Pilar Barbosa
Encyclopedia
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and political activist.
Early years
Barbosa born in Bayamón, Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, was one of twelve children of Jose Celso Barbosa
José Celso Barbosa
Dr. José Celso Barbosa was a medical Physician, sociologist, and political leader of Puerto Rico.Known within Puerto Rico's New Progressive Party as "The father of the Statehood for Puerto Rico movement", Barbosa was also the first Puerto Rican to be awarded an American medical degree.-Early...
, also known as the "Father of the Puerto Rican Statehood Movement". Her father was a member of the Puerto Rican Senate from 1917-1921. Barbosa received her primary and secondary education in Bayamon and was exposed to politics at a young age. As a teenager she enjoyed teaching others. After she graduated from high school, she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
. She was married to José Ezequiel Rosario but lived many decades as a widow.
Educator and political activist
Barbosa earned her Bachelors Degree in Education and then went on to Clark UniversityClark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
where she earned her Doctorate Degree in History. In 1921, she returned to the island and was offered the position of history professor at the College of Liberal Arts of the University of Puerto Rico, thus becoming the first woman to teach in that institution.
In 1929, she established the Department of History and Social Sciences in her Alma Mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
and was its director until 1943. She continued to teach at the university until 1967, the year she retired. Barbosa was also very active in her father's cause and served as political advisor and mentor to many of the politicians who shared her fathers dream, most notably those from the pro-statehood New Progressive Party
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that advocates for Puerto Rico's admission to the United States of America as the 51st state...
, including former Resident Commissioner
Resident Commissioner
Resident Commissioner is the title of several, quite different types of Commissioner in overseas possession or protectorate of the British Crown or of the United States.-British English:...
and now Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Luis Fortuño
Luis Fortuño
Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State...
and former Senate of Puerto Rico
Senate of Puerto Rico
The Senate of Puerto Rico is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate is composed of 27 senators, representing eight constituent senatorial districts across the commonwealth, with two senators elected per district; an...
President and current Puerto Rico Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
Kenneth McClintock
Kenneth McClintock
Kenneth D. McClintock-Hernández is the current Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. Mr. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton presidential campaign's National Hispanic Leadership Council in 2008, co-chaired Clinton's successful Puerto Rico primary campaign that year and served as the...
. Her goal for the party was that it become known as the party of statehood and social justice.
Awards and recognitions
Among the many awards and recognitions bestowed upon her are the following:- Professor Emerita - University of Puerto Rico - 1973
- Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa - Interamerican UniversityInteramerican University of Puerto RicoThe Inter American University of Puerto Rico —or Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico in Spanish, and often referred as "Inter"— is a private university system in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1912 in San German, Puerto Rico. The University has campuses in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Barranquitas,...
- 1975 - Outstanding Leadership Award - President Ronald W. Reagan - 1984
- Golden Book - Exchange Club of Rio Piedras
Barbosa was also a member of various organizations, including The Royal Spanish Academy of History, Dean of Puerto Rican Historians and The Academy of Arts and Sciences in Puerto Rico. In 1993, she was named by the Legislative Assembly to the position of Official Historian of Puerto Rico
Official Historian of Puerto Rico
Pursuant to a law approved in 1903, "An Act for the Approval and Conservation of Certain Historical Data of Puerto Rico", the Puerto Rico Legislature created the Office of the Official Historian of Puerto Rico. The historians who held the position during the early decades of the 20th century...
which was re-established that year.
Written works
Among the books written by Barbosa are the following:- De BaldoriotyRomán Baldorioty de CastroRomán Baldorioty de Castro distinguished himself as one of Puerto Rico's foremost abolitionists and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination...
a Barbosa: La Comision Autonomista de 1896 (From Baldorioty to Barbosa: The Autonomist Commission of 1896) - La Politica en los tiempos (Aleto Manuel F. Rossy ciudadano cabal) (Politics in the times (Aleto Manuel F. Rossy, a well-rounded citizen))
- Raices del Progreso Politico Puertorriqueño (Roots of the Puerto Rican Political Progress)
Later years
Barbosa became a widow when her husband, economics professor José Ezequiel Rosario, died in 1963.Puerto Rico Senate President Roberto Rexach Benitez
Roberto Rexach Benítez
Roberto Rexach Benítez is a Puerto Rican politician, and former Senator and Representative. Rexach Benítez served as the tenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1996...
and House Speaker Zaida Hernandez appointed Barbosa in 1993 as the first modern Official Historian of Puerto Rico
Official Historian of Puerto Rico
Pursuant to a law approved in 1903, "An Act for the Approval and Conservation of Certain Historical Data of Puerto Rico", the Puerto Rico Legislature created the Office of the Official Historian of Puerto Rico. The historians who held the position during the early decades of the 20th century...
, a post she held unter her death in 1997.
Pilar Barbosa de Rosario died on January 22, 1997 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
at the age of 98 and was survived by a brother, Rafael Barbosa.
Legacy
On July 27, 1997, the Senate of Puerto Rico approved law #53, authored by Sen. Kenneth McClintockKenneth McClintock
Kenneth D. McClintock-Hernández is the current Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. Mr. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton presidential campaign's National Hispanic Leadership Council in 2008, co-chaired Clinton's successful Puerto Rico primary campaign that year and served as the...
, a Barbosa protege, which created "Pilar Barbosa Education Internship Program". The program was created as a means to provide professional development training opportunities for public school practitioners and educators in Puerto Rico. The Pilar Barbosa Program serves as a catalyst for long term educational realignment using the graduates as agents of sustainable reform in the public school system.
Program participants are K-12 public school teachers and administrators from Puerto Rico. Every summer, 25 participants come to Washington, D.C. to take part in a myriad of activities including workshops, tours, lectures and group assignments that focus on U.S. education trends and policies in the context of Puerto Rico, integration of technology in the curriculum, innovative curriculum design, and educational leadership. The Washington Cente for Internships and Academic Seminars successfully administered the Pilar Barbosa Education Internship Program in the summers of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Washington Center provides an integrated academic and work experience to prepare participants for lives of leadership, profesional achievement, and civic engagement. Nearly 298 teachers have already benefited from the program.
External links
- http://www.twc.edu/Press_Release_Pilar_Barbosa_2008.shtml Puerto Rican Educators Complete Professional Training in Washington, D.C.
- "Remarks at a Ceremony Honoring Hispanic Excellence in Education September 14, 1984"
- "LEY NUM. 53 DEL 27 DE JULIO DE 1997, CREA EL PROGRAMA PILAR BARBOSA DE INTERNADOS EN EDUCACION."
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07EEDE143AF937A15752C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print New Yort Times Obituary, January 24, 1997