Making the Latino South: A History of Racial Formation

by Cecilia Marquez

In the 1940s South, it seemed that non-Black Latino people were on the road to whiteness. In fact, in many places throughout the region governed by Jim Crow, they were able to attend white schools, live in white neighborhoods, and marry white southerners. However, by the early 2000s, Latino people in the South were routinely cast as "illegal aliens" and targeted by some of the harshest anti-immigrant legislation in the country. This book helps explain how race evolved so dramatically for this population over the course of the second half of the twentieth century.

Cecilia Marquez guides readers through time and place from Washington, DC, to the deep South, tracing how non-Black Latino people moved through the region's evolving racial landscape. In considering Latino presence in the South's schools, its workplaces, its tourist destinations, and more, Marquez tells a challenging story of race-making that defies easy narratives of progressive change and promises to reshape the broader American histories of Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, immigration, work, and culture.

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Mayra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book a 4.5.

It was absolutely wonderful.

[Valeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had an interesting take and felt different from the other monographs we have read so far

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s import to put words to why things are the way they are. Why is there this term for such a diverse group? Yet there are vastly different experiences within it.

I enjoyed reading this. It was a refreshing and interesting approach to the meaning of “Latino”. It is a blanket term that is often hard to identify with. The term itself erases our African and indigenous roots. At the core of it everything is defined in relation to blackness. “Latino” is understood thru the lens of blackness!! I’m exhausted at the subconscious assimilation today. Whiteness is a shifting category oooo and this is why genres are a funny little concept, they are inherently racist. Having to create this term/group (that btw wasn’t really used until 1970s) is further proof. It had everything I love to ponder about. It gave an idea of where Latino (and some indigenous) ppl are during civil rights. And even tho Latinos weren’t necessarily predominantly present, a racial imagination was formed irregardless thru the white lens bc of their twisted forms of entertainment at this time.

There were a few parts where I was like hmmm. But overall, I learned something new. Mostly the history of the racist tourist attraction, South of the Border. The creator was a Jewish man that also made another attraction called confederate land. So much to unpack in those two sentences. A good read :) Thank you for the research Cecilia

[Lauren J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The attitude toward Latinx people has evolved over the years. It never occurred to me that this change in perception was related to our countries attitude toward African American citizens. The start contrast during Jim Crow to the attitudes toward this population today is complex. Cecilia Marquez does an amazing job explaining the shifting attitude over the years. Her stories of specific people and families help expose the reality of the times. Every HS student should read this book.

[Cindy Brookshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a dense read, like a dissertation, but fascinating. Helped me to understand the challenges for a diverse small town with a mix of black and white residents and growing Latino population. I passed it off to a local minister who is working on a Duke Divinity/Ormond Center grant for placemaking project that will include nine community dinners for conversation. I recommended he talk to the author and see if she could come and participate.

[Abstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a thorough rescue of the history of hispanic roots in the south of US. It really helped me understand the complex and intertwined processes that played a ley rol in the tracing of the latino identity in the US.