- Table View
- List View
Latino Education: An Agenda for Community Action Research
by Pedro Pedraza Melissa RiveraThis landmark volume represents the work of the National Latino/a Education Research Agenda Project (NLERAP)-an initiative focused on school reform and educational research with and for Latino communities. NLERAP's goal is to bring together various constituencies within the broad Latino community who are concerned with public education to articulate a Latino perspective on research-based school reform, and to use research as a guide to improving the public school systems that serve Latino students and to maximizing their opportunities to participate fully and equally in all social, economic, and political contexts of society. Latino Education: An Agenda for Community Action Research conceptualizes and illustrates the theoretical framework for the NLERAP agenda and its projects. This framework is grounded in three overlapping areas of scholarship and activism, which are reflected within the chapters in this volume: critical studies, illuminating and analyzing the status of people of color in the United States; Latino/a educational research, capturing the sociohistorical, cultural, and political schooling experiences of U.S. Latino/a communities; and participatory action research, exemplifying a liberation-oriented methodology for truly transformative education. The volume includes both descriptive educational research and critical analyses of previous research and educational agendas related to Latino/a communities in the United States. According to current U.S. Census data, Latinos now comprise the largest minority group in the total U.S. population. Historically, reflecting larger sociohistorical and economic inequalities in U.S. society, the Latino community has not been well served by U.S. public school systems. More attention to the Latino students' educational issues is needed to redress this problem, especially given the tremendous population increase and projected growth of Latino communities in the U.S. Latino Education: An Agenda for Community Action Research is a major contribution toward this goal.
Latino Elders and the Twenty-First Century: Issues and Challenges for Culturally Competent Research and Practice
by Melvin DelgadoLatino Elders and the Twenty-First Century: Issues and Challenges for Culturally Competent Research and Practice will help social workers, researchers, and organizations identify and analyze ways of meeting the demands of the increasing number of elderly Latinos. Working from conceptual frameworks, case studies, and examples, this book provides you with a demographic picture of Latino elders and investigates the needs of ethnic-specific groups. Latino Elders and the Twenty-First Century will help you develop and create culturally competent intervention methods that take the culture, beliefs, and situations of Latino elders into consideration. Addressing the future challenges to individuals involved in the field of gerontology, this book offers you current studies on the assessment of present services for Latino elders, how they can be improved, and why these individuals may be reluctant to seek financial or medical help. Latino Elders and the Twenty-First Century will assist you in devising policies and programs aimed at improving services for Latino elders, including: providing Latino and non-Latino staff with an understanding of culturally competent principles, such as values, knowledge, and skills, that will help them give attention to individual and cultural needsimproving staff development by assessing issues and underlying causes of client problems using the self and other cultural awareness models to help professionals realize their own values, attitudes, and behaviorsexamining community resources, such as gift shops, clothing shops, and beauty parlors in Puerto Rican communities that offer interpreter services, integration of the lonely, and community leadership to the elderlyconsidering family structure and personal identification to facilitate access to health care servicesminimizing stress of caregivers by fully understanding how they identify their roles within their families, evaluating their needs and capacity as caregivers, and offering counseling approaches that recognize the dynamics of caregivingexamining contributing factors to substance abuse among elders and researching incidence, prevalence, patterns of use, etiology, and consequences of this behaviorLatino Elders and the Twenty-First Century explores the possibilities of further research in the areas of substance abuse among the elderly and the importance of businesses in ethnic communities to meet the growing needs of clients. In order to assist specific groups of Latinos, this book examines social and medical needs and services for Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Yaqui elders of Old Pascua. Latino Elders and the Twenty-First Century will help you develop culturally sensitive programs for individual clients and diminish barriers to service.
Latino Families in Therapy, Second Edition
by Celia Jaes FalicovSince its initial publication, this acclaimed work has provided a comprehensive conceptual framework and hands-on strategies for culturally competent clinical practice with Latino families and individuals. Practitioners and students gain an understanding of the family dynamics, migration experiences, ecological stressors, and cultural resources that are frequently shared by Latino families, as well as variations among them. Through in-depth case illustrations, the author shows how to apply a multicultural and social justice lens to assessment and intervention that draw on each client's strengths. Creative ideas are presented for addressing frequently encountered clinical issues and challenges at all stages of the family life cycle. New to This Edition *Reflects the ongoing development of the author's multidimensional model, including additional assessment/treatment planning tools (MECAmaps, MECA genograms and others). *Incorporates the latest clinical research and over a decade of social and demographic changes. *Chapter on working with geographically separated families, including innovative uses of technology. *Chapters on health disparities and on adolescents. *Expanded discussions of second-generation risks and strengths and of same-sex marriage, intermarriage, divorce, and stepparenting.
Latino Families in Therapy, Second Edition
by Celia Jaes FalicovSince its initial publication, this acclaimed work has provided a comprehensive conceptual framework and hands-on strategies for culturally competent clinical practice with Latino families and individuals. Practitioners and students gain an understanding of the family dynamics, migration experiences, ecological stressors, and cultural resources that are frequently shared by Latino families, as well as variations among them. Through in-depth case illustrations, the author shows how to apply a multicultural and social justice lens to assessment and intervention that draw on each client's strengths. Creative ideas are presented for addressing frequently encountered clinical issues and challenges at all stages of the family life cycle. New to This Edition *Reflects the ongoing development of the author's multidimensional model, including additional assessment/treatment planning tools (MECAmaps, MECA genograms and others). *Incorporates the latest clinical research and over a decade of social and demographic changes. *Chapter on working with geographically separated families, including innovative uses of technology. *Chapters on health disparities and on adolescents. *Expanded discussions of second-generation risks and strengths and of same-sex marriage, intermarriage, divorce, and stepparenting.
Latino Folklore and Culture (Hispanic Americans: Major Minority)
by Bill PalmerWhat do a ghost story, a wise saying, and a holiday celebration all have in common? They are all part of Latino folklore. Latino folklore ties Hispanic Americans to their families and to the larger Hispanic community. Folklore tells Latinos who they are. Hispanic Americans come from many backgrounds--but they share many of the same stories, proverbs, and holidays. Discover Latino folklore--and understand a little better what it means to be a Hispanic American.
Latino Gay Men and HIV: Culture, Sexuality, and Risk Behavior
by Rafael M. DiazWith research based on focus group and individual interviews in the United States, as well as a thorough and integrative review of the current literature, Latino Gay Men and HIV discusses the six main sociocultural factors in Latino communities -- machismo, homophobia, family cohesion, sexual silence, poverty and racism--which undermine safe sex practices. In an attempt to explain the alarmingly high incidence of unprotected intercourse in this population, this in-depth cultural and psychological analysis shows how an apparent incongruence between knowledge or intention and behavior can possess its own sociocultural logic and meaning.
Latino Heartland: Of Borders and Belonging in the Midwest
by Sujey VegaAddresses the politics of immigration, in the everyday lives of one communityNational immigration debates have thrust both opponents of immigration and immigrant rights supporters into the news. But what happens once the rallies end and the banners come down? What is daily life like for Latinos who have been presented nationally as “terrorists, drug smugglers, alien gangs, and violent criminals”? Latino Heartland offers an ethnography of the Latino and non-Latino residents of a small Indiana town, showing how national debate pitted neighbor against neighbor—and the strategies some used to combat such animosity. It conveys the lived impact of divisive political rhetoric on immigration and how race, gender, class, and ethnicity inform community belonging in the twenty-first century. Latino Heartland illuminates how community membership was determined yet simultaneously re-made by those struggling to widen the scope of who was imagined as a legitimate resident citizen of this Midwestern space. The volume draws on interviews with Latinos—both new immigrants and long-standing U.S. citizens—and whites, as well as African Americans, to provide a sense of the racial dynamics in play as immigrants asserted their right to belong to the community. Latino Hoosiers asserted a right to redefine what belonging meant within their homes, at their spaces of worship, and in the public eye. Through daily acts of ethnic belonging, Spanish-speaking residents navigated their own sense of community that did not require that they abandon their difference just to be accepted. In Latino Heartland, Sujey Vega addresses the politics of immigration, showing us how increasingly diverse towns can work toward embracing their complexity.
Latino High School Graduation: Defying the Odds
by Harriett D. Romo Toni FalboWhile high school drop-out rates have steadily declined among white and African American students over the last twenty years, a constant 35 percent of Latino students continue to quit school before graduation. In this pioneering work, Harriett Romo and Toni Falbo reveal how a group of at-risk Latino students defied the odds and earned a high school diploma. Romo and Falbo tracked the progress of 100 students in Austin, Texas, from 1989 to 1993. Drawing on interviews with the students and their parents, school records, and fieldwork in the schools and communities, the authors identify both the obstacles that caused many students to drop out and the successful strategies that other students and their parents pursued to ensure high school graduation. The authors conclude with seven far-reaching recommendations for changes in the public schools. Sure to provoke debate among all school constituencies, this book will be required reading for school administrators, teachers, parents, legislators, and community leaders.
Latino History in Rhode Island: Nuestras Raices (American Heritage)
by Marta V. Martínez Albert T. KlybergIn 1956, the Rosarios came to Providence and opened the first Hispanic food market in Rhode Island. This Dominican family's move signaled a new era of Latin American migration for the Ocean State. In the mid-1960s, Guatemalans came to Rhode Island as refugees from the dirty war at home, and Puerto Ricans arrived in the 1920s looking for agricultural work. From the Colombian factory workers who settled in Central Falls in the mid-1960s to the Cubans who fled Castro's revolution in the 1950s and 1960s, Latin Americans were flocking to the coastal towns and quaint neighborhoods of Rhode Island looking for brighter futures and a place to call home. Join author Marta V. Martinez as she turns a collection of oral histories into a fascinating story of the birth of Rhode Island's vibrant Latino community.
Latino Homicide: Immigration, Violence, and Community (Criminal Justice Series)
by Ramiro Martinez Jr.Latino Homicide is the first empirically based, but readable book for courses to counter the conventional wisdom that immigrant populations only contribute crime to their communities. For this second edition, Martinez further emphasizes his argument with updated data and the addition of a new city, San Antonio. With fascinating case studies from police reports and actual cases from six varied cities, Latino homicide rates are revealed to be markedly lower than one would expect, given the economic deprivation of these urban areas. Far from dangerous or criminal, these communities often have exceptionally strong social networks precisely because of their shared immigrant experiences. Martinez skillfully refutes negative stereotypes in a coherent and critically rigorous analysis of the issues.
Latino Identity and Political Attitudes: Why Are Latinos Not Republican?
by Angel Saavedra CisnerosThis book explores the forces that shape Latino political preferences, arguing that social identities are at the center of Latino partisanship. Despite hopes of the Republican Party for bringing in Latinos through religious and moral issues, Latinos in America consistently side with the Democratic Party. Two possible explanations based on social identity emerge as theories of Latino partisanship. The first possibility is that Latinos behave as a single-issue public driven politically by the issue of immigration. A thorough exploration of this possibility in part two of the book finds very little evidence to justify treating Latinos as a single-issue public. The second explanation, presented in part three, relies more heavily on the concept of social identities. Latino pan-ethnic identity emerges as one of multiple identities available to Latinos in America. These multiple, diverse, and overlapping identities are the force behind Latino partisanship. Latino ethnic identity trumps the impact of religious identities in making Latinos more Democratic.
Latino Language and Literacy in Ethnolinguistic Chicago
by Marcia FarrThis volume--along with its companion Ethnolinguistic Chicago: Language and Literacy in the City's Neighborhoods--fills an important gap in research on Chicago and, more generally, on language use in globalized metropolitan areas. Often cited as a quintessential American city, Chicago is, and always has been, a city of immigrants. It is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the United States and home to one of the largest and most diverse Latino communities. Although language is unquestionably central to social identity, and Chicago has been well studied by scholars interested in ethnicity, until now no one has focused--as do the contributors to these volumes--on the related issues of language and ethnicity. Latino Language and Literacy in Ethnolinguistic Chicago includes: *ethnographic studies based in home settings that focus on ways of speaking and literacy practices; *studies that explore oral language use and literacy practices in school contexts; and *studies based in community spaces in various neighborhoods. It offers a rich set of portraits emphasizing language use as centrally related to ethnic, class, or gender identities. As such, it is relevant for anthropologists, sociologists, linguists, historians, educators and educational researchers, and others whose concerns require an understanding of "ground-level" phenomena relevant to contemporary social issues, and as a text for courses in these areas.
Latino Lives in America: Making It Home
by John A. Garcia Michael Jones-Correa Valerie Martinez-Ebers Gary M. Segura Luis Fraga Rodney HeroLatinos are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, with increased levels of political mobilization and influence. In the timely and thoroughgoing Latino Lives in America,six prominent Latino scholars explore the profound implications of Latinos' population growth and geographic dispersion for American politics and society, tracking key changes and continuities in Latinos' attitudes, behavior, and social experiences. Utilizing a unique set of "narratives" from focus group interviews, supplemented with quantitative findings from the 2006 Latino National Survey, the authors provide a snapshot of Latino life in America. The Latinos interviewed provide their thoughts regarding their sense of belonging and group identification, assimilation and transnationalism, housing, education, civic engagement, and perceptions of discrimination, as well as their experiences in new destinations, where they are trying to realize the "Americano" dream. Latino Lives in America uses these conversations and the survey data to offer both a micro and macro look at how Latinos are transforming various aspects of American politics, culture, and life and how their experiences in the United States are changing them and their families.
Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture (Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies)
by Felipe HinojosaThe first historical analysis of the changing relationship between religion and ethnicity among Latino Mennonites.Winner, 2015 Américo Paredes Book Award, Center for Mexican American Studies and South Texas College.Felipe Hinojosa's parents first encountered Mennonite families as migrant workers in the tomato fields of northwestern Ohio. What started as mutual admiration quickly evolved into a relationship that strengthened over the years and eventually led to his parents founding a Mennonite Church in South Texas. Throughout his upbringing as a Mexican American evangélico, Hinojosa was faced with questions not only about his own religion but also about broader issues of Latino evangelicalism, identity, and civil rights politics.Latino Mennonites offers the first historical analysis of the changing relationship between religion and ethnicity among Latino Mennonites. Drawing heavily on primary sources in Spanish, such as newspapers and oral history interviews, Hinojosa traces the rise of the Latino presence within the Mennonite Church from the origins of Mennonite missions in Latino communities in Chicago, South Texas, Puerto Rico, and New York City, to the conflicted relationship between the Mennonite Church and the California farmworker movements, and finally to the rise of Latino evangelical politics. He also analyzes how the politics of the Chicano, Puerto Rican, and black freedom struggles of the 1960s and 1970s civil rights movements captured the imagination of Mennonite leaders who belonged to a church known more for rural and peaceful agrarian life than for social protest.Whether in terms of religious faith and identity, race, immigrant rights, or sexuality, the politics of belonging has historically presented both challenges and possibilities for Latino evangelicals in the religious landscapes of twentieth-century America. In Latino Mennonites, Hinojosa has interwoven church history with social history to explore dimensions of identity in Latino Mennonite communities and to create a new way of thinking about the history of American evangelicalism.
Latino Orlando: Suburban Transformation and Racial Conflict (Southern Dissent)
by Simone DelermeInside the experiences of immigrants from Latin America and the CaribbeanLatino Orlando portrays the experiences of first- and second-generation immigrants who have come to the Orlando metropolitan area from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. While much research on immigration focuses on urban destinations, Simone Delerme delves into a middle- and upper-class suburban context, highlighting the profound demographic and cultural transformation of an overlooked immigrant hub. Drawing on interviews, observations, fieldwork, census data, and traditional and new media, Delerme reveals the important role of real estate developers in attracting Puerto Ricans—some of the first Spanish-speaking immigrants in the region—to Central Florida in the 1970s. She traces how language became a way of racializing and segregating Latino communities, leading to the growth of suburban ethnic enclaves. She documents not only the tensions between Latinos and non-Latinos, but also the class-based distinctions that cause dissent within the Latino population. Arguing that Latino migrants are complicating racial categorizations and challenging the deep-rooted Black-white binary that has long prevailed in the American South, Latino Orlando breaks down stereotypes of neighborhood decline and urban poverty and illustrates the diversity of Latinos in the region. A volume in the series Southern Dissent, edited by Stanley Harrold and Randall M. Miller
Latino Pentecostal Identity: Evangelical Faith, Self, and Society (Religion and American Culture)
by Arlene Sánchez WalshOf the thirty-seven million Latinos living in the United States, nearly five million declare themselves to be either Pentecostal or Charismatic, and more convert every day. Latino Pentecostal Identity examines the historical and contemporary rise of Pentecostalism among Latinos, their conversion from other denominations, and the difficulties involved in reconciling conflicts of ethnic and religious identity. The book also looks at how evangelical groups encourage the severing of ethnic ties in favor of spiritual community and the ambivalence Latinos face when their faith fails to protect them from racial discrimination. Latinos are not new to Pentecostalism; indeed, they have been becoming Pentecostal for more than a hundred years. Thus several generations have never belonged to any other faith. Yet, as Arlene M. Sánchez Walsh articulates, the perception of adherents as Catholic converts persists, eliding the reality of a specific Latino Pentecostal population that both participates in the spiritual and material culture of the larger evangelical Christian movement and imprints that movement with its own experiences. Focusing on three groups of Latino Pentecostals/Charismatics—the Assemblies of God, Victory Outreach, and the Vineyard—Sánchez Walsh considers issues such as the commodification of Latino evangelical culture, the Latinization of Pentecostalism, and the ways in which Latino Pentecostals have differentiated themselves from the larger Latino Catholic culture. Extensive fieldwork, surveys, and personal interviews inform her research and show how, in an overwhelmingly Euro-American denomination, diverse Latino faith communities—U.S. Chicano churches, pan–Latin American immigrant churches, and mixed Latin American and U.S. Latino churches—have carved out their own unique religious space.
Latino Pentecostals in America: Faith and Politics in Action
by Gastón EspinosaThis &“excellent study&” of the Latino Pentecostal movement is &“an important resource for understanding the future of Christianity in North America&” (Choice). Every year an estimated 600,000 U.S. Latinos convert from Catholicism to Protestantism, a transformation spearheaded by the Pentecostal movement and Assemblies of God. Latino Assemblies of God leaders—and their 2,400 churches across the nation—represent a new and growing force in denominational, Evangelical, and presidential politics. In a deeply researched social and cultural history, Gastón Espinosa uncovers the roots and contemporary developments of this remarkable turn.Latino Pentecostals in America traces the Latino AG back more than a century, to the Azusa Street Revivals in Los Angeles and Apostolic Faith Revivals in Houston from 1906 to 1909. Espinosa describes the uphill struggles for indigenous leadership, racial equality, women in the ministry, social and political activism, and immigration reform. Their outspoken commitment to an active faith has led a new generation of leaders to combine the reconciling message of Billy Graham with the social transformation politics of Martin Luther King Jr. This eye-opening study explains why this group of working-class Latinos once called "the Silent Pentecostals" is silent no more. By giving voice to their untold story, Espinosa enriches our understanding of the diversity of Latino religion, Evangelicalism, and American culture.
Latino Politics and Arizona’s Immigration Law SB 1070
by Lisa Magaña Erik LeeArizona has one of the fastest growing communities of Latino immigrants in the United States. In response to accusations that the Federal government was hampering the immigration enforcement actions of Arizona police, state Senator Russell Pearce introduced the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act." Better known as SB 1070, the policy allows police officers in Arizona to arrest unauthorized immigrants under the state's trespassing law. The law also gives officers the latitude to question and detain those that may appear suspicious, which may simply mean that they appear Latino. Under the State's statute, immigrants can also be criminalized for their mere presence in Arizona. The bill was signed into law on April 23, 2010, which generated a number of immensely complex issues at the local, national and international level The measure has affected an already problematic U.S.-Mexico, bi-national relationship at a time of increased security cooperation between the two countries. Furthermore, former the President of Mexico has criticized the law, issuing travel advisories, and as a sanction, trade between Arizona and Mexico has been reduced. Elected officials across the country called for a variety of economic boycotts and campaigns that would discourage the full implementation of the law. Over fifteen major cities have ended business contracts with Arizona. The State tourism industry has lost almost one billion dollars in less than six months as a result of this policy. This book examines a variety of issues and consequences of SB 1070 at the local, national and international level. It provides timely research and analysis on a topic not previously examined and from a variety of inter disciplinary approaches, making it of interest to political scientists and policy-makers alike.
Latino Politics in Massachusetts: Struggles, Strategies and Prospects (Race and Politics #4)
by Carol Hardy-Fanta Jeffrey GersonThis collection of original essays explores the major challenges to Latino political representation in cities where Latino populations do not make up the majority of the population and therefore cannot rely on sheer numbers to gain representation.
Latino Poverty in the New Century: Inequalities, Challenges, and Barriers
by Elizabeth Segal Keith Kilty Maria Vidal De HaymesUnderstand the social factors that challenge this fast-growing community!The Latino community will soon be the largest minority population in the United States. Although Hispanics have been part of the American scene since before independence, their issues have only recently drawn the attention of the mainstream. Latino Poverty in the New Century takes a clear look at the reasons why poverty and inequality are still major concerns for Hispanic citizens and residents. This keen analysis examines how apparently neutral, even well-meaning social and educational policies can have a devastating effect. The interlocking consequences of language problems, educational problems, gangs, poverty, and illness become a vicious cycle. Despite pervasive patterns of discrimination and subtle barriers to achievement, the Latino community still displays its power. Latino Poverty in the New Century reveals how a faith-based community organization succeeded in adapting indigenous networks and culturally relevant sources of support and power to create a strong community presence.Latino Poverty in the New Century offers a rich, detailed analysis of the challenges that face Hispanics in the United States: the implications of US immigration policy for immigrants, refugees, and native-born Latino citizens the language barriers that can prevent Latinos from full participation in both society and educational programs health care policies and the sometimes tragic consequences of the lack of medical insurance the role of extracurricular activities in keeping Latino students in school the twin calamities known as gentrification and urban blightThis comprehensive book provides social workers and policymakers with wide-ranging analyses of some of the pressing issues and social policies that affect Hispanics in the United States. Latino Poverty in the New Century explores ways to keep Latino youth in high school, promote community organization, encourage Latinos to vote, and increase your understanding of migration dynamics. Containing current research and case studies, this valuable book will help you comprehend the challenges that Latinos face in this country and respect the gains they have made in spite of the obstacles in their way.
Latino Professionals in America: Testimonios of Policy, Perseverance, and Success
by Maria ChávezIn Latino Professionals in America, Maria Chávez combines rich qualitative interviews, auto-ethnographic accounts, and policy analysis to explore the converging oppressions that make it difficult for Latinos to become professionals and to envision themselves as successful in those professions. Recounting her own story, Chávez interviews 31 Latino professionals from across the nation in a variety of occupations and careers, contextualizing their experiences amid family struggles and ongoing racism in the United States. She addresses gender inequality within the Latino community, arguing that by defending, rationalizing, or ignoring patriarchy within the Latino community perpetuates systems of oppression—especially for women; gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals; and others at the intersections. The experiences of these Latino professionals and the author’s analysis provide a blueprint for what works—one, both pragmatic and hopeful, that uses real lives to illustrate how a combination of public policies, people, and perseverance increases the presence of America’s fastest-growing demographic group in the professional class.
Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress
by Jason P. CasellasThis book argues that Latino representation in U. S. legislative institutions is shaped not only by demographics but by legislative institutional design, as well as elite-driven methods, features of the electoral system, and the increasing mainstreaming of Latinos in American society. The election of Latino legislators in the United States is thus complex and varied. This book provides evidence on how successful Latinos have been in winning state legislative and congressional districts in which they have no natural advantage. In particular, this book demonstrates that Latino candidates benefit from higher percentages of Latino citizens in the state, more liberal citizenries, and citizen legislatures. Jason Casellas argues that the legislatures most conducive to the election of Latino candidates are Florida, New Mexico, and California, whereas the least conducive are the U. S. House and New York.
Latino Small Businesses and the American Dream: Community Social Work Practice and Economic and Social Development
by Melvin DelgadoLatino small businesses provide social, economic, and cultural comfort to their communities. They are also excellent facilitators of community capacity—a major component of effective social work practice. Social work practitioners have a vested interest in seeing such businesses grow, not only among Latinos but all communities of color. Reviewing the latest research on formal and informal economies within urban communities of color, Melvin Delgado lays out the demographic foundations for a richer collaboration between theory and practice. Delgado deploys numerous case studies to cement the link between indigenous small businesses and community well-being. Whether regulated or unregulated, these establishments hire from within and promote immigrant self-employment. Latino small businesses often provide jobs for those whose criminal and mental health backgrounds intimidate conventional businesses. Recently estimated to be the largest group of color running small businesses in the United States, Latino owners top two million, with the number expected to double within the next few years. Joining an understanding of these institutions with the kind of practice that enables their social and economic improvement, Delgado explains how to identify and mobilize the kinds of resources that best spur their development.
Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model
by David Diaz Juana MoraExamine alternative strategies to resolving important Latino social issues! Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model examines the failure of traditional research methods to address major social needs in Latino communities, promoting instead a participatory/action approach to research that is socially-and scientifically-meaningful. Experts from a variety of disciplines focus on nontraditional strategies that engage community residents in community-research projects, shortening the distance between the researcher and the "subject." This unique book recounts lessons learned on conducting Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Latino communities using techniques based on anthropology, education, community health and evaluation, and urban planning. Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model addresses non-traditional methods of reducing the tension between the reality of interaction with the subject community and the academic training structures used by researchers. The book promotes a new vision and practice of research design in which the "subject" is central to the process, advocating a participatory approach to produce qualitatively different research based on community identified problems and needs. Contributors examine the value of integrating local knowledge, language, and culture into the methodological design, the ethics of conducting research in Latino communities, and the internal conflicts Chicana/o researchers face within their profession and in the field. Topics addressed in Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model include: community health and Central Americans in Los Angeles ethnography and substance abuse among transnational Mexican farmworkers identity and field research in Mexico the Latino Coalition for a New Los Angeles (LCNLA) researcher/community partnerships and much more! Latino Social Policy: A Participatory Research Model includes case studies, ethnographies, and vignettes that illustrate participatory approaches and outcomes in Latino research. The book is equally valuable as a textbook for academics and students working in the social sciences, public policy, and urban planning, and as a professional guide for community leaders and organizations interested in developing research partnerships.
Latino Spin: Public Image and the Whitewashing of Race
by Arlene DávilaWinner of the 2010 Distinguished Book Award in Latino Studies from the Latin American Studies AssociationFollows the Latino public image and its impact on U.S. national identityIllegal immigrant, tax burden, job stealer. Patriot, family oriented, hard worker, model consumer. Ever since Latinos became the largest minority in the U.S. they have been caught between these wildly contrasting characterizations leaving us to wonder: Are Latinos friend or foe?Latino Spin cuts through the spin about Latinos’ supposed values, political attitudes, and impact on U.S. national identity to ask what these caricatures suggest about Latinos’ shifting place in the popular and political imaginary. Noted scholar Arlene Dávila illustrates the growing consensus among pundits, advocates, and scholars that Latinos are not a social liability, that they are moving up and contributing, and that, in fact, they are more American than “the Americans.” But what is at stake in such a sanitized and marketable representation of Latinidad? Dávila follows the spin through the realm of politics, think tanks, Latino museums, and urban planning to uncover whether they effectively challenge the growing fear over Latinos’ supposedly dreadful effect on the “integrity” of U.S. national identity. What may be some of the intended or unintended consequences of these more marketable representations in regard to current debates over immigration?With particular attention to what these representations reveal about the place and role of Latinos in the contemporary politics of race, Latino Spin highlights the realities they skew and the polarization they effect between Latinos and other minorities, and among Latinos themselves along the lines of citizenship and class. Finally, by considering Latinos in all their diversity, including their increasing financial and geographic disparities, Dávila can present alternative and more empowering representations of Latinidad to help attain true political equity and intraracial coalitions.