“Envisioning Bracero
History” and looking to the future
Newswise — As the United
States takes a critical look at the future of immigration
and temporary worker programs, the University of Texas at El
Paso (UTEP) is teaming up with the Smithsonian on a project
that could help the country’s leaders learn from the past.
The UTEP Department of
History and Institute of Oral History has joined the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and a
consortium of museums, universities and cultural
institutions, to create the Bracero History Project.
A three-day conference,
from Nov. 10-12 in El Paso, will bring together scholars
from both sides of the border to discuss and learn more
about the rich cultural history of the braceros along the
U.S.-Mexico borderlands.
“The Bracero Program not
only shaped the agricultural economy and industrial
technology, but also made a significant impact on American
and Mexican immigration,” said Brent D. Glass, director of
the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
In 1942, the United States
entered into a series of agreements with Mexico to organize
the Bracero Program in order to overcome the labor shortage
caused by World War II. The program enabled Mexican citizens
to come to the United States for temporary labor contracts,
which were predominantly in the agriculture industry.
Between 1942-1964,
millions of Mexicans came to the United States to work.
These men were often referred to as braceros, a term derived
from the Spanish word brazo, or arm, referring to a farmhand
or labor for hire. The Bracero Program became the largest
and most significant contract labor, guest worker program of
the 20th century. While braceros were to return to Mexico at
the end of their labor contracts, many instead immigrated to
the United States and continued working.
With the executive and
legislative branches of the federal government considering
options for new temporary worker programs, conference
organizers said the bracero event is an opportunity to learn
from the past.
“Ultimately the Bracero
Program was misguided. We must learn from this history to
ensure that when forging a new guest worker program the
United States government treats Mexican laborers with
dignity and respect… rather than merely as workers to be
mistreated and exploited,” said Dr. Ernesto Chavez, UTEP
professor of history.
UTEP’s students, faculty
and staff have made significant contributions to the study
of the Bracero Program. In fall 2002, UTEP’s Institute of
Oral History launched the Bracero Oral History Project.
Kristine Navarro, Institute director and conference
organizer, along with several graduate students, have worked
several hundred hours researching, interviewing and
transcribing the oral histories of braceros, ranchers, state
and government workers involved in the Bracero Program.
“The people with the
Smithsonian project are interested in our findings, and they
are especially interested in following the model in which we
collected our stories,” Navarro said. Her group traveled
through New Mexico, California, interior cities of Mexico
and other areas to collect 235 oral histories. The group is
transcribing the interviews to make them available to the
public by late fall.
Navarro will share some of
her research and experiences working on the Bracero Oral
History Project during a Nov. 12 session of the conference,
“Institution Partnerships and Collections.”
“This is the only event
that the Smithsonian is doing in Texas. We are really
excited about having the community learn about this rich
history,” said Navarro.
The event will begin with
a Town Hall meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 at Café
Mayapan, 2000 Texas Avenue. Presentations will be made by
the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
Institution.
Two panel discussions are
set for Friday, Nov.11. The first, “Creating and Changing
Communities: Gender, Life and Citizenship Under the Bracero
Program,” will be at 9 a.m. with an opening welcome from
Michael Topp, chair of the UTEP Department of History. The
“Business, Diplomacy, and the State During the Bracero Era”
will be at 2 p.m. Both sessions will be at UTEP’s Academic
Services Building, room 131.
All events are free and
open to the public. For a full list of events during the
three-day event visit,
http://ia.utep.edu/universityrelations/