Analyzing and Confronting precariedades, exclusiones y emergencias among Latino Youth

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Our panel considers ethnographic research and grassroots efforts related to Latino youth living in diverse contexts in the United States. From Iowa to Montana, New Mexico to Georgia, the four case studies on this panel address the broad themes of this conference by underscoring the precariousness of Latino youth in America today. We hope that by sharing four “case studies” of direct or indirect action and social interventions, audience members will be inspired to pursue and organize other grassroots programs.

Laura Emiko Soltis, Executive Director of Freedom University, in Georgia will share the story of the creation of Freedom University in response to the state’s law preventing Latino undocumented students from attending institutions of higher education. Marta Maldonado, Associate Professor of Sociology and Latino/a Studies at Iowa State University, explores how the rural spaces of Iowa--such as the meatpacking district in Central Iowa-- shape the day-to-day lives of young Latino/as. Cynthia Bejarano, program director of CAMP and professor at New Mexico State University, tracks the experiences of young adults crossing the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, primarily between the years of 2006 and 2014. She explores how the conditions in the greater borderlands have impacted young people living at the Border, their everyday realities of work, school, travel, home life, and life in general. Finally, Bridget Kevane, director of the Latin American & Latino Studies at Montana State University, will discuss the creation of Latino Scholars of Promise, a college preparation program that provides middle school through high school juniors and seniors in Montana with training, mentoring, and support services to help them prepare to apply to the top tier colleges/universities of their choice. The panel highlights the challenges, risks and opportunities of Latino youth in non-gateway as well as traditional locations.

Leah Schmalzbauer and Bridget Kevane are co-organizers of the organizer of the panel; Jennifer Bickham-Mendez is the discussant.

Sub Track

• Latino(as) in the United States and Canada

Session Organizer

• Bridget Kevane, Montana State University

Chair

• Leah C Schmalzbauer, Amherst College

Individual Presentations

• Investigating Cross-Border Experiences Living at the U.S.-Mexico Border - Cynthia Bejarano, New Mexico State University

• From Freedom Schools to Freedom University: Liberatory Education for Undocumented Youth in the U.S. South - Laura E Soltis, Freedom University

• Latino Scholars of Promise in Rural Montana - Bridget Kevane, Montana State University

Discussant

• Jennifer Bickham Mendez, College of William and Mary