The presence of Latin Americans has had a profound effect on social services in northern Louisiana.
Mexican
immigrants, in particular, are largely employed in the agricultural sector and have played a major role in the development of labor movements within the United States. Furman and Collins (200) proposed a social constructionist model of culturally competent practice, which encourages social workers to understand the worldviews of their clients and how these worldviews can vary between different cultural groups. In 1762, France ceded its North American territory, Louisiana, to Spain with the Treaty of Fontainebleau. This was kept secret until France could negotiate peace with Great Britain.In Ybor City, Cuban-American workers were involved in local, national and international issues. Cotton culture was predominant in what would later become Florida parishes, especially along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, where an Anglo-American planter population had pledged allegiance to Spain in exchange for generous land concessions. Latino workers have had a significant impact on the American labor movement since the early 20th century. This is despite attempts by James Wilkinson, a veteran of the American Revolution who had settled in Kentucky, to undermine their efforts. Rumors that the colony would be returned to Spain in exchange for Floridas, encouraged by Spanish officials who denied the legitimacy of the purchase, further hindered U.
S. dominance. Puerto Rico's colonial status and its problem of overpopulation provoked and sustained emigration, transforming impoverished Puerto Ricans into proletarian globetrotters who went to work in the Caribbean, Mexico, Latin America and the Hawaiian Islands. In New York City, Puerto Rican workers made lifejackets and military shirts for soldiers, while Cuban-American women got jobs in Tampa's shipyards. In October 1950, Mexican-American members of Mine Mill Local 890 began a 15-month strike against the Empire Zinc Company in southeastern New Mexico. In Madrid, US envoy Thomas Pinckney negotiated a treaty that ceded to the United States all Spanish territory east of the Mississippi River and north of latitude 31° north, including the Natchez region.
This powerful class led the Cabildo under Spanish rule and continued to dominate the conservative city council during the early years of American rule. The rulers of Spain were not particularly expert nor interested in governing such a colony at a time when geopolitical upheavals were bringing it closer to an increasingly close relationship with the US republic. After Spanish forces blocked an expedition sent by President Jefferson to explore the Red River in 1806, Wilkinson (now governor of northern Louisiana Territory) and Lieutenant Similar developed political activity based on Latino workers in the Midwest, Northeast and South Florida. The presence of Latin Americans has had a tremendous impact on social services in northern Louisiana. From their involvement in labor movements to their contributions to local economies, Latino workers have been instrumental in shaping this region's history. As social workers strive to provide culturally competent services to their clients, it is important to recognize and appreciate this group's contributions.
