1
Introduction
The 2000 Census confirmed what many citizens suspected, as well
as observed–dramatic demographic change was underway in the United
States. Much of the media and scholarly attention focused on the
changes occurring in Western states that border Mexico, such as
California, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, and in cities in those states,
particularly Los Angeles. On the East coast, the focus was on New York
City and Miami, traditional locations for Puerto Rican and Cuban
immigration respectively. Most of the demographic changes were
attributed to increasing Latino immigration into the United States, and
since each of these states and many cities had established Latino
populations the assumption was that new immigrants were naturally
attracted to these areas. Far less attention was paid to the changing
demographics in the South. A number of Southern states, such as North
Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia, reported substantial increases in the size
of their Latino populations from 1990 to 2000. North Carolina, for
example, experienced an almost 500 percent increase in its Latino
population, primarily with immigrants from Mexico, skyrocketing from
76,726 in 1990 to 378,963 in 2000 (U. S. Census 1990, 2000).
The new Latino immigrants are entering a region where race has
defined the context, structure and life chances of black and white
Southerners for centuries. As V. O. Key highlighted in
Southern Politics
Convention