Racial Uncertainties: Mexican Americans, School Desegregation, and the Making of Race in Post-Civil Rights America

The 1973 Supreme Court ruling Keyes v. Denver School District No. 1 had a significant impact on the understanding of Mexican American racial identity in the US. The ruling reinforced the emerging tropes of colorblind racial ideology and helped anti-integration voices frame their opposition to school desegregation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 298 pages
Publication date: 20 December 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Racial ambiguity among Mexican Americans has been a central aspect of American racial consciousness for a long time. The question of whether Mexican Americans are considered white or nonwhite has been a subject of debate. In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, this racial uncertainty gained new significance as various stakeholders, including courts, federal agencies, local school officials, parents, and community activists, sought to shape Mexican American racial identity to their advantage. This groundbreaking book is the first to examine the pivotal 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Keyes v. Denver School District No. 1, which significantly impacted the understanding of Mexican American racial identity. Furthermore, it delves into how debates surrounding Mexican Americans' racial position contributed to reinforcing the emerging tropes of colorblind racial ideology.

In the post–civil rights era, when explicit racism was deemed socially unacceptable, anti-integration voices exploited the uncertainty surrounding Mexican American racial identity to oppose school desegregation. The fact that some Mexican Americans embraced these tropes further reinforced the dominance of colorblindness in the fight against civil rights during the 1970s.

Weight: 544g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520343344