Cerrando la Brecha: Latine Voices on Community, Identity, and Social Entrepreneurship
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Date
2024
Authors
Lyman, Gwendolyn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Latine marginalization is a reality in the United States that im/migrants, Latin American, and Latine people and their descents face. This ethnographic study examines how social entrepreneurship—operating small businesses simultaneously committed to financial sustainability and positive social impact—is a valuable way of placemaking and community building for Latine people. This research, which takes place in Little Village, Chicago, simultaneously illuminates the importance of collective identity and placemaking for Latine people, as well as the role that community-based organizations and social entrepreneurship play in facilitating community building.
To carry out the research, I conducted six semi-structured interviews with Latine social entrepreneurs working in Little Village. After conducting these interviews, I created a thematic code to analyze the interviews so that I could put the different participants’ experiences in conversation with one another in my ethnography. This work investigates themes of collective identity, the shared benefits and social impacts of social entrepreneurship, and the vital role of community-based organizations in supporting marginalized communities.
This project is supported by two nonprofit organizations, WeavingImpact and New Life Centers, that operate a joint social entrepreneurial support program in Little Village. Through my
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capacity as an associate program manager, I developed personal relationships with the two organizations and the people they support. I conclude that social entrepreneurship is an important and emerging way of further supporting placemaking and community building for Latine people in the United States. This research has broader implications regarding Latine marginalization and demonstrates how localized support is necessary and vital in terms of these larger systems of marginality.
Description
67 pages
Keywords
social entrepreneurship, Chicago, community, identity, ethnography