Confronting the White Renaissance: Educational Advocacy and Gentrification in the New Latinx Diaspora

This research examines how Latinx educational advocates navigate racialized city politics in nearby Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city whose Latinx population recently surpassed 50 percent. Specifically, it tells the story of how the majority-Puerto Rican Latinx community members, who once revitalized the city during deindustrialization and White flight, resist displacement as the city undergoes a "renaissance," or tax-incentivized, corporate development. Through critical ethnographic methods, this research examines how Latinx community members engage in the racial project of city-level resource allocation to impact educational outcomes locally. 

 

Erika Davis is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida with a specialization in Critical Studies of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture. Originally from Allentown, her research focuses on Latinx educational advocacy and racialized city politics in Lehigh Valley. She utilizes critical, qualitative approaches to explore connections 

between race, education, and politics.