Latinx Immigrants working in the Carpet Capital of the World
Disciplines
Latina/o Studies | Oral History | Theatre and Performance Studies
Abstract (300 words maximum)
In the 1950s, Dalton, Georgia, a small town in the Appalachian Valley of northwest Georgia, became a global leader in textile manufacturing, earning the title of “The Carpet Capital of the World.” The rapid expansion of the carpet industry created many job opportunities, which spurred an influx of migration from Latin America to Dalton in the 1980s that continues to the present day. Ariel Ramos is one such person who migrated from Acambaro, Mexico, in the 1980s during the first wave of Latinx migration to Dalton. This project is an oral history interview with Mr. Ramos, who shares his story and offers a first-hand account of the growth of the Latinx community in Dalton, a relatively new and understudied population. Mr. Ramos’s story highlights the lives of Latinx workers in the Carpet Capital of the World and the pivotal importance of their labor to the local and global carpet industries. This project builds upon the Crown Cotton Mills oral history interviews conducted in Dalton from the 1920s-1960s about the town’s cotton industry by documenting the shift in Dalton’s labor industries from cotton to carpet and its changing demographics. This oral history project also documents Mr. Ramos’s personal experience living and working as a Latinx immigrant in Dalton, Georgia, which provides a model for further primary source research on this subject.
Use of AI Disclaimer
no
Academic department under which the project should be listed
GCA – Theatre & Performance Studies
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Porntip Israsena Twishime
Latinx Immigrants working in the Carpet Capital of the World
In the 1950s, Dalton, Georgia, a small town in the Appalachian Valley of northwest Georgia, became a global leader in textile manufacturing, earning the title of “The Carpet Capital of the World.” The rapid expansion of the carpet industry created many job opportunities, which spurred an influx of migration from Latin America to Dalton in the 1980s that continues to the present day. Ariel Ramos is one such person who migrated from Acambaro, Mexico, in the 1980s during the first wave of Latinx migration to Dalton. This project is an oral history interview with Mr. Ramos, who shares his story and offers a first-hand account of the growth of the Latinx community in Dalton, a relatively new and understudied population. Mr. Ramos’s story highlights the lives of Latinx workers in the Carpet Capital of the World and the pivotal importance of their labor to the local and global carpet industries. This project builds upon the Crown Cotton Mills oral history interviews conducted in Dalton from the 1920s-1960s about the town’s cotton industry by documenting the shift in Dalton’s labor industries from cotton to carpet and its changing demographics. This oral history project also documents Mr. Ramos’s personal experience living and working as a Latinx immigrant in Dalton, Georgia, which provides a model for further primary source research on this subject.