American Book Awards
2 appearances
-
Edition 39 (2018) Winner
-
Edition 44 (2023) Winner
Kelly Lytle Hernández
ケリー・ライトル・ヘルナンデス
Keri Raitoru Herunandesu
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1974-03-03 （San Diego, California, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Clairemont, San Diego, California, U.S. → Los Angeles, California, U.S. (UCLA)
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Professor (History, African American Studies, Urban Planning), Researcher
- Active Years
- 2002-
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies (director), Co-founder, Million Dollar Hoods project
- Memberships
- Society of American Historians, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Pulitzer Prize Board
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, San Diego | — | Ethnic Studies | BA | — | United States |
| University of California, Los Angeles | — | History | PhD | — | United States |
University of California, San Diego
Ethnic Studies
Degree:
BA
Year of Graduation:
1996
Country:
United States
University of California, Los Angeles
History
Degree:
PhD
Year of Graduation:
2002
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | MacArthur Fellowship | — | — | MacArthur Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2018 | American Book Award | City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2018 | John Hope Franklin Publication Prize | City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles | — | American Studies Association | 受賞 |
| 2018 | James A. Rawley Prize | City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles | — | Organization of American Historians | 受賞 |
| 2018 | Robert G. Athearn Award | City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles | — | Western History Association | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Clements Prize (William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies) | Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol | — | William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies | 受賞（表彰） |
MacArthur Fellowship
2019
Organization:
MacArthur Foundation
Result:
受賞
American Book Award
2018
Work:
City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
John Hope Franklin Publication Prize
2018
Work:
City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles
Organization:
American Studies Association
Result:
受賞
James A. Rawley Prize
2018
Work:
City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles
Organization:
Organization of American Historians
Result:
受賞
Robert G. Athearn Award
2018
Work:
City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles
Organization:
Western History Association
Result:
受賞
Clements Prize (William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies)
2010
Work:
Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol
Organization:
William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies
Result:
受賞（表彰）
Awards & Nominations
Bancroft Prize
1 appearances
Works
Major Works
Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol
2010 History / Non-fictionInvestigates the origins and development of the U.S. Border Patrol using previously untapped sources, tracing the agency's violent origins and the institutionalization of border enforcement.
Immigration historyBorder enforcementRace and the state
City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles
2017 History / Urban history / Carceral studiesExamines the history of incarceration in Los Angeles, revealing how conquest, racial exclusion, and settler colonialism shaped systems of caging and how resistant communities preserved alternative records—the 'rebel archive.'
Mass incarcerationRacismUrban transformationResistance and archives
Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands
2022 History / Borderlands historyTraces the magonistas and the transnational dimensions of the Mexican Revolution, exploring how exiled revolutionaries operating in the U.S. shaped both Mexican and American histories amid imperial and corporate interests.
Revolutionary historyCross-border movementsImperialism and capitalism
Bibliography
- Mexican Immigration to the United States, 1900 – 1999: A Sourcebook for Teachers (2002)
- Migra! : a history of the U.S. Border Patrol (2010)
- City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles (2017)
- Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands (2022)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Archival, evidence-driven academic proseAccessible public-facing narrative styleSocial and institutional historical analysis
- Recurring Motifs
- Borders and border controlCarceral institutionsRacialization and exclusionResistance and grassroots archives ('rebel archive')
Legacy
Hernández is a leading scholar on border enforcement, immigration, and mass incarceration whose archival research has informed public policy, community-engaged projects, and the construction of public archives. Her work, recognized by awards including the MacArthur Fellowship, has had significant influence in public history and carceral studies.
Academic Societies
- Society of American Historians
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Archives
- Million Dollar Hoods project archives (UCLA) and curated LAPD records access
In Popular Culture
- Interviews and commentary in public radio, television, and newspapers
Quotes
-
She has said she is proud and 'honored' to be called a 'rebel historian.'
Source: MacArthur Foundation / various interviews (2019) -
"I just had this passion in my belly that was driving me to want to write this history of the border patrol."
Source: Interview (2010)
Trivia
- Her father was a music professor at UC San Diego.
- Her mother passed away in 1994.
- Co-founded the Million Dollar Hoods project in 2016.
- Received a MacArthur Fellowship ('Genius Grant') in 2019.