Abstract
This study examines the experiences of Afro-Cuban immigrants in non-traditional settlement sites in the Southwest. Drawing on 45 interviews with Afro-Cubans in Austin, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico, we explore how our respondents position themselves relative to the local Mexican-origin population. Specifically, we focus on the implications of “Hispanic” identity in these cities as a category that is heavily tied to Mexican origin, “brownness,” and the suspicion of illegality. As Afro-Cubans, our respondents face a different racialization process than many non-black Latino immigrants, in that their blackness marks them as outside the bounds of regional constructions of Hispanic identity. Furthermore, the absence of significant numbers of Afro-origin immigrants creates an immediate association with citizenship that accompanies blackness in these locales. Our respondents recognize that they are assigned very different identities than the Mexican immigrants who work alongside them. Moreover, as they articulate identities in a US context, many of our respondents look to Miami Cubans as an example of their anticipated trajectory. Contrasting their perceptions of the success of Miami Cubans with the problems they perceive in the local Mexican-origin community, our respondents further distance themselves from a stigmatized Hispanic identity.
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Notes
The racial status of Latinos, and Mexican Americans more specifically, has been complicated as they have been legally designated as both White and non-White in US courts at different points in history. However, despite their legal designation as White in some instances, Latinos have been and continue to be racialized, singled out for differential treatment on the basis of their group membership.
In retaliation for their departure, Fidel Castro issued a statement that these Cubans were dangerous criminals. While the percentage of criminals among Mariel Cubans was actually quite low, this association with criminality negatively influenced the reception of these Cuban immigrants, and to some degree those who followed them (Portes and Stepick, 1993).
These numbers are drawn from the US Census Summary Files. Data are presented for all Latinos/Hispanics, non-Hispanic Whites, and non-Hispanic African Americans. There are also very small Asian and Native American populations in both cities.
Source: Census Summary Files.
Since decisions regarding relocation are in part based upon labor demands, the need for more workers in the field of construction in particular further shaped the gender composition of these non-traditional settlement sites, as men are typically hired for these positions.
See the documentary film, “The Cuban Excludables” (1997) directed by Estela Bravo, which details the experiences of Mariel Cubans who were imprisoned in the United States for lengthy periods because of the legal limbo created by lack of diplomatic relations with Cuba. In 2000, a US Supreme Court decision concluded that those “deportable aliens” who could not be physically removed, could be detained no longer than 180 days. Before this ruling, Cubans could be held indefinitely, a policy that sparked several prison riots.
Our point here is that the threat of physical deportation does not pervade the lives of Cubans as it does other immigrants. Arguably, more recent legislation such as the Patriot Act and the current anti-immigrant fervor creates a potentially threatening scenario for immigrants and persons of color more generally.
Most of our respondents arrived knowing that there was a history of discrimination again African Americans in the United States, but had less knowledge of the history of other groups (Asian Americans, non-Cuban Latinos).
See Ana Ramos-Zayas (2007) for a discussion of the identification of US-born Latinos and Latin American immigrants with “blackness” as a way of asserting belonging and urban competency in the United States. Also, see Helen Marrow (2003) for a discussion of Brazilian Americans’ preference for identification as “Black” over identification as “Latino” because of the association of illegality with Latino/Hispanic identity.
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Dowling, J., Newby, C. So far from Miami: Afro-Cuban Encounters with Mexicans in the US Southwest. Lat Stud 8, 176–194 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2010.19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2010.19