Steel and Identity: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Lorain, OH

In 1947 over 500 workers from Puerto Rico were recruited to work in the mill to fill the gap of workers either lost from the war or who left for better pay at Fruehoff Trailer and other local companies.  The mill hired the S.G. Friedman Farm Labor Agency of Philadelphia to recruit workers from Puerto Rico as an "experiment."

Research Puerto Rico's legal standing in the United States.  Would the recruited workers be considered "immigrants" or "migrants?"  Explain.  

By 1953 over 3700 Puerto Ricans lived in Lorain and 53 perent worked for the National Tube Company.  Over sixty percent of that community lived in South Lorain between East 28th and East 30th.  In 1980 over 8000 Puerto Ricans lived in the city and was considered the "greatest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the United States."

Examine the image on the right.  What questions does this photoraph raise in your mind?