MetaTOC stay on top of your field, easily

Experiences of Discrimination in an Emerging Latina/o Community

APLA Newsletter

Published online on

Abstract

In this article I explore how members of an emerging community of Latina/o immigrants in Pittsburgh, a small but rapidly growing population, understand and respond to discrimination. Both documented and undocumented Latina/o immigrants reported experiencing discrimination and facing challenges in addressing these experiences. However, personal context has an impact on specific grievance processes. I specifically explore three main topics: (1) the difficulty expressed by many Latina/o immigrants in using the name–blame–claim continuum for discriminatory acts; (2) how discriminatory incidents tend to reinforce the intrinsic inequality at the root of discrimination; and (3) how acts of discrimination and the responses to them actively shape the Latina/o identity within their own community and by their American‐born counterparts.