Join us for a special author event in honor of Latine Heritage Month! Facing persistent exploitation, discrimination, and marginalization in the second half of the twentieth century, generations of Puerto Rican organizers and activists drew on multiple competing versions of nationalism to challenge the racial order in Chicago, one of America’s most segregated cities. Initially, both supporters and opponents of Puerto Rican independence promoted the assimilation of fellow migrants as white citizens. The three-night-long Division Street Riots marked a fundamental pivot point in 1966, ending the pursuit of whiteness and opening the door to waves of nationalist militancy during the 1970s. By the 1980s and 1990s, Puerto Rican nationalists in Chicago had entered electoral politics, building a broader notion of Latinidad even as they softened its radical edges.
Drawing on an extraordinary array of archival material, much of it previously inaccessible, Michael Staudenmaier highlights cultural and political projects profoundly informed by nationalist sentiments, from beauty pageants and parades to protests and bombings to elections and legal battles. Revealing how nationalism became a key site of racial formation for Puerto Ricans in Chicago, White, Black, Brown: Becoming Puerto Rican In Chicago shows how they understood themselves and demanded to be seen by their neighbors and the world.
Michael is an independent scholar living in Chicago. He received his PhD in history from the University of Illinois and taught for more than a decade at various universities in Illinois and Indiana. Since 2020 he has been an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Puerto Rican Studies Association. He is the author of Truth and Revolution: A History of the Sojourner Truth Organization, 1969-1986 (AK Press, 2012) and co-author of We Go Where They Go: The Story of Anti-Racist Action (PM Press, 2023), as well as numerous shorter works published in both academic and popular venues including the Journal of American History and the Chicago Tribune. He has worked in solidarity with the Puerto Rican independence movement in Chicago for more than three decades and volunteers on the Board of Directors of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Michael will be in conversation with Joanna Hernandez of WTTW News. 
Joanna Hernandez is a correspondent for “Chicago Tonight,” where she reports on the people, issues, and communities shaping Chicago. Since joining WTTW News in 2021, she has covered a wide range of stories, from neighborhood initiatives and public policy to culture and community impact, with a focus on amplifying often-overlooked voices. Prior to WTTW, Hernandez spent five years reporting in New York, where she shot, wrote, and edited stories for News 12, helping launch its first digital reporting initiative. Raised in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, Hernandez is passionate about telling stories that connect audiences to the diverse communities that make up the city. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago. How to Attend:Doors to the Multipurpose Room open at 5:00 p.m., and seating is first come, first served (200 capacity). Books are available for purchase, and the authors will autograph books at the conclusion of the program.
This event will also take place live on CPL’s YouTube channel and CPL’s Facebook page. You’ll be able to ask questions during the event as well! Can’t make it to the live stream? We’ll archive the video on YouTube to watch later.
Accessibility
Automatic captioning is available via Facebook and YouTube’s closed captioning setting. Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.Photo provided by speakers.