Dan Berger on recent activism in Puerto Rico

puerto rico

IAS faculty member Dan Berger published two op-eds on the recent demonstrations that forced Puerto Rico's governor to resign. In the Washington Post Berger and historian Carly Goodman write that the protests build upon a long history of activism that might inspire people in the US as well. "For years, Puerto Ricans have been organizing in opposition to U.S.-backed austerity policies supported by the island’s conservative politicians," they write. "For Americans wanting to not just challenge Trump but the very social, cultural and economic structures that have emboldened him, Puerto Rico provides inspiration." In Black Perspectives, Berger chronicled the long engagement between Puerto Rico and the US Black freedom struggle, focusing on the civil rights activist Ella Baker.