This dissertation examines how the everyday and organizational uses of space shape Latine/x racialization in maturing migrant destinations. It observes how community and business organizations structure the racialized (dis)involvement of Latinx/es in public spaces and workplaces. Mutually, it considers how Latinx/es respond to such racialized uses of space affecting their involvement in public life and workplace governance. These racial-spatial dynamics contextualized in the US South and rural Midwest. Specifically, Springdale, Arkansas and Marshall, Missouri. Both as labor-intensive locales, homogenously White prior to the 1990s settlement of Latine/x migrants. Theoretically, this dissertation intersects critical migration studies and the racialization of space in sociology. It conceptually models race, space, and migration to frame Latinx/es' racialized experiences in community and work. Doing so centers the experiential aspects of race and racism within immigration studies. Methodologically, it draws on ethnography within a broader paradigm of social justice-oriented, community-based participatory research. This recognizes racialized Latinx/es as equal contributors in the research. Analytically, in Springdale--where a sizeable Latine/x population presents greater threat--organizations present mechanisms restricting public space access. In Marshall, with their presence more manageable, organizations claim to seek greater Latine/x involvement. Still, these practices manifest as appropriative and exploitative. Nevertheless, Latinx/es express resilience overcoming racialized constraints through (in)direct contestation in Springdale, and adjacent, albeit restrained, placemaking in Marshall. In essence, a spatialized rendering of critical migration studies addresses issues of racialized inclusion-exclusion across diversifying community-organizational contexts.Includes bibliographical references
