Managing Racial Expectations with Language: Latinx Parents and Active Association

• In Event: Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 min): Table 14: Latinos in America

Abstract

Previous research details how assimilation occurs with or without immigrants’ efforts, and one of the main markers of this process is the loss of immigrants’ native language. In the U.S., scholarship illustrates how the children of immigrants develop a strong preference for English and use English to interact with siblings, friends and peers. Drawing from 20 months of ethnography and 42 interviews with Latino families enrolled in Spanish/English dual immersion, I depart from this approach by examining why some families seek to have children retain or learn their native tongue. I find these parents engage in what I term active association-- the purposeful effort to be in proximity to and interact regularly with native Spanish speakers—and argue that they use active association to manage racial expectations for children. Because of their own experiences, parents anticipate stigma for children and use active association to reinforce their socialization practices at home and because they hope it will grant children access to Latino communities. As a concept, active association contributes to our understanding of how parenting practices reflect efforts to exercise agency in the family’s incorporation trajectories and children’s ethnic identity formation.

Author

• Jazmin A. Muro, Regis University