The flag was first used on Dec. 22, 1895, when a group of Puerto Ricans gathered in New York City to show their support for independence for Cuba and Puerto Rico from Spain.

Discussed in this essay: Black Flag Boricuas: Anarchism, Antiauthoritarianism, and the Left in Puerto Rico, 1897-1921 by Kirwin R. Shaffer. University of Illinois Press. 2013. 240 pages. $65. Rod ...

The black and white flag was a response to the financial oversight board that was created from PROMESA; it protests the U.S. mainland's financial control over Puerto Rico.

This would be very positive for taxpayers, the government and the United States. Puerto Rico, as the 51st state, would be a stable and productive entity instead of the now-impoverished territory.

Puerto Rico has a long and storied history, full of tales of conquistadors, conquests, pirate attacks and revolts. Christopher Columbus claimed the island for Spain in 1493.

Painter Héctor Collazo Hernández is painting the Puerto Rican flag in each of the island’s towns. His project, 78 pueblos y 1 bandera, seeks to turn abandoned buildings into tourist attractions.