New immigrant destinations and the American colour line

I analyse how Hispanic newcomers are becoming incorporated into the rural southern racial hierarchy during an early stage of immigration. I examine patterns in newcomers’ (1) racial/ethnic identifications and (2) social interactions with whites and blacks, showing how and why they lend preliminary support to a black/nonblack colour line model, in which the central distinction separates the positions of people with African ancestry from all others. Hispanic newcomers, including many who are dark-skinned, poor, and undocumented, have come to perceive the social distance separating themselves from whites as more permeable than that separating themselves from blacks, and are engaging in distancing strategies that may reinforce this distinction.