Back in 1917, one year before the great influenza pandemic that killed more people than WWI, Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States. That’s more than a century ago.
The infographic below reminds us of some of the things that have happened since then.
American women got the vote on June 4th, 1920, just 100 years ago. The Great Depression found almost one quarter of Americans unemployed.
A pandemic, voting rights, and soaring unemployment sound like things we’re discussing again today.
In 1948, the first computers were invented. Nobody though at the time that we would keep them in our homes and work from our sofas. Two American astronauts walked on the moon in 1969. NASA has benefited greatly from he talent and expertise of Puerto Rican scientists, and we’ve just seen another U.S. space launch.
It was in 1980 that 3D printing began, and this technology is being used now to create face masks for medical first responders. The internet was born in 1989 and smartphones gave most American adults a portable computer to carry with us in 2007.
2017 brought Hurricane Maria, with thousands of victims in Puerto Rico. 2020 has brought us a new pandemic.
It’s been quite a century.
Let’s finish it up with statehood for Puerto Rico. So many changes have taken place, so much progress has happened, and yet Puerto Rico is still a territory belonging to the United States.
Puerto Rico will be a state. It’s time to get on the right side of history. Tell your legislators.
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