Introduction: Racializing latinos: Historical background and current forms

Introduction: Racializing latinos: Historical background and current forms Book

Cobas, JA, Duany, J, Feagin, JR. (2015). Introduction: Racializing latinos: Historical background and current forms . 1-14. 10.4324/9781315634104-7

Despite its scientific disrepute, the concept of “race”; remains a powerful social determinant in the United States. The racialization of Latinos refers to their definition as a “racial”; group and the denigration of their alleged physical and cultural characteristics, such as phenotype, language, or number of children. Their racialization also entails their incorporation into a white-created and white-imposed racial hierarchy and continuum, now centuries old, with white Americans at the very top and black Americans at the very bottom. Thus, one can speak about the intense racialization of daily life, including health, housing, education, work, friendship, and marriage patterns. In this introductory chapter, we trace the modern concept of race in Europe from its origin in the fifteenth century and the racialization of Latinos and Latin Americans in the United States since the nineteenth century. We also provide a brief overview of the main contributions of the individual chapters of this volume.