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Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America

We began conceptualizing this project in 2007 when Oklahoma lawmakers— concurrent with other legislators elsewhere in the country—passed a draconian law attempting to expunge the undocumented population from the state. As Latin Americanists educated in New York and California, we were disturbed...

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Main Author: LINDA ALLEGRO, ANDREW GRANT WOOD
Format: eBook
Language: Bahasa Inggris
Published: University of Illinois Press 2013
Subjects:
Hispanic Americans—West North Central States—Social conditions, Latin Americans, Foreign workers, West North Central States—Ethnic relations, Emigration and immigration
Online Access: http://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52751
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recordtype oai_dc
spelling oai:lib.umy.ac.id:527512021-06-16T13:06:23ZLatin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle AmericaLINDA ALLEGRO, ANDREW GRANT WOODHispanic Americans—West North Central States—Social conditions, Latin Americans, Foreign workers, West North Central States—Ethnic relations, Emigration and immigrationWe began conceptualizing this project in 2007 when Oklahoma lawmakers— concurrent with other legislators elsewhere in the country—passed a draconian law attempting to expunge the undocumented population from the state. As Latin Americanists educated in New York and California, we were disturbed by the many inaccuracies disseminated about immigrants, the scapegoating of people of Latin American heritage, and the countless diatribes about “illegals” in the media. Before long, this new wave of antiimmigrant fervor had crystallized into an angry narrative alleging an “unworthiness”— and possibly even criminal intent—on the part of nearly all Latin American immigrants. Over and over we heard people ask: Why were they here? What public services were they taking advantage of? Why didn’t they speak English? What part of illegal don’t you understand? From our perspective, the prevailing public discourse that so dehumanized border crossers stood in sharp contrast to the hardworking and morally grounded individuals and families we knew. Miguel, a talented corrido songwriter from Michoacán, worked as a landscaper tending the lawns of individuals who barely knew of his existence. As a day laborer, his full life as a musician, father, and friend remained unknown. Juan’s daughter, Amanda, with undocumented status, actually supported her unemployed American husband working as a nanny. Antonia, having buried a husband and leaving seven children behind in Guatemala, followed a cousin’s path to rural Oklahoma where she worked in a cafeteria kitchen and sent her paychecks home. The determined work ethic of these people, as far as we could see, ran contrary to the often prejudicial, two-dimensional portrayal of “Hispanics.” Given these and many other similar situations, we felt inspired to render a more humane depiction of Latin American migrants in the U.S. Heartland.University of Illinois Press2013eBookebook 395Bahasa Inggrishttp://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52751
institution Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
collection Perpustakaan Yogyakarta
language Bahasa Inggris
topic Hispanic Americans—West North Central States—Social conditions, Latin Americans, Foreign workers, West North Central States—Ethnic relations, Emigration and immigration
spellingShingle Hispanic Americans—West North Central States—Social conditions, Latin Americans, Foreign workers, West North Central States—Ethnic relations, Emigration and immigration
LINDA ALLEGRO, ANDREW GRANT WOOD
Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America
description We began conceptualizing this project in 2007 when Oklahoma lawmakers— concurrent with other legislators elsewhere in the country—passed a draconian law attempting to expunge the undocumented population from the state. As Latin Americanists educated in New York and California, we were disturbed by the many inaccuracies disseminated about immigrants, the scapegoating of people of Latin American heritage, and the countless diatribes about “illegals” in the media. Before long, this new wave of antiimmigrant fervor had crystallized into an angry narrative alleging an “unworthiness”— and possibly even criminal intent—on the part of nearly all Latin American immigrants. Over and over we heard people ask: Why were they here? What public services were they taking advantage of? Why didn’t they speak English? What part of illegal don’t you understand? From our perspective, the prevailing public discourse that so dehumanized border crossers stood in sharp contrast to the hardworking and morally grounded individuals and families we knew. Miguel, a talented corrido songwriter from Michoacán, worked as a landscaper tending the lawns of individuals who barely knew of his existence. As a day laborer, his full life as a musician, father, and friend remained unknown. Juan’s daughter, Amanda, with undocumented status, actually supported her unemployed American husband working as a nanny. Antonia, having buried a husband and leaving seven children behind in Guatemala, followed a cousin’s path to rural Oklahoma where she worked in a cafeteria kitchen and sent her paychecks home. The determined work ethic of these people, as far as we could see, ran contrary to the often prejudicial, two-dimensional portrayal of “Hispanics.” Given these and many other similar situations, we felt inspired to render a more humane depiction of Latin American migrants in the U.S. Heartland.
format eBook
author LINDA ALLEGRO, ANDREW GRANT WOOD
author_sort LINDA ALLEGRO, ANDREW GRANT WOOD
title Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America
title_short Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America
title_full Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America
title_fullStr Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America
title_full_unstemmed Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America
title_sort latin american migrations to the u.s. heartland: changing social landscapes in middle america
publisher University of Illinois Press
publishDate 2013
url http://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52751
isbn ebook 395
_version_ 1702748810714808320
score 14.79448

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