Latinx Encounters

How Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans Made the Modern Midwest

By Juan Ignacio Mora | Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

About the book

The fields and orchards of the Midwest have offered seasonal agricultural work for countless Latinx migrant laborers. For more than a century, Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican migrants converged in the heartland to perform some of the most grueling labor needed to sustain the region’s vital agribusiness. In return, they were rewarded with dismal working conditions, poor government protections, and fierce hostility toward their organizing efforts. Juan Ignacio Mora uncovers the everyday strategies these migratory laborers employed to fight for better economic conditions, offering a new history of the farmworker justice movement that transforms our understanding of the US heartland.

Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican migrants arrived in the Midwest with vastly different circumstances of class, ethnicity, and immigration status, which fueled complex collaborations and conflicts. Contested notions of race challenged their relationships, but migrant workers and their families made inroads in workers' rights and nurtured a shared culture, negotiating collective bargaining agreements and forming the first punk rock band. Capturing the relationship between the Midwest, the Texas-Mexico borderlands, Mexico’s interior, and the colonial archipelago of Puerto Rico, Latinx Encounters unravels a transnational history of migratory labor, farmworkers' rights, and the rapidly changing food industry.

Editions of Latinx Encounters

Hardcover
ISBN 9781469693842
Paperback
ISBN 9781469693859
EBook
ISBN 9781469693866
PDF
ISBN 9781469693873

Read an Excerpt

The fields and orchards of the Midwest have offered seasonal agricultural work for countless Latinx migrant laborers. For more than a century, Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican migrants converged in the heartland to perform some of the most grueling labor needed to sustain the region’s vital agribusiness. In return, they were rewarded with dismal working conditions, poor government protections, and fierce hostility toward their organizing efforts. Juan Ignacio Mora uncovers the everyday strategies these migratory laborers employed to fight for better economic conditions, offering a new history of the farmworker justice movement that transforms our understanding of the US heartland.

Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican migrants arrived in the Midwest with vastly different circumstances of class, ethnicity, and immigration status, which fueled complex collaborations and conflicts. Contested notions of race challenged their relationships, but migrant workers and their families made inroads in workers' rights and nurtured a shared culture, negotiating collective bargaining agreements and forming the first punk rock band. Capturing the relationship between the Midwest, the Texas-Mexico borderlands, Mexico’s interior, and the colonial archipelago of Puerto Rico, Latinx Encounters unravels a transnational history of migratory labor, farmworkers' rights, and the rapidly changing food industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Latinx Encounters about?

The fields and orchards of the Midwest have offered seasonal agricultural work for countless Latinx migrant laborers. For more than a century, Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican migrants converged in the heartland to perform some of the most grueling labor needed to sustain the region’s vital agribusiness. In return, they were rewarded with dismal working conditions, poor government protections, and fierce hostility toward their organizing efforts. Juan Ignacio Mora uncovers the everyday strategies these migratory laborers employed to fight for better economic conditions, offering a new history of the farmworker justice movement that transforms our understanding of the US heartland.

Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican migrants arrived in the Midwest with vastly different circumstances of class, ethnicity, and immigration status, which fueled complex collaborations and conflicts. Contested notions of race challenged their relationships, but migrant workers and their families made inroads in workers' rights and nurtured a shared culture, negotiating collective bargaining agreements and forming the first punk rock band. Capturing the relationship between the Midwest, the Texas-Mexico borderlands, Mexico’s interior, and the colonial archipelago of Puerto Rico, Latinx Encounters unravels a transnational history of migratory labor, farmworkers' rights, and the rapidly changing food industry.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Latinx Encounters?

Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social groups, communities and identities > Ethnic studies / Ethnicity

Where can I read a sample of Latinx Encounters?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469693842

How long is Latinx Encounters and how many pages does it have?

Latinx Encounters has 232 page(s)

Is Latinx Encounters part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?

Yes it is a part of series Latinx Histories

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Latinx Encounters?

Juan Ignacio Mora

Who is the Publisher of the book Latinx Encounters?

The University of North Carolina Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Latinx Encounters is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469693842) and paperback(ISBN 9781469693859) and ebook(ISBN 9781469693866) and pdf(ISBN 9781469693873)

Where can I buy Latinx Encounters online or support local independent bookshops?

You can buy Latinx Encounters from below

Where can I buy Latinx Encounters?