Definition of place and negotiation of belonging following Hispanic immigration: Georgetown, Delaware, 1990-2016
Date
2017
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University of Delaware
Abstract
Since the early 1990s, Georgetown, Delaware has become the destination for Guatemalan immigrants seeking employment in local agro-processing industries. The sudden appearance of newcomers with unfamiliar faces and foreign habits overwhelmed this small rural town already grappling with deteriorating housing stock, a stagnating economy, and an aging demographic. Facing changes it had not envisioned or prepared for, leaders and residents struggled to maintain the historic identity of the town while debating what the town’s future would be. This study looks at the ways long-term residents of Georgetown understood and reacted to changes in their sense of place and belonging – changes often attributed to the arrival of immigrants who did not fit into the town’s notion of place. Semi-structured interviews, archival analysis of local newspaper articles and editorials, government documents, and promotional materials were used to uncover the narratives and rhetoric Georgetown residents employed when addressing real and perceived changes to the town’s identity. Often conflating the town’s housing problems, as well as a decline in the aesthetics and character of the town’s cherished small-town charm, with the challenges of adjusting to the Guatemalan immigrant community, led to two decades of contentious negotiations. The town wrestled with how to adjust to the growing presence of immigrant neighbors they viewed as “out of place”. Narratives used by long-term residents often portrayed the immigrant newcomers as lacking the legal status, cultural knowledge and linguistic skills needed to belong in Georgetown. While Georgetown has made considerable progress in recent years to ease tensions, this research demonstrates how clinging to previously held notions of place and identity, rather than acknowledging and integrating its new diversity, can impede a small town’s ability to effectively manage demographic, economic, social and spatial change. These challenges are not unique to Georgetown. They are faced by communities across Sussex County and the rest of the nation.
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Keywords
Social sciences, Belonging, Immigration, Place