UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Making Race in the New South: Mexican Migration and Race Relations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rz9q3jn Author Jones, Jennifer Anne Meri Publication Date 2011 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Making Race in the New South: Mexican Migration and Race Relations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina By Jennifer Anne Meri Jones A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Sandra Smith, Chair Professor Irene Bloemraad Professor Michael Burawoy Professor Michael Omi Fall 2011 Making Race in the New South: Mexican Migration and Race Relations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina © 2011 by Jennifer Anne Meri Jones Abstract Making Race in the New South: Mexican Migration and Race Relations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina By Jennifer Anne Meri Jones Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology University of California, Berkeley Professor Sandra Smith, Chair In this dissertation, I investigate how race is produced by looking at the reception experiences of Afro and Mestizo Mexican migrants to the New South. Despite the fact that Afro and Mestizo Mexicans are both phenotypically and culturally distinct from one another, they now assert a shared racial identity as minorities and as Latinos. Based on ethnographic field work in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I argue that pervasive discrimination due to status drives Mexicans to assert a minority identity that is shaped by their understanding of African-American experiences, and that Mexicans as a whole in this context find themselves increasingly distanced from whites. The literature on intergroup relations argues that racial and ethnic relations, particularly between minority groups, are rife with conflict and competition. Moreover, the immigration literature suggests that relations with African-Americans are particularly poor in part because upward mobility is achieved by avoiding associations with Blacks, and aspiring toward whiteness. However, in the case of contemporary Mexican migrants in Winston-Salem, I find the opposite processes emerging. Rather than a sense of closeness with whites, Mexicans express a sense of closeness with Blacks, increasingly viewing themselves as minorities and as similar to Blacks. I describe these positive interminority relations as emerging in three ways- through contact and social closeness; solidarity and a sense of shared discrimination; and an emerging sense of linked fate. Using a 12-month ethnographic case study of Winston-Salem, I seek to explain this counterintuitive outcome. My study shows that these positive relations are facilitated by their sense of shared status with African-Americans, an absence of resource competition, sustained positive contact with Blacks, and identifying a common enemy in whites. The implications of these findings for other U.S. communities are considered. 1 For my Family i Table of Contents Making Race in the New South: Mexican Migration and Race Relations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Chapter One: Introduction…………………………………………………….………pp. 1 Becoming Minorities Racial Distancing American Whiteness The New South Resource Competition and Race Relations The Study Research design, sample and data North Carolina Ethnography Interviews Overview of the Dissertation Chapter Two: Racializing Latinos……………...…………………………….…...pp. 19 Racializing Latinos Black/Brown Relations Shared Status Group Threat and Intergroup Contact Becoming Minorities: Local Context and Reverse Incorporation Government Reinforcing Context Chapter Three: Vamos a Carolina! Mexican Migration and North Carolina………..pp. 33 Push and Pull: From Mexico to North Carolina Push from Mexico Pull to the New South The New South North Carolina: Race in the Receiving Community Historical Winston-Salem Demographic Change North Carolina Chapter Four: Fear and Loathing in North Carolina……………………..………….pp. 48 The Honeymoon period Policy 9/11 State From Open Doors to Shut Gates Fear and Loathing The New Non-Citizen ii Chapter Five: “Blacks may be Second Class, but They Can’t Make Them Leave”: Mexican Racial Formation and Immigrant Status in Winston-Salem……...………..pp. 70 Racial Formation Becoming Minorities: Reverse Incorporation Government Reinforcing Context New Latinos From Discrimination to Racial Stratification Connections with Blacks It’s about Status: Not like Puerto Ricans and Cubans Exceptions Chapter Six: Salsa and Soul: The Emergence of Positive Interminority Relations in Winston-Salem……………………………………………………………...…..…pp. 88 Positive Interracial Relations Proximity and Contact Shared Exclusion Black Leadership Everyday Blacks Solidarity and Collaboration Distance from Whites: From the Stranger to the Enemy Progressives: The Stranger Majority Middle Enforcement Black/Brown Solidarity Chapter Seven: Conclusion: Looking Toward the Future……………………....….pp. 106 Discrimination and Policy Resource Competition Receiving Contexts Interminority Relations and Racialization What’s Next? References………………………………………….………………………….……pp. 115 Appendix I: Map of North Carolina Counties……………………..…………….....pp. 138 Appendix II: Dot Matrix Map of Triad area demographic change, 1970-2010.........pp. 139 Appendix III: Cloropleth maps of demographic change in Winston-Salem, 1970-2010…………………………………………………….…….………pp. 142 Appendix IV: Income and Occupational data by race for Winston-Salem………...pp. 147 Forsyth County 2000 Census Summary File: Educational Attainment by Race over 25 years EEO Residence Data Results for Winston-Salem city, iii North Carolina, 2000 Appendix V: Immigration Policy Abbreviations and Timeline…………………….pp. 151 Appendix VI: Methodological Appendix ……………………………………….....pp. 155 Methodology Latino Interviews iv Acknowledgements Dissertation writing is a difficult, long, lonely, laborious process, involving, if not blood and sweat, certainly plenty of tears. It is also an exciting and liberating process in which you finally make that transition from student to scholar, producing a large-scale project all your own, often for the first time. Of course, while the project belongs to you, it takes nothing short of an army to it get to the light of day. For this reason, I am immensely grateful for the space to officially recognize the people who invested in me and supported me through not only the dissertation process, but also this long road we call graduate school. When I started at Berkeley, I was barely a legal adult, and unsure of whether I had made the right decision. After all, I had never taken a sociology course in my life, and knew next to nothing about academic life. Fortunately for me, I began this journey with the unwavering support of my family, who always believed I could achieve whatever I wanted, and encouraged me to go my own way, suppressing any and all reservations they may have had about the process- be it money, distance, and just plain confusion about what exactly I was up to. They never questioned me, always offered words of encouragement, and never hesitated to tell me that they were proud of me and all that I had already accomplished. Few people can count on their families for unconditional support, and I have been terribly fortunate to have a sister, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and various honorary Lasleys and Joneses who have offered me their well-wishes and support along the way. In particular, I thank them for never asking ‘why aren’t you done yet?’, and trusting that I would get there, even when I wasn’t sure myself. I’d also like to thank my dear friends from Chicago to California, especially Euna Chi, Leah Drew, Lea Mosena, and Katie Sklarsky, who have cheered me along the entire way. In particular, I’d like to thank my parents, Patricia Lasley and Keith Jones, grandparents Anna and William Lasley, and sister, Pamela Jones, who, over the years, have helped me with money and moves, listened to my lamenting about progress and getting pale in the library, encouraged me through writing blocks, bragged about me to their friends and acquaintances, bought me dinner, and always treated my efforts as worthwhile, if not downright heroic. I’d also like to express my deep gratitude to my parents for investing in my education from birth, even when we had very little. My mother especially was unwavering in her commitment to making sure that I had access to the people and institutions that would allow me to flourish, even at great sacrifice. I see now how much easier it would have been to do otherwise, and I am certain I would not have had the same success without those opportunities. I want to acknowledge the women in my family, who have been not only been pillars of strength and caring, but have also led by example through a commitment to achievement and independence. In particular, my grandmother throughout her life has been a woman ahead of her time, undeterred by the many doors closed to her. She has always bore the brunt of life’s challenges with calm and a smile, and is generous with her v gifts to a fault. I feel especially blessed to share many of her qualities and to be able to be a source of pride and vindication for her, to achieve where she could not. I have also had a number of important mentors along the way, from my middle school history teacher Ms. Bell, who took me aside one day and told