Maria and Julio are joined by Julissa Arce, immigration rights advocate and author of the new book “You Sound Like A White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation.” They discuss the issues of assimilation in the United States and the complexities of Latino identity. They also get into the history of racism against Latinos in this country, and why it’s important to learn that history.

This episode was mixed by Leah Shaw Dameron.

ITT Staff Picks:

• “Sounding like a gringa didn’t make me American, and it didn’t give me the privileges of one,” writes Julissa in this published excerpt of her book, in Literary Hub.

• For The 74, Jo Napolitano writes about the policies and rhetoric by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that target undocumented folks, and what this means in light of the recent mass shooting in Uvalde.

• The spectrum of skin tones within the Latino community can affect how they are treated in the United States, even by other Latinos, reports Rachel Hatzipanagos for the Washington Post.

Photo credit: Aly Honore