Books by Valerie Martinez-Ebers

Latinos in the New Millennium is the most current and comprehensive profile of Latinos in the United States: looking at their social characteristics, group relations, policy positions, and political orientations. The authors draw on information from the 2006 Latino National Survey (LNS), the largest and most detailed source of data on Hispanics in America. This book provides essential knowledge about Latinos, contextualizing research data by structuring discussion around many dimensions of Latino political life in the U.S. The encyclopedic range and depth of the LNS allows the authors to appraise Latinos' group characteristics, attitudes, behaviors, and their views on numerous topics. This study displays the complexity of Latinos, from recent immigrants to those whose grandparents were born in the United States.

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the US, with increased levels of political mobilization and influence. In this book, Latino scholars explore the profound implications of Latinos' population growth and geographic dispersion for American politics and society.

Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Religion is an introductory anthology that examines the history, current issues, and dynamics of select minority groups in the United States. While other books on these topics usually confine their coverage to African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians, this work also looks at Jewish and Muslim Americans. Another unique feature of this book is that it puts the study of diversity and identity politics in a larger context, thus providing students with a broader perspective on these issues.
Opening with an essay by the editors on change and continuity in the minority group experience, the first section of the book analyzes the effects of globalization on individual, group, and national identity. It goes on to consider the social implications of immigration, common challenges faced by immigrants, and the increasing significance of religious diversity in America. The second section expounds on the historical, legal, and political experiences of each minority group as well as their attitudes and behaviors. Taken together, the selections provide students with the context to evaluate the roles that race, ethnicity, and religion play in the outcomes of American politics. They also show how the structure and operation of our political system sometimes obstruct the efforts of these groups to gain the full benefits of freedom and equal treatment promised under the American Constitution.
Featuring contributions from authors who are not only experts in their fields--which include political science, sociology, history, and religion--but who also belong to the minority groups that they are writing about, Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Religion provides students with a uniquely personal yet scientifically informed look at this significant subject.

In the decades since Latinas began to hold public office in the United States in the late 1950s, they have blazed new trails in public life, bringing fresh perspectives, leadership styles, and policy agendas to the business of governing cities, counties, states, and the nation. As of 2004, Latinas occupied 27.4 percent of the more than 6,000 elected and appointed local, state, and national positions filled by Hispanic officeholders. The greatest number of these Latina officeholders reside in Texas, where nearly six hundred women occupy posts from municipal offices, school boards, and county offices to seats in the Texas House and Senate.

In this book, five Latina political scientists profile the women who have been the first Latinas to hold key elected and appointed positions in Texas government. Through interviews with each woman or her associates, the authors explore and theorize about Latina officeholders' political socialization, decision to run for office and obstacles overcome, leadership style, and representational roles and advocacy. The profiles begin with Irma Rangel, the first Latina elected to the Texas House of Representatives, and Judith Zaffirini and Leticia Van de Putte, the only two Latinas to serve in the Texas Senate. The authors also interview Lena Guerrero, the first and only Latina to serve in a statewide office; judges Linda Yanes, Alma Lopez, Elma Salinas Ender, Mary Roman, and Alicia Chacón; mayors Blanca Sanchez Vela (Brownsville), Betty Flores (Laredo), and Olivia Serna (Crystal City); and Latina city councilwomen from San Antonio, El Paso, Dallas, Houston, and Laredo.