The following message transferred from the Writers Forum regarding Schomburg is listed below:

Reynolds Mulero "ren7one@aol.com"
Date: Wednesday, 23 February 2005, at 10:07 a.m.

In Response To: Re: Puerto Rico's Gift: Arturo Schomburg (K Wyer Lane)

Note that Mr. Schomburg, the Puerto Rican son of a white Puerto Rican father, who happened, like many other Puerto Ricans, to be of German descent and a black Puerto Rican mother, who herself, had been born into slavery, was not an American citizen. Now those ludicrous assertions that Schomburg wasn't "really" Puerto Rican can be laid to rest!!! But I digress. Schomburg was certainly not born American. Remember that Puerto Ricans lost their Spanish citizenship after the American invasion of 1898 and maintained their Puerto Rican citizenship, albeit one not recognized as internationally sovereign, until 1917 when the U.S. literally imposed American citizenship. Consequently, Arturo Schomburg was born a Puerto Rican Spanish Citizen, lived for 19 years as a Puerto Rican citizen alone and died an American citizen.