No hay racismo aqui

There is a fairy tale that is sometimes told in Puerto Rico: that racism, the great American evil, does not exist on the Isle of Enchantment. Of course, racism is very much alive and well, but in contrast to the mainland United States, the overarching social and culture narrative on the island is one of wealth disparity and classism, not race. Even my father has told me a personal variation of this: “When I first moved here no firm would interview me – a Harvard man, a Chinaman – not because of the color of my skin, but because they had never heard of my father.“