Flag, Recovered
- Description
- Recovered flag for the Port Authority Hispanic Society. The flag is white with the logo for the society in light blue in the center; it features the large letters "PAHS" at the top and "Established 1976" below the logo. The flag has a yellow tasseled fringe at the bottom and an opening for a hanging rod at the top. The flag is discolored in places, with yellow stains and large black blotches that resemble ink stains. There is clear packing tape securing a few rips and small holes throughout. In the lower right corner is a stapled evidence tag marked "#719 Port Elizabeth | 02-11-02 | Det. Ferrigno from Det. Mendenhall."
- Historical Notes
- On September 11, 2001, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey employee Juan Colon was enjoying a scheduled day off at his home in Bloomingburg, New York. Upon hearing news of the attacks, he responded by reporting to work the following day at a Port Authority annex location near Journal Square in Jersey City. In the months following the attacks, Colon received notification that the Port Authority Hispanic Society’s official flag had been found during the recovery operation at Ground Zero. At the time, Colon served as the Society’s president; the flag had been housed in his 69th floor office.
Founded in 1968, the objectives of the Port Authority Hispanic Society were to promote and foster professional development and equitable representation for members of various Latino ethnicities employed by the Port Authority of NY & NJ / Port Authority Trans Hudson.
Curator's Comment
The surviving flag helps preserve the history of the Port Authority Hispanic Society in the context of the 1960s and 1970s, the same period in which the World Trade Center was built and dedicated. The PAHS’s founding reflects to the growing Hispanic/Latino population that lived and worked in the “Port District” (approximately 1,500 square miles in New York State and New Jersey centered around New York Harbor) by the mid-twentieth century. In 1975, 3% of Port Authority employees identified as Hispanic (compared to 18% as recently as 2020), giving the PAHS added purpose for guiding and supporting its members.
- Accession Number: C.2013.909.1
- Dimensions: 35.5 in X 58 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 90.17 cm X 147.32 cm
- Source: Port Authority Hispanic Society
- Credit Line: Gift of Port Authority Hispanic Society
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