Sunbelt Diaspora: Race, Class, and Latino Politics in Puerto Rican Orlando (Historia USA)

Puerto Ricans make up half of Orlando-area Latinos, arriving from Puerto Rico as well as from other long-established diaspora communities to a place where Latino politics has long been about Cubans in Miami. Together with other Latinos from multiple places, Puerto Ricans bring diverse experiences of race and class to this Sunbelt city. Tracing the emergence of the Puerto Rican and Latino presence in Orlando from the 1940s through an ethnographic moment of twenty-first-century electoral redistricting, __Sunbelt Diaspora__ provides a timely prism for viewing how differences of race, class, and place play out in struggles to claim political, social, and economic ground for Latinos. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic, oral history, and archival research, Patricia Silver situates her findings in Orlando’s historically black-white racial landscape, post-1960s claims to “color-blindness,” and neoliberal celebrations of individualism. Through the voices of diverse participants, Silver brings anthropological attention to the question of how social difference affects collective identification and political practice. __Sunbelt Diaspora__ asks what constitutes community and how criteria for membership and legitimate representation are negotiated. 2021 — Silver Medal, Raul Yzaguirre Best Political/Current Affairs Book – International Latino Book Awards, Latino Literacy Now An in-depth look at an emerging Latino presence in Orlando, Florida, where Puerto Ricans and others navigate differences of race, class, and place of origin in their struggle for social, economic, and political belonging. Puerto Ricans make up half of Orlando-area Latinos, arriving from Puerto Rico as well as from other long-established diaspora communities to a place where Latino politics has long been about Cubans in Miami. Together with other Latinos from multiple places, Puerto Ricans bring diverse experiences of race and class to this Sunbelt city. Tracing the emergence of the Puerto Rican and Latino presence in Orlando from the 1940s through an ethnographic moment of twenty-first-century electoral redistricting, Sunbelt Diaspora provides a timely prism for viewing how differences of race, class, and place play out in struggles to claim political, social, and economic ground for Latinos. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic, oral history, and archival research, Patricia Silver situates her findings in Orlando's historically black-white racial landscape, post-1960s claims to "color-blindness," and neoliberal celebrations of individualism. Through the voices of diverse participants, Silver brings anthropological attention to the question of how social difference affects collective identification and political practice. Sunbelt Diaspora asks what constitutes community and how criteria for membership and legitimate representation are negotiated. List of Maps, Tables, and Charts 10 Preface: For Orlando Readers 12 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction: Race, Class, Place, and Politics in a New Puerto Rican Diaspora 22 Part I. Puerto Rican Orlando 50 1. Between Black and White: Geography, Demography, and Political Place 52 2. Hidden Histories in the New Orlando: Colonial Migrations, Color-Blind Multiculturalism, and Natural Neoliberalism 77 Part II. Difference and the Incompleteness of Political Community Formation 102 3. “You Don’t Look Puerto Rican”: Race, Class, and Memories of Place in Orlando 104 4. Enough Is Enough: Memory, Political Formations, and Participatory Citizenship 129 5. “This Building Is Our Island”: Seen and Unseen in Orlando 156 Part III. The Case of Redistricting in Orange County, Florida 186 6. Divided by Beans: Tensions of Collective Identification 188 7. Four Districts for Americans: Mapping Community in Orange County 212 Conclusion: Navigating Ambiguity in the Interests of Community 241 Epilogue: “Things Will Be Different Now” 248 Appendix: Oral History Collections and Orange County Board of County Commissioners Proceedings 256 Notes 262 References 278 Index 304 "Tracing the emergence of the Puerto Rican and Latino presence in Orlando from the 1940s through an ethnographic moment of twenty-first-century electoral redistricting, Sunbelt Diaspora provides a timely prism for viewing how differences of race, class, and place play out in struggles to claim political, social, and economic ground for Latinos"-- Provided by publisher