Gilberto Gerena Valentín

Gilberto Gerena Valentín (1919-2016) was a Puerto Rican labor leader, civil rights activist, and politician who became one of the most influential figures in New York's Puerto Rican community. He served as president of the Congress of Puerto Rican Hometowns and was the first Puerto Rican to serve as president of the New York City Council.

Gerena Valentín organized Puerto Rican workers in New York's garment industry and docks. He co-founded the National Association for Puerto Rican Civil Rights and was instrumental in establishing bilingual education programs in New York City public schools. He organized voter registration drives that dramatically increased Puerto Rican political participation.

His activism bridged the labor movement and the civil rights movement, connecting the struggle of Puerto Rican workers to the broader fight for racial equality in the United States. He understood that Puerto Rican rights on the mainland were inseparable from the colonial question: as long as Puerto Rico remained a colony, its diaspora would be treated as second-class citizens.