Happy to chat with Raul Reyes for his NBC article about Ed Morales's provocative work! “Latinx definitely carries a political connotation, just as the word ‘feminist’ likewise signals a kind of political awareness. Using Latinx is a signal that you’re a progressive ally. On the other hand, it is not a very Spanish term, which for some people is a bummer. It refuses to obey the gender rules of Spanish.”
By unexpectedly unseating a longtime incumbent in a New York Democratic primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became an instant national figure, with politics-watchers speculating on the meaning of her victory, as a young working-class Latina identifying as a democratic socialist. Was pleased to be quoted in Ed Morales's June 29 Washington Post article exploring some of the intersectional issues Ocasio-Cortez raises.
For a long, long time, I've been meaning to write more op-ed-length essays, and finally had time to condense a few thoughts into a piece that ran on NBC's new Think website, under the headline "Marginalizing minority voters is right-wing populism in a nutshell." Check it out!
"We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." Congressman Steve King isn't even concealing his white nationalism anymore, which makes it easy to talk about, and great to have the opportunity to discuss on MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on March 13. Was a quick segment, just four minutes, but managed to squeeze in a few points, and being on the air on a weeknight in prime time brought an unexpected (and welcome) flurry of new Twitter followers and website visits. Plus, I got to chat up Rachel Maddow in the makeup room before the show!
At Columbia University, got to be on a provocative roundtable discussing "What Really Happened? Latinos and the 2016 Elections," convened by Frances Negrón-Muntaner. My remarks begin around 43:00 in.
Looking forward to discussing the Latino vote and more at Columbia University on January 24 . . . and helping to figure out what did really happen.
Honored to be invited to speak at the Chicago Humanities Festival (on the same day as Bonnie Honig and Trevor Noah!) on “Latino Power in Politics.” Just one small hitch: My talk was scheduled for November 12, which turned out to be just FOUR DAYS after #Trumpocalypse . . . demanding a somewhat different talk than I’d planned. Fortunately, I’d been thinking about white racial dominance, Latinos, and the GOP for some time. So despite having our worst fears realized, my colleague Amalia Pallares and I—along with our audience—were able to have a constructive conversation about the dangers ahead as well as our hopes for a more just and democratic future.
Here's the video:
Like everyone else, I've spent way too much time this year reading and thinking and talking about Donald J. Trump, and trying to put him in societal and political context. So it's great to have the opportunity to speak on Trump, the Latino vote, and more. Thanks to Chip Turner for bringing me to Seattle!
In March, I participated in a terrific panel at the CUNY Graduate Center, as part of the "Conversations on Race and Other Diversities" series, moderated by the legendary Johnnetta B. Cole and including Wade Davis, Vivian May, and Arun Venugopal. Some extremely smart and provocative insights.
Here's the video:
I had no advance warning of Melissa Harris-Perry abruptly ending; I learned about it like everyone else, in articles and emails and posts. Was startling to realize that my last appearance on the show (clips here and here) was Melissa's penultimate broadcast on MSNBC. Regardless of how everything came to an end, I will truly miss the show—less for the opportunity it has given me to periodically talk about important issues with absolutely amazing people than for its role in elevating the conversation by giving rarely heard voices space on national television. The show was a particularly great space for scholars, writers, and activists (and not just pundits) to share their views. I remember being a panelist on one show, a few years back, and noting that all five of us around Melissa's table were faculty who teach and write about politics. Not one talking-points-reciting "Democratic strategist" or "Republican strategist" in sight. When does that happen on a weekend political chat show?
I'm truly grateful to Melissa and her staff for demonstrating, in front of a national audience, that lively public conversation can go beyond the glib and superficial—and that intellectual and cultural diversity on television is possible, so long as the program is committed to making it happen. I hope that MSNBC will build on the legacy that Melissa and her staff created. There's no reason why our national political conversation can't be a whole lot smarter than it is.
Her current research project (provisionally titled The Right Kind of Difference: Latino Republicans and the Pleasures of Race) is a book-length exploration of how Latino conservative thought is shaped not only by ideology but through a potent combination of emotion, expression, and aesthetics. Other projects include Uncertain Identities: Aesthetics, Affect, and the Shifting Politics of Race, a collection of essays, and editing a volume tentatively entitled Political Theory/Latino Politics: Appropriation and Innovation. Her work has appeared in Political Theory, the Du Bois Review, Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Political Research Quarterly, and various edited volumes.
Cristina and her husband, editor and writer Matthew Budman, live in New York City.