Growing Up Latinx: Coming of Age in a Time of Contested Citizenship (Critical Perspectives on Youth)

**Latinx children navigating identity, citizenship, and belonging in a divided America** An estimated sixty million people in the United States are of Latinx descent, with youth under the age of eighteen making up two-thirds of this swiftly growing demographic. In __Growing Up Latinx__, Jesica Siham Fernández explores the lives of Latinx youth as they grapple with their social and political identities from an early age, and pursue a sense of belonging in their schools and communities as they face an increasingly hostile political climate. Drawing on interviews with nine-to-twelve-year-olds, Fernández gives us rare insight into how Latinx youth understand their own citizenship and bravely forge opportunities to be seen, to be heard, and to belong. With a compassionate eye, she shows us how they strive to identify, and ultimately redefine, what it means to come of age―and fight for their rights―in a country that does not always recognize them. Fernández follows Latinx youth as they navigate family, school, community, and country ties, richly detailing their hopes and dreams as they begin to advocate for their right to be treated as citizens in full. Growing Up Latinx invites us to witness the inspiring power of young people as they develop and make heard their political voices, broadening our understanding of citizenship. Winner, Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award of the Section on Children and Youth, given by the American Sociological AssociationFinalist for the 2021 C. Wright Mills Award, given by the Society for the Study of Social ProblemsLatinx children navigating identity, citizenship, and belonging in a divided America An estimated sixty million people in the United States are of Latinx descent, with youth under the age of eighteen making up two-thirds of this swiftly growing demographic. In Growing Up Latinx, Jesica Siham Fernández explores the lives of Latinx youth as they grapple with their social and political identities from an early age, and pursue a sense of belonging in their schools and communities as they face an increasingly hostile political climate.Drawing on interviews with nine-to-twelve-year-olds, Fernández gives us rare insight into how Latinx youth understand their own citizenship and bravely forge opportunities to be seen, to be heard, and to belong. With a compassionate eye, she shows us how they strive to identify, and ultimately redefine, what it means to come of age—and fight for their rights—in a country that does not always recognize them. Fernández follows Latinx youth as they navigate family, school, community, and country ties, richly detailing their hopes and dreams as they begin to advocate for their right to be treated as citizens in full. Growing Up Latinx invites us to witness the inspiring power of young people as they develop and make heard their political voices, broadening our understanding of citizenship. "Citizenship, along with legality and rights, holds varied meanings for Latinx youth coming of age in the United States. Through an ethnography, Growing Up Latinx documents how Latinx reproduce and challenge meanings of citizenship as they forge opportunities to develop and enact their sociopolitical agency within school, family and communities"-- Provided by publisher "Citizenship, along with legality and rights, holds varied meanings for Latinx youth coming of age in the United States. Through an ethnography, Growing Up Latinx documents how Latinx reproduce and challenge meanings of citizenship as they forge opportunities to develop and enact their sociopolitical agency within school, family and communities" (source: éditeur) Introduction: Latinx youth growing up in the United States -- Legality as having papeles -- Socializing future citizens -- Rights as a privilege -- Citizenship as a sociopolitical process -- Claiming rights beyond state relations -- Conclusion: Reimagining citizenship, legality, and rights