Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America | Lisa Magaña and César S. Silva

The Reimagining the Latinx Experience in America book talk series welcomes Lisa Magaña and César S. Silva to discuss their book, Empowered! Latinos Transforming Arizona Politics (University of Arizona Press, 2021).
Publisher's Description
Empowered! examines Arizona’s recent political history and how it has been shaped and propelled by Latinos. It also provides a distilled reflection of U.S. politics more broadly, where the politics of exclusion and the desire for inclusion are forces of change.
Lisa Magaña and César S. Silva argue that the state of Arizona is more inclusive and progressive then it has ever been. Following in the footsteps of grassroots organizers in California and the southeastern states, Latinos in Arizona have struggled and succeeded to alter the anti-immigrant and racist policies that have been affecting Latinos in the state for many years. Draconian immigration policies have plagued Arizona’s political history. Empowered! shows innovative ways that Latinos have fought these policies.
Empowered! focuses on the legacy of Latino activism within politics. It raises important arguments about those who stand to profit financially and politically by stoking fear of immigrants and how resilient politicians and grassroots organizers have worked to counteract that fear mongering. Recognizing the long history of disenfranchisement and injustice surrounding minority communities in the United States, this book outlines the struggle to make Arizona a more just and equal place for Latinos to live.
Lisa Magaña is a Professor in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University (ASU). She has published in the area of immigration and Latino public policy issues. She is the author of, Straddling the Border and The Politics of Diversity and Arizona, Immigration and Latinos & Politics. She is also co-editor of the book Latino Politics and Arizona's Immigration Law SB 1070.
César S. Silva received his PhD from the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University, specializing in Chicano/Latino public opinion and voter turnout, racial and ethnic identity in the United States, elections and campaigns, and Chicano/Latino public policy issues, with a focus on Spanish speakers.