Natalia Molina
Natalia Molina researches race, citizenship, and urban environments.
Natalia Molina studies the intersections of immigration, labor, foodways, and urban studies, telling the story of American communities through the unifying power of food.
An award-winning author, teacher, and mentor, Natalia has written three acclaimed books: How Race Is Made in America: Immigration, Citizenship, and the Historical Power of Racial Scripts; Fit to Be Citizens?: Public Health and Race in Los Angeles, 1879-1940; and, most recently, A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community. The Los Angeles Times called A Place at the Nayarit an “essential Los Angeles book.” It was a finalist for a James Beard Award and received 14 awards and honorable mentions from various organizations. The book chronicles the lives of immigrant workers, including Molina’s grandmother, who became placemakers, nurturing and feeding their communities at restaurants that served as urban anchors.
Recognized as a USC 2023 Communicator of the Year, she has written for the LA Times, Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, and elsewhere. Her work has been supported by various organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ford, Mellon and Rockefeller Foundation. A Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians and an elected member of the Society of American Historians, she has given lectures in Latin America, Asia, Europe, as well as over 30 of the 50 United States. In 2020, she was named a MacArthur Fellow.
Professor Molina is currently working on a new book, The Silent Hands that Shaped the Huntington Library: A History of Its Immigrant Workers.
An accomplished speaker and certified mediator, Natalia enjoys opportunities for intellectual and cultural exchange, whether in the classroom, lecture hall, or over a restaurant table.
“We throw around words like 'community' and 'hospitality' all of the time when speaking of restaurants, these third spaces that are neither home or work. But rarely do we find an example of those qualities displayed deeply and truly as in the story of the Nayarit Restaurant and its matriarch and the bridges she and her family built between communities in Los Angeles. The story of Doña Natalia, told by her granddaughter Natalia Molina, is a must-read for anyone interested in the vital role restaurants can have in their communities.".”
—Evan Kleiman, chef, author, and host of Good Food on KCRW
Kevin Says
“Natalia’s work amplifies the Mexican immigrant experience with her scholar’s keen eye but with the courage and heart of her grandmother.”
Expertise
- James Beard award finalist in food history
- An expert on Mexican-American history and Latinx studies, particularly in Los Angeles
- Established theorist in the construction of race, citizenship, critical race theory, and shared struggles across racial lines
- Shares a wide perspective on the history of immigration, labor, foodways, and public health policies
Video Highlight
“I coined the term racial scripts to show that our understandings of race in America–such as black and white binary–influenced the way that we waive different immigrants coming into the United States” —Natalia Molina, MacArthur Fellow