Juan Ponce de Leon
When I drive down Ponce de Leon, I think about conquest and the migrant workers waiting in front of Baskin Robbins. Juan Ponce De Leon. on the behest of Spain became the provisional governor of Puerto Rico and later colonized Florida during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Fast forward to 2010, and men of Spanish descent lean on walls and street lights hoping that a contractor will pull up in a pick-up truck offering them work. After they’ve worked in the heat of the Atlanta sun on buildings all over the city, sometimes contractor pay the workers and sometimes not. These men have no legal recourse because they are illegal immigrants.
Exploitation. Spain. 16th century. United States. 21st Century.
African Americans and the Environment 