The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements

In recent years, the unprecedented growth of the Latino/Latina population in the United States has been well documented. The sources include the U.S. Census, which, in the early part of the first decade of the 21st century, confirmed that Latina/os are now the largest minority population in the nation. Contrary to popular thought, Latinos are not a homogeneous population with a common history and evolution in US society. Over a period of centuries, Latinos have become US citizens or...
More Description

In recent years, the unprecedented growth of the Latino/Latina population in the United States has been well documented. The sources include the U.S. Census, which, in the early part of the first decade of the 21st century, confirmed that Latina/os are now the largest minority population in the nation. Contrary to popular thought, Latinos are not a homogeneous population with a common history and evolution in US society. Over a period of centuries, Latinos have become US citizens or residents in a variety of ways. In addition to millions of immigrants, refugees and exiles of Latin American descent who settled in the US throughout the 20th century, and are today US citizens and legal residents, the population known as Latino/as also includes two US historical minorities: Chicano/as or Mexican Americans, who for many generations, have lived in the southwest in what today is geographically part of the United States, and Puerto Ricans, who became US citizens in 1917.

The differing circumstances of individual and group incorporation into U.S. society, and the distinct historical experiences, have had significant consequences for how different Latino populations interact with U.S. institutions, participate in political life, and adopt national values and beliefs. The impact of the society's legal and political institutions, policies, or practices on Latino populations or groups, in turn, has shaped both their presence and diverse experiences in the United States. Recent migrants or immigrants, naturalized citizens, and long-time residents of U.S. territories in the southwest or in the Caribbean all share the ethnic and racial label, Latino, but also have a distinct relationship to their country of residence.

There is no doubt that the roughly 48 million people known as Latinos in the United States, are also having a significant impact on the society's political, legal economic, social and cultural institutions. Yet, neither the national society nor the various Latino groups themselves have timely understandings of the distinct historical, political, economic, and sociological experiences of the diverse communities, particularly when deciphering the implications of Latino/as' presence and participation in the development of U.S. politics and law.

Thus the goal of this project is to produce a comprehensive, reliable, useful and accessible Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements (OEPoL). As a follow-up project to the 4-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States (2005), this new 2-volume set, consists of over 450 articles, each article of which, like the previous 4-volume set, include a brief bibliography of suggested additional readings, and arranged in A-Z order.