ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I examine empirical data from a case study on immigration and race relations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Winston-Salem has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of Afro-Mexican, Mestizo Mexican and other Latino migrants since the 1990s. Recent migration estimates indicate that about half of persons who moved to North Carolina over the last two decades are Latino, and over three-quarters of Latinos in the state are Mexicans. Using sixteen months of ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with Afro-Mexicans, Mestizo Mexicans and community members in Mexico and North Carolina, I explore both contexts to explain the racialization and assimilation outcomes of Afro-Mexicans and Mestizo Mexicans in Winston-Salem.
