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Michael Lapp Migration Division Oral History Collection

 Collection
Identifier: OHC 1

Scope and Contents

The collection contains interviews with five key staff members from the Offices of the Government of Puerto Rico in the United States' Migration Division and recorded 13 audiocassettes including: Joseph Monserrat, National and New York Office Director of the Division from 1951 to 1969, Anna Class Assistant to Monserrat, Luis Cardona the Employment Office director; Tony Vega, seasonal Farm worker’s Programs director and Alan Perl, the lawyer who dealt with the seasonal farm workers’ contracts negotiated by the Division. This collection complements the OGPRUS Migration Division Records.

Dates

  • Creation: 1984-1985

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is available digitally as audio recordings through Centro's Digital Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is held by Centro.

Biographical / Historical

Michael Lapp wrote his PhD dissertation in History at John Hopkins University titled, Managing Migration Division of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans in New York City, 1948-1968. His extensive research documented the role played by Puerto Rico’s government agencies both in the island and those operating stateside after the World War II until the late 1960s. These migratory patterns framed Puerto Ricans largest migration and created a strong presence of Puerto Ricans settling in New York City, Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia among others.

Extent

0.12 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Spanish; Castilian

Abstract

The Lapp Oral History Collection consists of interviews conducted by Michael Lapp in 1984-85 with several Migration Division officers, including Luis Cardona, Joseph Monserrat, Director from 1951 to 1969, and Alan Perl, the lawyer responsible for the seasonal farm workers’ contracts negotiated by the Division. This collection complements the OGPRUS Migration Division Records.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Michael Lapp.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digitized copies of the original audiocassette tapes are available through Centro's Digital Collections portal.

Related Materials

This collection complements the Offices of the Government of Puerto Rico in the United States, Migration Division records at the Centro Archives.

Subject

Title
Michael Lapp Migration Division Oral History Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Pedro Juan Hernández and Lindsay Wittwer
Date
August 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora Repository

Contact:
Silberman Building, Hunter College
2180 Third Ave. Rm. 122
New York New York 10065




About the Collections

Our collections consist of personal papers from prominent Puerto Rican artists, elected officials, social activists, writers, as well as the records of community-based organizations. Our largest collection, the Offices of the Government of Puerto Rico in the United States (OGPRUS) Records, measures approximately 2,900 cubic feet and contains an extraordinary amount of information regarding Puerto Rican migrants and the government institutions established to assist them. The collections date from the 1890s to the present, and document Puerto Rican communities in the Northeast, Midwest, Florida, California and Hawaii.