Perceptions and attitudes data and literature not only tell us about how people think and feel they can also tell how those sentiments influence their behavior and choices. In this paper I all be drawing from 40 interviews from whites in Orange County California to examine how whites' explicit racist comments about Latinos shape their interaction and choices. Specifically I will be exploring how their ideas and choices about residential segregation and interaction are social mechanisms that hinder cross-racial relationships and often lead to racial tensions in the area. The literature on segregation usually addresses African-Americans, as the Latino population continues to grow and in many areas are the majority understanding Latino segregation is critical to understand future race relations and racial inequalities.
