Communities In Transition: Race, Immigration, and American Identity in York County, Pennsylvania

Abstract

This research examines constructs and discourses of racial and ethnic differences within York County, Pennsylvania. Located in south central Pennsylvania along the Maryland border, the York region has long held a reputation as a hotbed for white supremacy and racial prejudice. The Ku Klux Klan has been active in York County since the 1920s, and in recent years the Klan has resurfaced in the local area amidst an increase in the Latino population. The growth of the Latino population within York County has shifted the nature of racial and ethnic relations, as historically relations between whites and blacks comprised the primary axis of tension and conflict in the local area. Although the Latino population of York County consists of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Cubans, and Central and South Americans, popular external local and media-driven discourses often conflate Latinos with Mexican-ness and racialize Latinos in highly negative terms as illegal aliens, criminals, and welfare recipients who threaten American national identity. These external discourses of latinidad contrast sharply with the manner in which local Latino and Latina residents construct their own ethnic identities. During Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign, the black-white racial dichotomy reemerged in local racialized discourses. As such, the research also examines constructs and discourses of whiteness and blackness within the York area. York County features several anti-racist human relations activists and organizations. This research contains ethnographic interviews and analysis of local anti-racist activists and their activities designed to foster greater tolerance and to combat racial and ethnic prejudice within the local area. Anti-racist activists have had different life experiences that have raised their awareness to racism and have led them to become active in their cause. Public anti-racist activities take a variety of forms and consist of various programming strategies, which appears to impact their effectiveness in generating the size of turnout and level of interest among the general public.