Are these sentences True or False?
- Puerto Ricans have been American citizens for more than a century.
- Justina thought she would never learn about her ancestors because she believed there weren’t any records of their existence.
- Her great-great grandparents were land owners.
- They have been able to take Justina’s roots all the way back to the early 18 hundreds.
- She has descended from a black man on her mother’s side.
- Learning that she's a descendant from enslaved people makes her appreciate the work her ancestors have done even more.
Script
JM. Ohhh
wooow
P. See what
I mean…
P. Puerto Rico has been a United States possession for more than a century and while Puerto Ricans are American citizens free to move anywhere within the country when they come to the mainland they're leaving behind their island’s culture and its history for many the experience can be jarring and for their descendants the quest for roots can be intensely meaningful. Actor Justina Machado grew up in Chicago because her grandmother moved from Porto Rico in the 1950. Justina told me that she feared she may never be able to learn about her ancestors because they lived in the countryside and where she believed, by large, impoverished she worried there were simply no records of their existence. It was incredible to show Justina how wrong she was.
JM. Julio Ruiz head male aged 56 occupation labour on sugar cane farm. Dominga Ruiz, wife, female aged 54.
P. You’ve
just met your great great grandparents who are Julio and Dominga Ruiz.
JM. I like
those names.
P. Have you
ever heard those names? Julio and Dominga?
JM. No, But
they are great. Julio and Dominga, those are great names.
P. What's
it like to learn this?
JM. Honestly,
this blows my mind because I have never seen anything. This official from my
family, ever. Never, do you understand? not a picture, not a marriage
certificate, not a death certificate…not any of that, so to see something
official, it’s like, okay, so I got some official stuff.
P. Isn’t
that amazing?
JM. Yes, it
is. It is pretty phenomenal.
P. Many of
us are surprised to learn that Puerto Rican census records are easy to access
and birth and death records exist even in rural regions. Using those records,
we were able to take Justina’s roots all the way back to the early 18 hundreds.
What's more when we looked into mitochondrial DNA which is the genetic
fingerprint passed down from mother to child, across generations we found one
more surprising aspect about her heritage.
P. What
continent does it originate, then?
JM. Africa.
P. That
means you descended from a black woman on your mother's side.
JM. There
you go.
P. She was
transported to the island on a slave ship. And your DNA alone tells us this
tale.
JM. Wow.
P. Have you
ever thought about the fact that you were descended from enslaved people that
you could possibly be?
JM. I I I knew that there would be but to hear it. It just makes me appreciate my family and just in general just gives me a sense of pride you know, my people worked really hard they didn't have much, but they worked and and this is... It just shows you what can happen in a couple generations.
Speaking
