By Lauren Moon
Delaware Technical Community College Owens Campus opened “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1946," the Smithsonian Institution Exhibit for Hispanic Heritage Month, on Sept. 16.
Bracero, meaning “manual labor,” is a series of laws that were put in place on August 4, 1942, when the United States signed an agreement with Mexico called the Mexican Farm Labor agreement.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is the period from September 15 to October 15 in the United States, when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the country's history, heritage and culture.
This traveling exhibit includes six bilingual posters with interviews and photographs
documented by artist Leonard Nadel. This display is a part to engage and encourage students as well as the community to invoke conversation about the largest guest worker program in the United States at that time.
Along with the posters there was pineapple cake and Plancha Completa de pina which was provided by Ortiz Bakery in Georgetown along with Mexican Coffee provided by Java 101.
Dental Hygiene student Nick Adkins said “the food reminded him of his childhood which is very filluar."
Adkins said it was cool how they talked about the past to help prevent it from being repeated.
Head Librarian Angelynn King said, “The students coming to see it will get an interesting window into an aspect of our history that they may not be aware of.”
King said, she likes to see other cultures being brought in to Delaware Tech especially to the Sussex County campus.
King read at the presentation in the library to give students a look into an Hispanic author in those times a booked titled “Extravagaria,” by Paul Neruda.
Academic Counselor Jose Weidner-Ahorrio said, “This is an important message to provide to the community, especially our students,of a history that is long forgotten, and this exhibit sheds light on the opportunity that was given to those men at that time.”
Weidner-Ahorrio gave the opened the presentation with a brief background knowledge of the exhibit.
The exhibit will be available from September 16 to October 16 on the second floor of
the Stephen J. Betze Library. For more information about this exhibit or other events scheduled throughout the month, contact owens-studentife@dtcc.edu.
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