Bittersweet Harvest: The Smithsonian's exhibit on the Bracero Program
Written by barb howe Monday, 26 October 2009 15:24
"Understanding the past is the best way to make decisions about the future."
The Smithsonian's Museum of American History has a new exhibit on the Bracero Program. On display are hundreds of photos, journals and letters from and to participants in the program, as well as artifacts such as the infamous "short-handled hoe", sandals, a bunk bed from a California labor camp and a sweat-stained hat.
The Bracero Program touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border, as young men from Mexico left their families behind to face racism and exploitation of their vulnerable status as guestworkers from a poor country while doing back-breaking work in the United States. At its peak over 400,000 workers came each year, in total about 4 million contracts were given out. Men often waited in line for hours for a chance to get into the program, then they were doused with pesticides at the border and bussed off to various parts of the country where they earned very little money doing back-breaking work. Many were cheated out of their already meager wages. Meanwhile, families back home struggled as the demographics of entire communities changed.
The Bracero Program is a shameful chapter in our history, one that should not be repeated. The Smithsonian does an excellent job of presenting this history in Bittersweet Harvest on display here in Washinton DC through January and afterwards traveling to smaller museums across the country. Looking at the artifacts and photos and reading the letters, one has to wonder what part of this harvest was "sweet".
Browse the archive at braceroarchive.org.
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