Corazón de Dixie

When Latino migration to the U.S. South became increasingly visible in the 1990s, observers and advocates grasped for ways to analyze "new" racial dramas in the absence of historical reference points. However, as this book is the first to comprehensively document, Mexicans and Mexican Americans have a long history of migration to the U.S. South. Corazón de Dixie recounts the untold histories of Mexicanos' migrations to New Orleans, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina as far back as 1910. It follows Mexicanos into the heart of Dixie, where they navigated the Jim Crow system, cultivated community in the cotton fields, purposefully appealed for help to the Mexican government, shaped the southern conservative imagination in the wake of the civil rights movement, and embraced their own version of suburban living at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Rooted in U.S. and Mexican archival research, oral history interviews, and family photographs, Corazón de Dixie unearths not just the facts of Mexicanos' long-standing presence in the U.S. South but also their own expectations, strategies, and dreams.

Published with support provided by the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas

About the Author

Julie M. Weise is assistant professor of history at the University of Oregon.
For more information about Julie M. Weise, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

“Explores the history of the new Latina/o South from the late 1800s, demonstrating the need to uncover and recover the stories of Mexicans in the region. . . . Highly recommended.”--Choice

“An ambitious project . . . accomplished with thorough research and clear writing.”--Journal of Southern History

“A valuable resource for historians and scholars of race, ethnicity, and migration in both Mexico and the United States.”--International Migration Review

“Julie M. Weise’s sweeping examination of Mexican people in the region forces readers to rethink their ideas of Southern history, labor history, and the history of race in America.”--Western Historical Quarterly

“Weise complicates and enriches the history of the lived experiences of Mexicanos in the South by challenging the contemporary racial and ethnic narratives of the past and present.”--Journal of American History

“A book that will instantly become required reading for scholars of Latino/a, southern, and North Carolina history. . . . Beautifully written, exhaustively researched, and deeply convincing.”--North Carolina Historical Review