“Unity in the Struggle: Immigration and the Emerging Civil Rights Consensus in Mississippi”

• In Event: Southern Metrics of Dissent: A Transdisciplinary Analysis of Black and Brown Resistance, Coalitions, and Justice in the Shadow of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South

Abstract

Civil rights and immigration have often constituted distinct legal and advocacy spheres, with the former focusing on racism and discrimination and the latter on legal citizenship. In this presentation, I document the emergence of an immigration and civil rights consensus in Mississippi, where the Civil Rights Movement has expanded to embrace immigration as a modern day civil rights struggle. I examine how this new civil rights consensus emerged and contextualize it within a shared legacy of legalized racial exclusion targeting both citizens and non-citizens. I explain two central forces that tie the state’s immigrant rights movement to past civil rights struggles: strategic framing and unity conferences. These efforts forge ties between two historically distinct social movements, promoting a redefinition of immigrant rights as central to the broader goals of today’s Civil Rights Movement. I consider the importance of place in analyzing social movements and show such intentional and strategic efforts provide both advantages and disadvantages for activists seeking to expand civil rights in the deep south.

Author

• Jennifer A Jones, University of Notre Dame