Monday, August 24, 2020

Inventing Latinos; Laura E. Gómez

Title: Inventing Latinos
Author: Laura E.Gómez
Genre: Non Fiction; Political
Publication Date: August 25, 2020
Publisher: The New Press

A groundbreaking examination of how Latinos' new collective racial identity upends the way Americans understand race

In an unprecedented demographic shift, Latinos will comprise a third of the American population in just a matter of decades. While their influence shapes everything from electoral politics to popular culture, many Americans still struggle with two basic questions: Who are Latinos, and where do they fit in America's racial order? Laura E. Gómez, a leading expert on race in America, argues that it is only recently that Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Central Americans, and others are seeing themselves (and being seen by others) under the banner of a cohesive racial identity. And the catalyst for this emergent identity, she argues, has been the ferocity of anti-Latino racism.

In a bold effort to reframe our often-confused discussions over the Latinx generation,
Gómez argues that everything from Trump's toxic rhetoric and anti-immigrant laws like Arizona's SB1070 to DACA and sanctuary cities have indelibly changed the way race functions in this country.

Part history, part guide for the future, Inventing Latinos argues that all Americans must grapple with Latinos' dynamic identity--an identity that is impacting everything we think we know about race in America.

*A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this for an honest and unbiased review*

Rating

Hello Fellow Readers,

Laura E. Gómez is here and she has receipts...

When I saw this book available to read I knew I had to read it. I, myself am Latino, yet I wasn't aware of most of the history that is discussed in this book. It's because it's just not talked about, but it's important to talk about it and learn it. This book took me a long time to get through, this is mostly because I wanted to make sure I understood everything I was reading, since it was a bit heavy. Gómez did her homework, in writing Inventing Latinos and she wrote this very well.

I don't want to give too much away as I do consider this a must read for any American, not just Latinos. Inventing Latinos, answered a lot of questions that I personally have, but it also made me ask more think and ask more questions. This book will definitely require another read, as well as some annotations because it covers a lot of topics in such a short amount of writing that I wish there was more in this book. It is virtually impossible for Gómez to be able to cover the amount of history that Latinos have in this topic, and there were some points in which I do wish that she went a little more in depth with. I will be looking into and reading more of Gómez's work because she's a great writer and fosters critical thinking as well as providing information.

The one downfall is despite the fact that I enjoy Gómez's writing, to more casual readers, it may be too heavy. It does have a lot of information to process that those who are not use to it may be overloaded. I do feel that some of the text should be broken up slightly more.

Overall, a must read.

 

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