Juana Colon Rivera, March 27, 1886 – January 17, 1967
By Carlos “Carlito” Rovira
The legendary Juana Colon Rivera was among many women throughout Puerto Rican history who made a mark by leading struggles against capitalist exploitation and colonial oppression. Colon was a renowned feminist and labor leader, as well as a respected community healer using traditional African-Caribbean medicine.
Her prominence in the politics of resistance also made her a pioneer, pushing back on anti-Black traditions while being a Black-Puerto Rican woman herself. African Chattel slavery was a brutal institution central to Spanish colonialism in Puerto Rico until its abolition on March 22, 1873.
Many of Colón’s relatives were enslaved, including her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Her family lived in extreme poverty, which played a role in preventing Juana from receiving an education. From a youthful age, she survived by laboring as a servant, laundress, and steam ironer. Black Puerto Ricans have historically been the most downtrodden and discriminated social stratum within the context of this colonized nation.
Although Juana Colon was illiterate, she became recognized for her oratory skills. Juana’s powerful voice expressed passion for justice which allowed her to become a prominent leading figure in Puerto Rico’s labor and women’s suffrage movements. Juana Colon’s anti-capitalist fighting spirit was identical to another woman warrior and contemporary, the Anarcho-Communist Luisa Capetillo. Both women were exemplary leaders in Puerto Rico’s working-class movement.
When the United States militarily invaded and colonized Puerto Rico in 1898, the economy was rich in the production of tobacco and other crops. The American Tobacco Company, United Fruit Company and other foreign corporations wasted no time finding ways to plunder the country’s natural resources and exploit the people. The avaricious nature of these imperialist entities is what sparked the movement for the eight-hour day and the right of workers to organize.
Juana Colon became an organizer of tobacco strippers. She worked vigorously with the Free Federation of Workers (Federación Libre de Trabajadores, or FLT) to demand higher wages and better working conditions.
In the years 1917 and again 1919, Juana Colon led massive labor struggles involving thousands of workers against the American Tobacco Company. American Tobacco Company goons and Puerto Rico police decided to attack the striking workers. Juana Colon defiantly called on everyone to fight back.
As she earned the respect of labor and political organizations throughout Puerto Rico, she also got the attention of U.S. colonial officials and the most vicious corporate exploiters. Juana was kept under surveillance and on many occasions, she became a target for persecution; Juana was shot at, repeatedly beaten, arrested, fined, and criminally charged by colonial police with “inciting to riot.” Her resilience during these challenges earned her the title “Joan of Arc of Comerío,” the township where she was born.
Juana Colon’s empathy for the plight of working people and contempt for the exploitative nature of capitalism was certain. She had strong affinities for the ideals of Socialism. On March 21, 1915, Juana Colon became a co-founder of the Socialist Party (SP). She founded the SP chapter in her hometown of Camerio.
Although the SP degenerated into obscurity and dissolved by 1956 after distancing itself from the independence cause, it’s entry into the political spectrum and being the first of its kind to raise socialism in Puerto Rico’s history was nevertheless of the utmost significance. In the early part of the Twentieth Century workers’ rights and Socialism were increasingly viewed by many people as synonymous throughout the globe.
Many may wonder why Juana Colon is not known for being an advocate for Puerto Rico’s independence, and justifiably so. That may have likely been attributed to the absence of an anti-imperialist, anti-colonial orientation in Puerto Rico’s working-class movement and influences of the SP leadership, Santiago Iglesias in particular, who tended to be focused only on economic issues with a willingness to capitulate to U.S. colonial rulers.
What is important to note about Juana Colon’s legacy, despite certain shortcomings, is how the child of a formerly enslaved family, living in poverty and illiterate, grew to become an exemplary fighter for the rights of oppressed and exploited people.
LONG LIVE THE LEGACY OF JUANA COLON RIVERA!
carlitoboricua 