War
Against All Puerto Ricans by Nelson Denis, 2015, Excerpts
Albizu was born out of wedlock
to a local mestizo named Julian Campos, who died when he was four. His father
was a wealthy merchant who refused to acknowledge his dark-skinned son, so
Albizu ran barefoot through the Barrio Tenerias of Ponce. His maternal Aunt,
Rosa Campos, adopted him.
In 1914, Pedro Albizu Campos
became the first Puerto Rican to be admitted to Harvard College. In addition to
his Harvard studies, Albizu taught Spanish classes at Walpole High School and
tutored other Harvard students in chemistry, French, and Spanish. He wrote
articles for the Christian Science
Monitor and was voted president of the Cosmopolitan Club, which sponsored
visits from foreign scholars and dignitaries. An exceptional student, he
graduated with honors in 1916 and was admitted to Harvard Law School.
When the United States entered
WWI, Albizu volunteered and served as a first lieutenant in the US Army. He
helped to organize and train the Third Battalion Infantry of Puerto Rico and
was the only “colored” officer at Camp las Casas, the army training base on the
island. Both in the army and during a military tour through the American South,
Albizu encountered widespread racism.
By the time he returned to law
school in 1919, Albizu had made a decision, he would never be one of ”them.”
The United States would never take him, his people, or his homeland seriously.
Albizu devoted himself to the cause of Puerto Rican independence.
In 1921, Albizu graduated from
law school as class valedictorian and received multiple job offers. Albizu
refused them all and returned to his hometown of Ponce to pursue his growing
obsession: the independence of Puerto Rico.
Most of all this is not true
ReplyDeleteHe left the law school w/out completing Evidence and Contracts. It was not until years later that he took the exams and was admitted into the practice.
He loved the US. You should see his 1921/1923 application for the practice he filed in the PR Supreme Court. A big chunk of is is him describing his proud service in the Uited States Army. And you should see his 1923 public statements where he supported something similar to the Estado Libre Asociado and even attempted to run that years for the Senate.