Topic Three! - Stereotypes work both ways...

Guillermo Gomez Lopez did a lot with the idea of "crossing borders", whether it was in a literal sense, or simply crossing over into a new and unknown comfort zone. We have discussed many of the stereotypes that arise from non-Hispanics/Latinos, for those in the U.S. but what stereotypes do those coming to the states bring with them? Many Latino and Hispanic countries supply their own stigmas to race and gender and recently studies have been done on the effects of their integration of the American South.

In a study done by the Ford Foundation, which can be found here, researchers have found that many immigrants from Latin or Hispanic countries of origin, are bringing along with them stigmas against black or African American residents.

“Given the increasing number of Latino immigrants in the South and the possibility that over time their numbers might rival or even surpass black Americans in the region, if large portions of Latino immigrants maintain negative attitudes of black Americans, where will this leave blacks?” the researchers wrote. “Will blacks find that they must not only make demands on whites for continued progress, but also mount a fight on another front against Latinos?”

The idea of the survey was to research Immigrants integration into the South since it is a fairly large and new demographic to the south. The study found that "58.9 percent of Latino immigrants -- most Latinos in Durham are from Mexico -- feel that few or almost no blacks are hard-working. About one-third, or 32.5 percent, of Latino immigrants reported they feel few or almost no blacks are easy to get along with. More than half of the Latino immigrants, or 56.9 percent, feel that few or almost no blacks could be trusted.

The survey showed that blacks view Latinos much more favorably than Latinos view blacks. About 72 percent of blacks feel most or almost all Latinos are hard-working, and 42.8 percent say most or almost all Latinos are easy to get along with. About one-third, or 32.6 percent, of blacks feel few or no Latinos could be trusted."



The full article can be found here

What effect will this negative stereotype or prejudice from the Latino-Americans in the South have on the African American citizens, since they are historically still battling prejudice from Caucasian citizens? Will this fairly new demographic of Latino/Hispanic immigrants that, according to the Ford Foundations findings bring with them less than productive views of African Americans, mean that African Americans will have a new hurdle to overcome in the south? Why do you think it is that not only in the U.S. but also abroad, people retain stigmas about those who have darker skin? This is true in many countries around the world including the U.K. and India. How have we not moved past these social stigmas as a society?