Cecilia Márquez

“Latinos and the Right” traces the history of Latino conservative and right-wing activism in the US from the realignment of the modern GOP in the late 1960s to the storming of the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. The project uncovers the varied Latino right-wing ideologies and their roots in antisemitism, conspiracism, the belief in the right to life, protection of “traditional marriage,” anti-Black racism, support for free-market capitalism, suspicion of big government, fear of Communism’s rise, and anti-immigrant sentiment. “Latinos and the Right” retells the history of conservatism from the rise of the New Right through Trumpism using the voices of Latino leaders and ideologues. In doing so, it offers critical historical context to contemporary right-wing movements amongst Latinos in the United States.

This dissertation traces the history of Latino/as in the US South during the demise of Jim Crow segregation. This project uses social history, oral history, and cultural and visual analysis to examine the lives of Latino/as in civil rights organizing, military service, and labor, and their representation in television, film, and food advertising. Overall, it shows that a black/not-black racial order characterized the US South in this period. Latino/as saw a shift in how they were treated as they grew in demographic size, while anti-black racism remained firmly entrenched. This project, therefore, emphasizes the permeable nature of whiteness and the centrality of blackness in anchoring racial hierarchies.