The Delictum Vineyards Scandal and Its Aftermath

Abstract

In the preceding chapters, I have described how established residents, and Anglos especially, evaluated and classified immigrant farm workers from Mexico, the general exclusion of immigrants from participation in local affairs, and the contrastive strongly integrative effect of local schools. A number of important questions remain to be addressed. As Anglos began to rethink immigrant identities, how would immigrants themselves participate in the reframing of their identity? How would Anglos respond to a more participatory immigrant group? Would change in these areas crystallize into a pattern of new more integrative practices? This chapter indicates concretely one way in which immigrants actively struggled from below to change how they were perceived and excluded from greater participation in local affairs, and illustrates a small yet remarkably positive response from longtime residents.