This book offers a historical and comparative overview of the evolution of racial classifications in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The Hispanicization of America is precipitating a paradigm shift in racial thinking in which race is no longer defined by distinct characteristics but rather is becoming synonymous with ethnic/cultural identity. Traditionally, assimilation has been conceived of as a unidirectional and racialized phenomenon. Newly arrived immigrant groups or longstanding minority/indigenous populations were "Americanized" in confining their racial and ethnic natures to the private sphere and adopting, in the public sphere, the cultural mores, norms, and values of the dominant cultural/racial group. In contrast, the Hispanicization of America entails the horizontal assimilation of various groups from Spanish-speaking countries throughout the Western Hemisphere and Caribbean into a pan-ethnic, Hispanic/Latino identity that also challenges the privileged position of whiteness as the primary and exclusive referent for American identity. Instead of focusing on one Hispanic group, ethnic identity, or region, this book chronicles the development of racial identity across the largest Hispanic groups throughout the United States. Highlights distinct differences in perceptions of racial identity for members of the Hispanic community Underscores the fluid and malleable nature of race through a comparative and historical review of the evolution of racial classifications Explains why the Hispanicization of the United States constitutes a paradigm shift from traditional notions of racial identity formation Documents how immigration to the United States from Spanish-speaking countries throughout the Western Hemisphere and Caribbean is creating the first truly Hispanic country by subsuming the national identities of immigrants to the pan-ethnic, Hispanic/Latino category

"" Absorbing."" - Booklist

"" Reid-Merritt gives us all courage.""
- Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant, Essence magazine

Following the success of her Blackboard bestseller Sister Power, Patricia Reid-Merritt takes a new look at the life journeys of today' s African American women. Based on eye-opening research into African American women at midlife, Sister Wisdom reveals the choices that lead to lives of satisfaction for soulful women of all ages.

Discover the pathways of: Domestic warriors- dedicated to home and familySingle-parent professionals- taking financial responsibility for their childrenIndependent free floaters- at the center of their own livesPassionate soul mates- profoundly in loveBlissful wonders- balancing love, family, career, and personal desireFaithful followers- walking in faithSoul survivors- finding hidden opportunity in times of crisis

I decided to write this book because I could not bear to hear people's comments regarding someone they knew who committed suicide. The sort of comments where; they were selfish or they wanted to get back at someone or as a vendetta. Having suffered depression and also tried to commit suicide, I was non of these things. I want to take you on my journey when I tried to kill myself and survived. They have a name for it, it is simple, it is a mental illness which is not well understood. Please think twice before condemning someone who has taken their life. They got lost on their journey through life and paid the price for it. So did their families. This is my story.

About the Author

Pat Reid grew up in Bristol, England where she has fond memories of a carefree childhood. She has two brothers and two sisters who at one time or another kept her in line, being a bit of a tom boy and climbing things she shouldn't t. like the church school roof. She moved to Sussex when she was 19 years old to become a nanny to a beautiful little girl and where she met her husband of 30 years. She moved to New Zealand with her husband and two son's 23 years ago and still resides there, in a lovely city called Dunedin which is in the south island. She has an affection for animals and residing in her house are two dogs, two cats and the occasional possum. Then there are all the ducks....

Memories of My Jamaican Mother traces the life of a remarkable woman, Phyliss Blake-Reid. Born and raised in the cool hills of Manchester, she later moved to Kingston in search of better economic prospects. There, she found her husband and started her family. Her life may not have been one with golden opportunities but she was able to "tun har han mek fashion." A God-fearing and strong black woman, Mrs. Blake-Reid was an inspiration to all who knew her, especially her children. She has instilled moral principles that now govern the lives of the loved ones she has left behind. This is a fitting tribute to her inspirational life from one of her daughters, Doreen Patricia Reid.

Focusing on the socially explosive concept of race and how it has affected human interactions, this work examines the social and scientific definitions of race, the implementation of racialized policies and practices, the historical and contemporary manifestations of the use of race in shaping social interactions within U.S. society and elsewhere, and where our notions of race will likely lead. More than a decade and a half into the 21st century, the term "race" remains one of the most emotionally charged words in the human language. While race can be defined as "a local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics," the concept of race can better be understood as a socially defined construct-a system of human classification that carries tremendous weight, yet is complex, confusing, contradictory, controversial, and imprecise. This collection of essays focuses on the socially explosive concept of race and how it has shaped human interactions across civilization. The contributed work examines the social and scientific definitions of race, the implementation of racialized policies and practices, and the historical and contemporary manifestations of the use of race in shaping social interactions (primarily) in the United States-a nation where the concept of race is further convoluted by the nation's extensive history of miscegenation as well as the continuous flow of immigrant groups from countries whose definitions of race, ethnicity, and culture remain fluid. Readers will gain insights into subjects such as how we as individuals define ourselves through concepts of race, how race affects social privilege, "color blindness" as an obstacle to social change, legal perspectives on race, racialization of the religious experience, and how the media perpetuates racial stereotypes. Addresses a poignant topic that is always controversial, relevant, and addressed in mainstream and social media Examines the various socio-historical factors that contribute to our understanding of race as a concept, enabling readers to appreciate how "definitions" of race are complex, confusing, contradictory, controversial, and imprecise Inspects contemporary manifestations of race in the United States with regard to specific contexts, such as the quest for U.S. citizenship, welfare services, the legislative process, capitalism, and the perpetuation of racial stereotypes in the media

Providing chronologies of important events, historical narratives from the first settlement to the present, and biographies of major figures, this work offers readers an unseen look at the history of racism from the perspective of individual states. From the initial impact of European settlement on indigenous populations to the racial divides caused by immigration and police shootings in the 21st century, each American state has imposed some form of racial restriction on its residents. The United States proclaims a belief in freedom and justice for all, but members of various minority racial groups have often faced a different reality, as seen in such examples as the forcible dispossession of indigenous peoples during the Trail of Tears, Jim Crow laws' crushing discrimination of blacks, and the manifest unfairness of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Including the District of Columbia, the 51 entries in these two volumes cover the state-specific histories of all of the major minority and immigrant groups in the United States, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Every state has had a unique experience in attempting to build a community comprising multiple racial groups, and the chronologies, narratives, and biographies that compose the entries in this collection explore the consequences of racism from states' perspectives, revealing distinct new insights into their respective racial histories.