The Puerto Rican Flag on the Statue of Liberty: A Symbol of Resistance, Identity, and Colonial Truth

A brief overview of the iconic image of the Puerto Rican flag on the Statue of Liberty

Jul 16, 2025

On October 25, 1977, a group of Puerto Rican nationalists stunned the nation by scaling the Statue of Liberty and unfurling a massive Puerto Rican flag from the crown of the monument. This daring act was not a stunt, but a political statement meant to confront the United States with its often-overlooked colonial relationship with Puerto Rico. The placement of the flag atop Lady Liberty served as both a metaphor and a reality check. While the statue symbolizes freedom and democracy, the people of Puerto Rico continue to live under a territorial status that denies them full political representation. The symbolism was deliberate, powerful, and rooted in a long history of resistance.

The activists behind the 1977 action were part of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP), a Marxist and pro-independence organization that emerged in the 1970s.

Their demands were clear: the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners and the end of U.S. colonial rule on the island.

According to a New York Times report from October 26, 1977, the activists occupied the statue for nearly nine hours before surrendering peacefully to the police. No one was hurt, but the message was loud and clear. The United States could not continue to promote itself as a global beacon of liberty while suppressing the self-determination of 3 million Puerto Ricans.

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. The Treaty of Paris officially transferred control of the island from Spain to the United States, but it did not grant Puerto Ricans full rights or autonomy. In 1917, Congress passed the Jones-Shafroth Act, which conferred U.S. citizenship on Puerto Ricans, but without granting voting representation in Congress or full political sovereignty. That same year, thousands of Puerto Ricans were drafted into World War I, a stark reminder that their citizenship came with obligations, but not full rights.

[Read More Here: Puerto Rico: An Island with No Voice]

The history of Puerto Rican resistance is long and multifaceted. From the nationalist uprisings of the 1950s led by Pedro Albizu Campos and the Nationalist Party, to the Young Lords’ activism in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, Puerto Ricans have continually fought against political erasure. The flag, first designed in 1895 by exiled revolutionaries in New York City, has been a critical symbol of that struggle. Hanging it on the Statue of Liberty was a culmination of generations of resistance and a dramatic gesture that underscored the contradictions in America’s imperial posture.

The Puerto Rican flag itself has a controversial and powerful history. Modeled after the Cuban flag but with the colors inverted, it was banned in Puerto Rico from 1898 until 1952. Merely possessing or waving the flag was once considered a crime under the Gag Law (Ley de la Mordaza), which criminalized advocacy for independence. For decades, the flag represented not just national pride but defiance. Displaying it on the Statue of Liberty in 1977 was a radical reclamation of Puerto Rican identity and history—something that colonial rule had attempted to suppress for over a century.

The occupation of the Statue of Liberty also fit into a larger pattern of U.S. protest history. The monument has long been a focal point for demonstrations, from suffragists chaining themselves to it in the early 20th century to anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1970s. But the Puerto Rican activists brought attention to an issue often left out of mainstream discourse: the reality of U.S. colonialism in its own hemisphere. It was a confrontation not only with policymakers but with the American public, many of whom were unaware or indifferent to Puerto Rico’s political limbo.

The protest also highlighted the issue of political prisoners, including Oscar Collazo and others convicted for armed attacks intended to draw attention to the island’s colonial status. In the years following the protest, some of these prisoners would be released due to mounting pressure from activists and human rights groups. The demonstration at the Statue of Liberty brought international attention to their cause, forcing the U.S. government to reckon with its treatment of those labeled “terrorists” at home and “freedom fighters” abroad.

In cultural terms, the flag protest marked a turning point in Puerto Rican visibility. In New York, where the Puerto Rican diaspora had grown significantly since Operation Bootstrap in the mid-20th century, the protest inspired a generation of Nuyorican artists, poets, and activists to reclaim their identity with pride. Groups like Taller Boricua and the Nuyorican Poets Café used art to further the messages of resistance and visibility that the flag on Lady Liberty had so boldly asserted.

In recent years, the symbolism of that 1977 protest has resurfaced amid growing dissatisfaction with Puerto Rico’s current political status and economic crises. The 2016 PROMESA Act, which imposed a federally appointed fiscal control board over the island’s finances, and the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, reignited conversations about colonialism, debt, and disaster capitalism. The image of the Puerto Rican flag hanging from the Statue of Liberty remains iconic—reproduced in murals, documentaries, and political campaigns as a visual shorthand for a people’s enduring fight for sovereignty.

Ultimately, the act of hanging the Puerto Rican flag on the Statue of Liberty was more than a protest; it was a declaration of existence. It forced a reckoning with uncomfortable truths about freedom, representation, and empire. Puerto Ricans have served in U.S. wars, paid federal taxes (on some income), and contributed to American culture, yet they remain disenfranchised in fundamental ways. The 1977 protest reminds us that symbols matter—and that when used strategically, they can pierce through silence to demand justice.

In 2025, Bad Bunny reignited global conversation about Puerto Rican identity and colonialism with the release of his music video for the track “NuevaYorl.” Filmed across New York City, the video ends with a powerful and deliberate image: the Puerto Rican flag flying near the Statue of Liberty.

This visual moment was a clear homage to the historic 1977 occupation of the statue by Puerto Rican nationalists, as well as a continuation of Bad Bunny’s own tradition of protest art—first seen in his 2022 video for “El Apagón.” But “NuevaYorl” takes the symbolism even further, connecting the struggles of the diaspora in the Bronx and Brooklyn with those on the island, and casting Lady Liberty not as a beacon of freedom, but as a witness to the ongoing contradictions of American democracy.

By incorporating archival footage of Puerto Rican protests, community murals, and spoken word clips layered into the beat, Bad Bunny transformed “NuevaYorl” into more than a song—it became a cultural manifesto. The video’s climax, as the flag flutters defiantly near the Statue of Liberty, challenges viewers to reckon with the unfinished business of U.S. colonialism and the deep-rooted presence of Puerto Rican culture in the heart of New York. For a younger generation of Boricuas watching around the world, the image was more than nostalgic; it was empowering. Through “NuevaYorl,” Bad Bunny reminded the world that Puerto Rican resistance is alive, creative, and unafraid to reclaim the symbols of empire to tell its truth.

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