Apple Pie and Enchiladas: Latino Newcomers in the Rural Midwest

309 Pages·2004·2.06 MB·English

by  Ann V. Millard

Apple Pie and Enchiladas
0000--TT33110099--FFMM ii 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0055 AAMM
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
Apple Pie
Enchiladas
&
Latino Newcomers in the Rural Midwest
Ann V. Millard and Jorge Chapa
with Catalina Burillo, Ken R. Crane, Isidore Flores, Jeremy Hogan,
Maríaelena D. Jefferds, Eileen Diaz McConnell, Refugio I. Rochín, & Rogelio Saenz
University of Texas Press Austin
0000--TT33110099--FFMM iiiiii 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0066 AAMM
We gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce lyrics from the song/poem “En
Michigan,” © 2001 Lualyric Pub. Co. / Transom Music Co. From the CD La Onda del
Midwest/Los Bandits, © 2001 LaBianca Recordings. Words: Guillermo Martínez. Music:
René Meave. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2004 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2004
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to Permissions,
University of Texas Press, Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819.
(cid:1)(cid:1) The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992
(r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Latino newcomers in the rural Midwest / Ann V. Millard and Jorge Chapa, with Catalina
Burillo . . . [et al.].
p. cm.
isbn 0-292-70277-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)—isbn 0-292-70568-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Hispanic Americans—Middle West—Social conditions. 2. Community life—Middle
West. 3. Immigrants—Middle West—Social conditions. 4. Migration, Internal—United
States. 5. Middle West—Rural conditions. 6. Middle West—Ethnic relations. I. Millard,
Ann V. II. Chapa, Jorge, 1953– III. Burillo, Catalina.
f358.2.s75l38 2004
977(cid:2).00468—dc22
2004006920
0000--TT33110099--FFMM iivv 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0077 AAMM
We dedicate this volume to Manuel (Manny) Gonzalez, former head of the Inter-
Agency Migrant Council, Family Independence Agency, State of Michigan. He
inspired many researchers, volunteers, and legislators concerned with the living
conditions of low-income Latino newcomers. By organizing regional and state
Migrant Councils to coordinate services for migrant farmworkers, he fostered
cooperation among many stakeholders in Michigan, providing a model of service
and policy coordination that would be useful to those dealing with the Latinos in
this book. Manny passed on from this world September 8, 2002, after participat-
ing in a march to the capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, in support of migrant
farmworkers.
0000--TT33110099--FFMM vv 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0077 AAMM
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
Contents
Preface, xi
Acknowledgments, xiii
Chapter 1. Aquí in the Midwest [Here in the Midwest], 1
Ann V. Millard and Jorge Chapa
En Pocas Palabras [In a Few Words] I. Ten Myths about Latinos, 22
Ann V. Millard, Jorge Chapa, and Eileen Diaz McConnell
Chapter 2. Latinos in the Rural Midwest: The Twentieth-Century Historical
Context Leading to Contemporary Challenges, 26
Eileen Diaz McConnell
En Pocas Palabras II. The Battle for Chapita Hills, 41
Catalina Burillo and Ann V. Millard
Chapter 3. Latinos and the Changing Demographic Fabric
of the Rural Midwest, 47
Jorge Chapa, Rogelio Saenz, Refugio I. Rochín, and Eileen Diaz McConnell
En Pocas Palabras III. Emergency Medicine and Latino Newcomers, 74
Chapter 4. Research Overview: The Rural Midwestern Context
and Qualitative Methods, 75
Ann V. Millard, Maríaelena D. Jefferds, Ken R. Crane, and Isidore Flores
En Pocas Palabras IV. Local Police, the INS, and “Churning Bad
Public Opinion,” 99
Ken R. Crane
Chapter 5. “Not Racist like Our Parents”: Anti-Latino Prejudice and
Institutional Discrimination, 102
Ann V. Millard, Jorge Chapa, and Eileen Diaz McConnell
vii
0000--TT33110099--FFMM vviiii 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0077 AAMM
Chapter 6. On the Line: Jobs in Food Processing and the
Local Economy, 125
Maríaelena D. Jefferds and Ann V. Millard
Chapter 7. Mexicans, Americans, and Neither: Students at
Wheelerton High, 149
Ken R. Crane
En Pocas Palabras V. The Virgin of Guadalupe: Admittance in Question, 169
Maríaelena D. Jefferds and Ann V. Millard
Chapter 8. “To Be with My People”: Latino Churches in the
Rural Midwest, 172
Ken R. Crane and Ann V. Millard
En Pocas Palabras VI. The “Mexican Situation” and the Mayor’s Race, 196
Ken R. Crane and Ann V. Millard
Chapter 9. E Pluribus Unum? Discussion, Conclusions, and
Policy Implications, 204
Ann V. Millard, Jorge Chapa, and Ken R. Crane
Appendix A. Methods Used in the Community Studies, 222
Ann V. Millard, Maríaelena D. Jefferds, and Ken R. Crane
Appendix B. Interview Guide for Community Study in Fox and
Mapleville, Michigan, 233
Maríaelena D. Jefferds
Appendix C. Focus Group Questions, Fall County, Michigan, 237
Maríaelena D. Jefferds
Notes, 239
References Cited, 243
Index, 263
viii Contents
0000--TT33110099--FFMM vviiiiii 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0088 AAMM
Tables
1.1. Nationality and Legal Status of Latinos Settling in the
Rural Midwest, 19
3.1. U.S. Total and Latino Population in Modifi ed Census Divisions,
1990–2000, 59
3.2. Regional Total and Latino Population in Modifi ed Census Divisions,
1990–2000, 63
3.3. Increase in the U.S. Total and Latino Population by Rural-Urban Status,
1990–2000, 65
3.4. Increase in the Midwestern Total and Latino Population by Rural-
Urban Status, 1990–2000, 66
3.5. Percentage of Latinos in Nonmetro Midwestern Places, 2000, 67
3.6. Age Distribution in the Metro and Nonmetro Midwest by
Ethnicity, 2000, 69
3.7. Industrial Employment in the Metro and Nonmetro Midwest by
Ethnicity, 2000, 70
3.8. Occupational Distribution in the Metro and Nonmetro Midwest by
Ethnicity, 2000, 71
3.9. Educational Levels in the Metro and Nonmetro Midwest by
Ethnicity, 2000, 72
4.1. Ethnic Distribution of Owners, Managers, Workers, and Patrons in
Rural Midwest, 88
4.2. Ethnic Distribution of Owners, Managers, and Laborers in Factories
in This Study, 90
4.3. Ethnic Distribution of Positions as Owners and Laborers on Farms in
This Study, 91
4.4. Amish Population Growth in the Midwest, 1990–1995, 95
9.1. Ways to Improve Anglo-Latino Engagement in the Rural Midwest, 210
A.1. Foci and Methods in Community Studies, 223
A.2. Characteristics of Participants in Fox and Mapleville, Michigan, Focus
Groups: Anglos, Latino Old-timers, and Latino Newcomers, 228
Contents ix
0000--TT33110099--FFMM iixx 99//2299//0044 66::4488::0088 AAMM