This reader introduces students to the variety and complexity of Latinxs′ experiences in the U.S., and prepares them for further study in this interdisciplinary field. The opening essay, written by the editors, offers a broad overview of the approximately 59 million people in the U.S. who identify as Hispanic. The rest of the book will consist of contributed essays from Latina(o)/Chicana(o) scholars on a range of subjects including immigration, citizenship, and deportation; racial identities; political participation and power; educational and economic achievement; family; religion; media and popular culture. Although the essays are written for lower-division undergraduates, they reflect many of the leading theoretical and methodological approaches in the field. The essays are unified by an intersectional approach, demonstrating how experiences and life chances of Latinxs are also shaped by gender, social class, sexuality, age, and citizenship status.

Latinos across the United States are redefining identities, pushing boundaries, and awakening politically in powerful and surprising ways. Many—Afrolatino, indigenous, Muslim, queer and undocumented, living in large cities and small towns—are voices who have been chronically overlooked in how the diverse population of almost sixty million Latinos in the U.S. has been represented. No longer. In this empowering cross-country travelogue, journalist and activist Paola Ramos embarks on a journey to find the communities of people defining the controversial term, “Latinx.” She introduces us to the indigenous Oaxacans who rebuilt the main street in a post-industrial town in upstate New York, the “Las Poderosas” who fight for reproductive rights in Texas, the musicians in Milwaukee whose beats reassure others of their belonging, as well as drag queens, environmental activists, farmworkers, and the migrants detained at our border. Drawing on intensive field research as well as her own personal story, Ramos chronicles how “Latinx” has given rise to a sense of collectivity and solidarity among Latinos unseen in this country for decades. A vital and inspiring work of reportage, Finding Latinx calls on all of us to expand our understanding of what it means to be Latino and what it means to be American. The first step towards change, writes Ramos, is for us to recognize who we are.

This edited volume brings together voices of Latinx students, teachers, teacher educators, and education allies in Latinx communities to reveal ways in which today’s sociopolitical context has given rise to politically-sanctioned hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric. Contributors—key stakeholders in the education of immigrant Latinx children, youth, and college students—share how this rhetoric has exacerbated existing systemic injustices within K-Higher Education. They draw attention to counternarratives that speak to leadership and strength of community. Contributors include high school and college students and faculty, community organizers, and early career academics, whose voices are too often underrepresented in academic conversations. This book highlights professional and personal acts of courage, community organization, and the transformation of students and educators who are stepping into leadership roles to affect change. Understanding that teaching and learning are political acts, we call all those vested in Latinx communities to engage in small and large acts of agency to collectively impact change in our K-Higher Education systems.

"This book provides practical help for undoing the deficit perspective that is frequently applied to Latinx bilingual students. This deficit perspective limits educators from getting to know bilingual learners and has lasting effects on children's self-concept, socio-emotional growth and academic development. As emergent bilingual Latinx children become the majority in PK-12 schools, and as Latinx communities face increasing socio-political hostility, it is urgent that we shift to teaching practices that honor the knowledge students engage every day across different contexts. Schooling impacts how societal norms are reproduced, contested or reimagined, and the lessons, along with the pedagogical framework that we present in this book, can create that opportunity to fully embrace the ways we can connect with our students and have an impact beyond the classroom. This book offers lessons with a decolonized bilingual sustaining pedagogy approach: a culturally sustaining topic having to do with language practices, literacies, and power texts that show different ways we engage with language practices translanguaging (using all of one's linguistic repertoire, this includes different features of named languages such as Spanish and English) as the way bilingual students communicate, the way we teach, and the way we strive for social justice"--

Whether at UFW picket lines in California’s Central Valley or capturing summertime street life in East Harlem Latinx photographers have documented fights for dignity and justice as well as the daily lives of ordinary people. Their powerful, innovative photographic art touches on family, identity, protest, borders, and other themes, including the experiences of immigration and marginalization common to many of their communities. Yet the work of these artists has largely been excluded from the documented history of photography in the United States. Through individual profiles of more than eighty photographers from the early history of the photographic medium to the present, Elizabeth Ferrer introduces readers to Latinx portraitists, photojournalists, and documentarians and their legacies. She traces the rise of a Latinx consciousness in photography in the 1960s and '70s and the growth of identity-based approaches in the 1980s and '90s. Ferrer argues that in many cases a shared sense of struggle has motivated photographers to work purposefully, driven by a deep sense of resistance, social and political commitments, and cultural affirmation, and she highlights the significance of family photos to their approaches and outlooks. Works range from documentary and street photography to narrative series to conceptual projects. Latinx Photography in the United States is the first book to offer a parallel history of photography, one that no longer lies at the margins but rather plays a crucial role in imagining and creating a broader, more inclusive American visual history.

Latinx representation in the popular imagination has infuriated and befuddled the Latinx community for decades. These misrepresentations and stereotypes soon became as American as apple pie. But these cardboard cutouts and examples of lazy storytelling could never embody the rich traditions and histories of Latinx peoples. Not seeing real Latinxs on TV and film reels as kids inspired the authors to dive deep into the world of mainstream television and film to uncover examples of representation, good and bad. The result: a riveting ride through televisual and celluloid reels that make up mainstream culture. As pop culture experts Frederick Luis Aldama and Christopher González show, the way Latinx peoples have appeared and are still represented in mainstream TV and film narratives is as frustrating as it is illuminating. Stereotypes such as drug lords, petty criminals, buffoons, and sexed-up lovers have filled both small and silver screens—and the minds of the public. Aldama and González blaze new paths through Latinx cultural phenomena that disrupt stereotypes, breathing complexity into real Latinx subjectivities and experiences. In this grand sleuthing sweep of Latinx representation in mainstream TV and film that continues to shape the imagination of U.S. society, these two Latinx pop culture authorities call us all to scholarly action.

"Latinx TV in the Twenty-First Century offers an expansive and critical look at contemporary TV by and about U.S. Latinx communities. This volume unpacks the negative implications of older representation and celebrates the progress of new representation all while recognizing that television still has a long way to go"--

Latinx in Social Work is a book is about space. The space we take up, the spaces we create and nurture, and the spaces that have yet to exist, but are so crucial to the growth and development of Latinx social workers, mental health practitioners, executives, and professionals in all industries in this country, and beyond. This book is a revolutionary step in creating a movement that is committed to owning our own narratives, naming common but unspoken struggles and challenges, and driving our own healing from the past while highlighting our successes and creating a space for hope for the future.

In Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators, Kelly Walters collects twelve deeply personal interviews with graphic design educators of color who teach at colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The book centers the unique narratives of Black, Brown, and Latinx design educators, from their childhood experiences to their navigation of undergraduate and graduate studies and their career paths in academia and practice. The interviewees represent a cross-section of ethnic and multiracial backgrounds—African American, Jamaican, Indian, Pakistani, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, and Brazilian. Their impactful stories offer invaluable perspectives for students and emerging designers of color, creating an entry point to address the complexities of race in design and bring to light the challenges of teaching graphic design at different types of public and private institutions. Interwoven throughout the book are images that maintain cultural significance, from family heirlooms to design works that highlight aspects of their cultural identities. Readers will gain insight into the multitude of experiences of Black, Brown, and Latinx design educators who teach and work in the field today.

"Explores topics relevant to the experience of Latinx/a/o students and professionals in higher education and illustrates key elements that should be considered in the development of varied pathways for success"--