Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism by Maria Chavez
Summary
Written by Maria Chávez, Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism analyzes the growing prominence of Latinos in professional work environments, yet still feel the effects of discrimination and racism. Examining the various experiences of privileged Latinos who were fortunate enough to obtain high-ranking jobs, Chávez observed and recorded the findings of selected Latinos who still face considerable opposition based on their race and/or culture. Looking at Latino lawyers in particular, the studies connect findings from focus groups and research surveys, as well as personal accounts from lawyers in and out of practice, and paint a clearer picture of the state of Latino professionals in depth. The findings presented reveal a myriad of information concerning the current state of the Latino professional, but the underlying point asserts the notion that despite overcoming considerable obstacles, Latinos still face many barriers to success. As Chávez points at in her opening chapters, the success of the average Latino individual has grown a great amount in the past decades, yet still has many boundaries to overcome. Following the lives of current and retired Latino lawyers in Washington State, it is apparent on many levels that racial framing and social capital are a factor on the success of these individuals. Large in part, this can be ascribed to the understanding of Latino upbringings; where many attribute their cultural upbringings as the focus. From an early age, the respondents related their experiences of being raised Latino as negative in many ways, but ultimately proved to be motivators for a large portion of them, indicating their reasons to become lawyers as wanting to “help the Hispanic community,’ for ‘self empowerment,’ to ‘help others,’ and to ‘advance social and economic justice.” Additionally, many found their upbringings to be a positive factor of their law careers, especially in the instance of considerable bilingualism of the
Written by Maria Chávez, Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism analyzes the growing prominence of Latinos in professional work environments, yet still feel the effects of discrimination and racism. Examining the various experiences of privileged Latinos who were fortunate enough to obtain high-ranking jobs, Chávez observed and recorded the findings of selected Latinos who still face considerable opposition based on their race and/or culture. Looking at Latino lawyers in particular, the studies connect findings from focus groups and research surveys, as well as personal accounts from lawyers in and out of practice, and paint a clearer picture of the state of Latino professionals in depth. The findings presented reveal a myriad of information concerning the current state of the Latino professional, but the underlying point asserts the notion that despite overcoming considerable obstacles, Latinos still face many barriers to success. As Chávez points at in her opening chapters, the success of the average Latino individual has grown a great amount in the past decades, yet still has many boundaries to overcome. Following the lives of current and retired Latino lawyers in Washington State, it is apparent on many levels that racial framing and social capital are a factor on the success of these individuals. Large in part, this can be ascribed to the understanding of Latino upbringings; where many attribute their cultural upbringings as the focus. From an early age, the respondents related their experiences of being raised Latino as negative in many ways, but ultimately proved to be motivators for a large portion of them, indicating their reasons to become lawyers as wanting to “help the Hispanic community,’ for ‘self empowerment,’ to ‘help others,’ and to ‘advance social and economic justice.” Additionally, many found their upbringings to be a positive factor of their law careers, especially in the instance of considerable bilingualism of the