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From Spanish-Speaking to Latino: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in West Michigan, 1924-1978

Fernandez, Delia M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437439370

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
Though the concept of “Latino” is something that in today’s society is assumed to be a given category, it is necessary to examine how and why people from distinct ethnic groups embraced a panethnic Latino identity. This dissertation challenges the conventional knowledge on panethnic identity formation. Previous scholarship situates Latino identity as political in nature and a result of 1960s and 1970s activism. My research on Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Grand Rapids, Michigan from the 1920s to the 1970s, shows that panethnicity is not only rooted in Spanish-speaking people’s relationship with and to the state, but rather also emerges from individuals’ desire for human connection. Their familiarity with religion, cultural practices, and shared language helped Mexicans and Puerto Ricans ward off loneliness in their new surrounding. Also, panethnic community and Latino identity formation emerged in Grand Rapids in the 1950s, well before other works suggest. Though there was occasionally tension between some Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, many established affective and kinship bonds through interactions in the Catholic Church, on baseball fields, at dances, and even more when they intermarried. Their decades of social and cultural interaction and their shared experiences with discrimination, led this community in the late 1960s to create the Latin American Council and participate in the federal Model Cities program. This moment of unity was also marked by tension rooted in the complexity of Latino identity that rested on the varying intersections of ethnicity, class, and generation. While some community activists quarreled, others worked together within the Latin American Council to provide social services and cultural programming, greatly improving the quality of life in Grand Rapids. Other activists worked closely with African Americans to change the City of Grand Rapids’ hiring requirements and to pursue community control over policing of Black and brown communities. As Latinos continue to grow in number and diversity, this dissertation serves as a model to understand how Latinos developed interethnic solidarities and intimate social relations that often served as the precursor to working towards collective goals.
Lilia Fernandez (Advisor)
Judy Tzu-Chun Wu (Committee Member)
Kevin Boyle (Committee Member)
302 p.
Ethnic Studies; Hispanic American Studies; Hispanic Americans; History; Latin American History; Latin American Studies
Latina; Latino; Midwest; Mexicans; Puerto Ricans; War on Poverty; Ethnic Identity; community formation; community policing; local politics; migration; operation bootstrap; immigration;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fernandez, D. M. (2015). From Spanish-Speaking to Latino: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in West Michigan, 1924-1978 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437439370

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fernandez, Delia. From Spanish-Speaking to Latino: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in West Michigan, 1924-1978 . 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437439370.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fernandez, Delia. "From Spanish-Speaking to Latino: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in West Michigan, 1924-1978 ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437439370

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1437439370
949
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.