top Stories - Latest World, US & Local News".
  33. ↑ Vázquez-Hernández, p. 88-89.
  34. ↑ "Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade" (Archive). City of Philadelphia. Retrieved on 15 January 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.