Latinos Facing Racism: Discrimination, Resistance, and Endurance By Joe R. Feagin and José A. Cobas Paradigm Publishers. 2014. 188 pages. $24.61 paperback, $109.65 hardcover

Abstract

In the past two decades, the Latino population has increased and spread dramatically, reshaping the issues of immigration and race relations in a short period of time. Thanks to this demographic change, Latinos face unprecedented levels of discrimination as perennial immigrant “others.” Despite this volatile atmosphere, relatively few studies have examined the contemporary racialization of Latinos or questioned how their racialization might challenge standard sociological paradigms of assimilation. Feagin and Cobas aim to fill this gap in their new volume Latinos Facing Racism. Drawing from 72 in-depth interviews with Latinos, the book details their experiences of twenty-first-century racism. Feagin and Cobas are critical voices in the area of race and racism studies, and fans of their previous work will find much here to appreciate. This book fits neatly into a larger body of work by the authors, including Feagin's 2010 book on the white racial frame. This new book extends Feagin's argument that racism is systemic and endemic to social life in the United States. Highlighting the everyday experiences of upwardly mobile and middle-class Latinos, Feagin and Cobas highlight how racism impacts and is perpetuated by this population.