GBH Openvault

Say Brother; Island in America, An; Joseph Monserrat interview

Part of Say Brother.

05/06/1977

In this clip New York City Board of Education President Joseph Monserrat, a Puerto Rican immigrant, talks about the historical reasons for the poverty of immigrants. Monserrat talks about the inability of the United States to embrace immigrant cultures, or to solve first generation immigration problems. Overall in this program, Say Brother presents the film An Island in America, produced by DHS Films, The Anti-Defamation League, and B'Nai Brith in cooperation with the School District of Philadelphia. Film relates the problems of Puerto Ricans who have immigrated to the United States, the reasons why over one-third of the population has left Puerto Rico, the challenges facing Puerto Ricans in achieving the "American dream," their struggles against racial discrimination and poverty, and the historical treatment of minorities in the United States. Film includes the commentary of Joseph Monserrat (then President of the New York City Board of Education) and Congressman Herman Badillo (who, in 1971, was the first Puerto Rican elected to Congress in the United States).


License Clip
Series
Say Brother
Program
Island in America, An
Program Number

725

Title

Joseph Monserrat interview

Series Description

Say Brother is WGBH's longest running public affairs television program by, for and about African Americans, and is now known as Basic Black. Since its inception in 1968, Say Brother has featured the voices of both locally and nationally known African American artists, athletes, performers, politicians, professionals, and writers including: Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Thomas Atkins, Amiri Baraka, Doris Bunte, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, Louis Farrakhan, Nikki Giovanni, Odetta Gordon, Henry Hampton, Benjamin Hooks, Jesse Jackson, Hubie Jones, Mel King, Eartha Kitt, Elma Lewis, Haki Madhubuti, Wallace D. Muhammad, Charles Ogletree, Babatunde Olatunji, Byron Rushing, Owusu Sadaukai, and Sonia Sanchez. Series release date: 7/15/1968

Program Description

Say Brother presents the film An Island in America, produced by DHS Films, The Anti-Defamation League, and B'Nai Brith in cooperation with the School District of Philadelphia. Film relates the problems of Puerto Ricans who have immigrated to the United States, the reasons why over one-third of the population has left Puerto Rico, the challenges facing Puerto Ricans in achieving the "American dream," their struggles against racial discrimination and poverty, and the historical treatment of minorities in the United States. Film includes the commentary of Joseph Monserrat (then President of the New York City Board of Education) and Congressman Herman Badillo (who, in 1971, was the first Puerto Rican elected to Congress in the United States).

Asset Type

Clip

Media Type

Video

Subjects
Immigrants--Puerto Rican--United States
Civil rights
Hispanic American politicians
Segregation
Badillo, Herman, 1929-
Monserrat, Joseph
Hispanic Americans in motion pictures
Genres
Magazine
Topics
Race and Ethnicity
Publication Information
WGBH Educational Foundation
Citation
Chicago: “Say Brother; Island in America, An; Joseph Monserrat interview,” 05/06/1977, GBH Archives, accessed March 29, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_77004351C1924F69902384D634311A2F.
MLA: “Say Brother; Island in America, An; Joseph Monserrat interview.” 05/06/1977. GBH Archives. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_77004351C1924F69902384D634311A2F>.
APA: Say Brother; Island in America, An; Joseph Monserrat interview. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_77004351C1924F69902384D634311A2F
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