Everyday Injustice

Examining the experiences of many of the most privileged members of the largest racial and ethnic community in the United States, author Maria Chávez provides important insights into the challenges facing ‘racialized’ groups, particularly Latinos, in the United States. Her study looks at Latino lawyers in depth, weaving powerful personal stories and interviews excerpts with a broader analysis of survey research and focus groups. * Foreword Reviews *
Lawyers rank among the most respected and well-compensated professionals in the US. If the Latinos and Latinas among them experience discrimination, what does that say about the US and about people even less privileged? Political scientist Chávez (Pacific Lutheran Univ.) addresses these and related questions, skillfully employing extensive and often evocative interviews plus carefully designed surveys. Chávez argues that "systemic racism" is "normal," unseen by mainstream Americans but with observable consequences even for this relatively elite population she studies. Comparing data across ethnicity and gender, she reinforces understandings about how minority men and especially women have to work harder to succeed in school and on the job, and of their lower glass ceilings. Her most original findings highlight the costs of living in two cultures--a mainstream-dominated profession and "communities of origin." Gendered expectations within their home communities exacerbate Latinas' difficulties in reconciling conflicting demands. Chávez also demonstrates that Latino/Latina professionals engage extensively in civic organizations in both spheres, contributing to both and bridging the gaps between them. Recognizing the effects of class on all American populations could have strengthened this already excellent analysis. Summing Up: Recommended. All libraries, all readership levels.  * CHOICE *
Everyday Injustice is the first comprehensive study of the experiences of Latino lawyers with racism and discrimination. Even though they have prevailed through the education process to become lawyers, Latino attorneys are often stereotyped as perpetual 'foreigners' to the United States, even though their families may have been in the country for generations. Citizens or not, Latino lawyers face their own struggles to become full members of the legal profession rather than marginalized outsiders. As Maria Chávez demonstrates, the discrimination is just as much a fact of life for Latino lawyers as it is for low-and medium-skilled workers. Moreover, Latina lawyers, as both racial minorities and women, face gender as well as racial stereotypes that contribute to their marginalization in the legal profession. After reading Everyday Injustice and 'having listened to the stories from the diverse group of Latino lawyers in this study,' one must conclude that the racial hostility and discrimination that they regularly suffer means that 'despite our progress with race relations, we [as a nation] still have a long way to go.' -- Kevin R. Johnson, Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, UC Davis School of Law
Chávez uses a combination of quantitative surveys and a significant number of in-depth interviews to shed light on the experiences of Latina/o lawyers in Washington State. Chávez paints a detailed and moving picture of how gender, race, and class intersect in her respondents’ lives, and how experiences of marginalization continue to be relevant to them across a number of parameters, despite their professional and socioeconomic success. -- Lisa García Bodella, chair, Center for Latino Policy Research, University of California, Berkeley
Many Americans, particularly immigrants, consider becoming a doctor or a lawyer the epitome of success, proof that this truly is the land of opportunity. Yet, as Chávez forcefully demonstrates, insidious racism, marginalization and even open hostility towards Latino attorneys are deep-seated and enduring within the legal profession. For Latinas, these 'micro-aggressions' as one respondent terms them, are even more pervasive. Maria Chávez explodes many myths in this groundbreaking book. Her outing of the barriers to success and acceptance by Latino lawyers puts the lie to the idea that America is a color-blind society, and underscores the need to take more active measures to ensure a true end to the current white racial frame under which all people of color continue to be oppressed. -- Melissa R. Michelson, professor of political science, Menlo College
This book helps us fully understand how race, culture, and class can continue to marginalize Latina/o professionals today. Chávez masterfully details the complexities and subtleties of how this marginalization persists in the contemporary legal profession. This book is highly critical of U.S. Society. More importantly, it is a call for the nation to live up to the high ideals of equal opportunity, full inclusion, and the building of a national community of common destiny and linked fate. -- Luis R. Fraga, Russell F. Stark University Professor, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, and Director, Diversity Research Institut
Exploring in great detail the professional lives of Latino lawyers, including their discriminatory experiences, Everyday Injustice is especially important and timely and provides a rich and detailed context against which the wisdom of affirmative action policies as well as other diversity measures may be evaluated on an informed basis. * Jotwell *