Anti-Blackness in “Brown” Space: Absence,Rejection,and Qualified Coexistence in a Latinizing Community

Drawing from in-depth interviews with 35 Black respondents from South Central Los Angeles, a Black and Latinx community, I analyze Black experiences in and of “Brown” space. I find three main themes: absence, rejection, and qualified coexistence. Respondents frequently discussed a noticeable absence of Black people, mourning what South Central simultaneously used to be and could be. Rejection was another central theme, capturing the many ways in which Black respondents experienced anti-Black indignities, while navigating public space in Latinizing South Central. Finally, Black residents also toed the line between narratives of conflict and coexistence by telling stories of what I call “qualified coexistence”—these were stories that detailed a coexistence between Black and Latinx folks that was mired by routine anti-Blackness. These findings advance scholarship across different research areas, include race and space, Black-Latinx relations, and theories of interracial interaction.