José Adrián Trujillo
Item
Title
José Adrián Trujillo
Subject
Dominican Immigrants|Dominican Veterans|Dominicans in Politics|Dominicans in the United States|Rafael Leónidas Trujillo|World War II
Creator
CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Source
Archivo General de la Nación, Dominican Republic and the Flagler County Historical Society
Date
1925-1946
Contributor
Edward De Jesús, Principal Investigator / Curator
Ruth Lizardi, Coordinator / Assistant Curator
Dr. Ramona Hernández, Director, CUNY DSI & Professor of Sociology, The City College of New York
Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Assistant Director
Idilio Gracia Peña, Chief Archivist
Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian
Jessy J. Pérez, Archivist
Jhensen Ortiz, Assistant Librarian
Groana G. Meléndez, Photography Editor
Norma Guzmán and Donald Mounts, Researchers
Dr. Tim Williams, Senior Editor
Mariel Acosta, Katie Duarte, Shaday Fermín, and Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Editors
John P. Bimbiras, Edward De Jesús, Jhensen Ortiz, Jessy J. Pérez, Sophia Monegro and Natalie A. Studt, Biography Text Writers
Isabelia Herrera, Grant Writer
Javier Pichardo, Graphic Artist
Sponsor: CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Sponsor: Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at The City College of New York
Sponsor: Latino Americans: 500 Years - National Endowment for the Humanities
Sponsor: American Library Association
Sponsor: New York City Council
Sponsor: Smithsonian Latino Center
Sponsor: Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro)
Sponsor: The Documentary Forum - CCNY Center for Film, Journalism, and Interactive Media
Sponsor: Dominican Students Association
Format
24" x 36" panel
Language
English
Biographical Text
José Adrián Trujillo was born Santo Domingo, Dominican republic in 1925; specific date unknown. he was the adopted son of Aníbal Trujillo, brother of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. He came to the U.S. on May 19, 1943. he attended the New York Military Academy before enlisting in the U.S. Army in August 1944, serving two years as a Private. He was honorably discharged in October 1946, having been awarded the American Theater Campaign and Good Conduct Ribbons.
Driving from New York towards Miami, Trujillo, accompanied by his childhood friend, Louis Todd, stopped to eat at the Green Tile Cafe in Bunnell, Florida. The stop ended tragically for Trujillo. It was shortly before midnight on November 1, 1946. Trujillo was only 20 years old. The Private laid in Cadillac, bleeding out from a fatal gun-shot fired by Deputy Sheriff Miller Robert Teters. Trujillo and his friend were refused service at the "whites only" café. The restaurant owner and waiters had referred to Trujillo and his friends as "Negroes" and had asked them to leave. They all argued. Trujillo and his friend insisted on being served. Deputy Teters was called to the scene. When the deputy arrived, he approached Trujillo who was inside his Cadillac, parked outside of the café. officer Teters claimed that when approached, Trujillo had drawn a pistol and refused to put it away after being asked twice. Deputy Teters then shot Trujillo in the chest, killing him instantly. Teters was later exonerated after a jury ruled that he had fired in self-defense. These Kinds of events were common in the South under the then-prevalent Jim Crow laws. Most local newspapers wrote that Trujillo simply did not understand his status under Jim Crow. However, Dominican and U.S. national newspapers were in an uproar, with headlines reading " Dominican Killed For Negro," "Death Penalty For Color," and "Dominicans in rage."
A month later, after Trujillo's fatal encounter, President Harry S. Truman, concerned with racial discrimination- some suggest in part due to the death of Trujillo-created a national committee to recommend changes to civil rights laws. In 1948, segregation in the military was outlawed, but this was of little significance to General Aníbal Trujillo who committed suicide shortly after suffering a mental breakdown spurred by the news of his son's tragic death in the U.S. Trujillo served honorably in the U.S. military and risked his life to help end prejudice; ironically, he lost his life to the United States' own racial discrimination, while racial discrimination also existed under his uncle's regime in the Dominican Republic.
Driving from New York towards Miami, Trujillo, accompanied by his childhood friend, Louis Todd, stopped to eat at the Green Tile Cafe in Bunnell, Florida. The stop ended tragically for Trujillo. It was shortly before midnight on November 1, 1946. Trujillo was only 20 years old. The Private laid in Cadillac, bleeding out from a fatal gun-shot fired by Deputy Sheriff Miller Robert Teters. Trujillo and his friend were refused service at the "whites only" café. The restaurant owner and waiters had referred to Trujillo and his friends as "Negroes" and had asked them to leave. They all argued. Trujillo and his friend insisted on being served. Deputy Teters was called to the scene. When the deputy arrived, he approached Trujillo who was inside his Cadillac, parked outside of the café. officer Teters claimed that when approached, Trujillo had drawn a pistol and refused to put it away after being asked twice. Deputy Teters then shot Trujillo in the chest, killing him instantly. Teters was later exonerated after a jury ruled that he had fired in self-defense. These Kinds of events were common in the South under the then-prevalent Jim Crow laws. Most local newspapers wrote that Trujillo simply did not understand his status under Jim Crow. However, Dominican and U.S. national newspapers were in an uproar, with headlines reading " Dominican Killed For Negro," "Death Penalty For Color," and "Dominicans in rage."
A month later, after Trujillo's fatal encounter, President Harry S. Truman, concerned with racial discrimination- some suggest in part due to the death of Trujillo-created a national committee to recommend changes to civil rights laws. In 1948, segregation in the military was outlawed, but this was of little significance to General Aníbal Trujillo who committed suicide shortly after suffering a mental breakdown spurred by the news of his son's tragic death in the U.S. Trujillo served honorably in the U.S. military and risked his life to help end prejudice; ironically, he lost his life to the United States' own racial discrimination, while racial discrimination also existed under his uncle's regime in the Dominican Republic.
Citation
CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, “José Adrián Trujillo,” Fighting for Democracy: Dominican Veterans from World War II, accessed November 16, 2024, https://staging.ccnydigitalscholarship.org/dominican-veterans/items/show/46.