La Vida Nueva: Detainees, Arkansans, And Libertad During the Cuban Refugee Crisis of 1980-1983

Fort Chaffee, Arkansas and the surrounding communities were at the center of racial discrimination throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The area also serves as a case study for the treatment of Cubans during the Mariel Boatlift in the United States between 1980 and 1982. This thesis argues that Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and other military bases across the United States served as a transitional space during the Mariel Boatlift that separated Cuban identities from fearful communities that continually fought against the different racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual identities of the Marielitos. An examination of the surrounding community, government officials, and the Cuban refugees highlights the intersections of these three perspectives.

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Degree

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Rogers, Blair Austin

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Keller, Renata

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Oda, Meredith
• Aguirre, Michael
• Meadows, Ruthie

• Cold War
• Conservatism
• Fort Chaffee
• Microhistory
• Santería
• Transformista

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 United States

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11714/8534

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarwolf.unr.edu:11714/8534