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Latinx Life in North Carolina: Additional Resources

Latino Migration Project

The Latino Migration Project is a collaborative program of the Institute for the Study of the Americas and the Center for Global Initiatives at UNC-Chapel Hill. This research initiative is dedicated to improving public understanding about the impact and implications of the expanding Latin American presence in North Carolina and the Southeastern United States. The project's website provides links to several programs and publications that may be useful to those researching Latino migration and life.

Southern Oral History Program

The Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) is an effort to collect the many voices that have contributed to southern history. Over 5,000 people have been interviewed by faculty and students at UNC. The interview database is constantly growing, which makes the SOHP a great resource for researching recent Latinx immigration and life in the South. Many of the interviews can be found online while those that are not can be accessed at Wilson Library. 

You can search this resource in three ways:

  1. The interview collection is connected to the UNC Library catalog. Searching for certain subject headings or keywords may bring interviews into your search results alongside books and other materials.
  2. The SOHP interview database can be searched by keyword or browsed by interviewee, interviewer, interviewee occupation, interviewee ethnicity, and project name. For research on Latinos in North Carolina, the "browse by ethnicity" option may be particularly useful. After choosing browse by interviewee ethnicity, you will be taken to a page where you can select "Hispanic/Latino/Latina." 
  3. You can also search the SOHP finding aid which provides an organized list of the collection's contents. You can easily search the finding aid using CTRL+F or simply browse through its contents. 

There are numerous SOHP interviews relevant to research on Latinx immigration and life. The following are just a few examples:

  • Latinos in North Carolina (Series R.2): In these interviews, interviewees reveal their experiences as Mexican nationals migrating to North Carolina. Discussion includes agricultural work, community involvement (especially with the Catholic church), the change in Latino and Latina roles, and subsequent identity changes caused by different status and circumstance. Other important themes include family and education. 
  • New Roots (Series R.34): These interviews focus on issues related to Latin American immigration to North Carolina and the formation of Latino communities. They were conducted by students in courses related to the topic. Interviewees include immigrants, second generation Latinos born in the United States, professionals who work with immigrants, policy-makers, religious leaders, educators, students, and local business owners. 

Theses and Dissertations

The North Carolina Collection holds many theses, dissertations, and undergraduate honors essays written on topics relevant to the study of Latino immigration in North Carolina. These sources may be useful in your research (the bibliographies may be especially helpful). A small sample is listed below. To search the online catalog for theses and dissertations, go to the library catalog's Advanced Search page. From there, limit the location to the North Carolina Collection, limit the format to Theses & Dissertations, and enter your keyword or subject heading.

From Migrants to Mainstream: a Series of Articles on the Triangle's Evolving Latino Population. 
By Remy Scalza. 
Available online through the UNC Libraries.

Since 1990, when the South emerged as a new destination of choice for Latino migrants, North Carolina's Latino population has experienced an unprecedented surge, growing from fewer than 100,000 people to nearly 600,000. During this time, the profile of Latino migrants has undergone a dramatic transformation: from single males seeking temporary employment to families eager to put down roots and start new lives in North Carolina. In the process, Latinos have become a central and lasting feature on North Carolina's cultural landscape. Local media coverage, however, has largely failed to register these changes and continues to portray Latinos as outsiders and, in many cases, the source of problems and inconvenience. Through a series of five newspaper and magazine feature articles, this project seeks to fill some of the gaps in coverage, exploring the complex and often difficult transition from Latino newcomer to resident.

Framing Justice in the Promised Land: North Carolina's Immigrant Farm and Crab Workers. 
By Susan Garden Hicks

Hicks's research is built upon her interactions with immigrant Latino workers in North Carolina's agricultural/fishing industries during a summer of work with a nonprofit legal services organization. She particularly focuses upon how Latino workers negotiate power relationships and bring claims against their employers. The thesis also deals with her work as part of the nonprofit legal services organization and the relationships between aid workers and immigrants.

Children of Immigrants: A Study of Two North Carolina School Systems. 
By Bret Barden

This honors thesis in the Department of Public Policy investigates the difference in standardized test scores for English language learning students between two North Carolina counties. The thesis argues that inclusive policies, community partnerships, and other factors contribute to student success. Valuable to those interested in the ecological model of child development, outreach to Hispanic community, the situation of ESL students in North Carolina public schools, and standardized testing issues.

¡A la escuela! Identification of the information needs of Hispanic/Latino parents in North Carolina, and how school district's Web sites may address those needs: An exploratory user study
By Lourdes M. Cueva Chacón 

Chacón's research explores how Latino parents interact with school system websites and ways these websites could be improved. The results of this study reveal that the information needs of the group studied are related to learning about the school enrollment process, the structure of the U.S. education system, and additional services provided at schools. Based on these results and qualitative data collected from Web browsing sessions with Hispanic parents, an effective Web site design oriented to the Latino community is proposed.

Increasing the access and effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy for North Carolina’s migrant and seasonal agricultural workers
By Rebecca Price

Registered Dietitians are health care professionals who partner with the medical care team to provide nutrition information tailored to patients’ health conditions and lifestyle. This customized medical nutrition therapy has strong evidence supporting its ability to improve health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of care for individuals with lipid metabolism disorders, weight management needs, hypertension, and a variety of other conditions. Medical nutrition therapy is not a “one-size-fits-all” treatment. Compared with the medical nutrition therapy approach used for patients with a typical American diet, patient populations with significantly different cultures shaping their relationship with food may be best served by significantly different approaches. This policy brief asserts that migrant and seasonal agricultural workers are one such population that can be most effectively served through services tailored to their specific needs and strengths.

UNC Catalog Subject Headings

  • Last Updated: Sep 26, 2023 11:41 AM
  • URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/NC-Latinx