Decolonize Puerto Rico! Week of Actions: September 20-27

September 20 marks one year since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Over 4,600 people died in this catastrophe, meanwhile the poverty rate has surged over 50% since the disaster. One year later, the destruction of Puerto Rico has not ended, rather it has escalated. Nearly 300 schools have closed. Around 400,000 Puerto Ricans have since left the islands. All aspects of life in Puerto Rico are under attack by the dictatorship of the banks, the Fiscal Control Board. The cause of the suffering of millions of Puerto Ricans is no longer a natural disaster, but rather 120 years of US colonialism and exploitation.

September 23, El Grito de Lares, will be the 150 anniversary of Puerto Rico’s uprising for independence. During this week, September 20-27, join the over 50 organizations and leaders of the struggle for Puerto Rico to demand Decolonize Puerto Rico!

**Find a list of planned actions here**

September 20: One Year Since Hurricane Maria – Day of Action

  • Support local Boricua-led actions in your area! (list in formation)
  • If there are no Boricua-led actions, organize a local demonstration at Santander Bank or US Federal Building in your area to demand: Reparations and Decolonization for Puerto Rico!

September 21: Defend Public Education in Puerto Rico Call-in Day

  • Call & Tweet Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Education, gringa Julia Kelleher, to demand: Stop Closing Schools! Stop privatizing education! Quality education is a right!
    • Call:(787) 759-2000
  • Tweet: @educacionPR, @SecEducacionPR
    • Sample Tweets
    • Hands off public education! Stop the privatization of education in #PuertoRico! No more school closings! Quality education is a right!  @educacionPR All out for @PRTribunal October 27 to put the US on trial for colonial crimes in Puerto Rico!
    • Solidarity with Puerto Rico #teachers to stop school closings and privatization! @educacionPR hands off public education!
    • 4 years before becoming @SecEducacionPR, Julia Keleher’s firm was given nearly $1 million in contracts to ‘reform’ education in #PuertoRico. Now, Keleher is overseeing the privatization of public education. We say NO!
    • .@SecEducacionPR makes $250,000/year to lead the privatization of education in #PuertoRico – more than 10x the average pay of teachers!

September 23: Grito De Lares- Puerto Rican Uprising for Independence

  • September 23, 2018 marks the 150 year anniversary of the Puerto Rican uprising for independence. Engage during this significant date by:
  • Supporting Local Actions: (list in formation)
  • Organizing a showing of a film on Puerto Rico like Lucha Si! Fight for Public Education in Puerto Rico

Sign and Share the Petition to the US Government— Decolonize and Pay Reparations to Puerto Rico Now!

 


Build the International Tribunal on US Colonial Crimes in Puerto Rico

October 27, 2018 – Holyrood Church (715 179th Street) in New York City

  1. Plan to Attend the Tribunal in New York on 10/27: Organize a contingent to attend the Puerto Rico Tribunal in New York City on October 27
  2. Donate to the Puerto Rico Tribunal
  3. Endorse the Tribunal: Get local unions and organizations to sign on as endorsers of the Puerto Rico Tribunal in New York:
  4. Follow the International Tribunal against US Colonial Crimes in Puerto Rico on Twitter and Facebook

Follow the Tribunal on Facebook