“Bittersweet Harvest” season

It’s amazing how large sections of history can get buried by time. This fall, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County (HCSCC) is highlighting a relatively forgotten event in American history, one which happened in the not-too-distant past and in our very backyard, or rather, in our farm fields.

In partnership with the Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition Service, HCSCC has brought “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964,” a bilingual (English/Spanish) traveling history exhibit, to the Hjemkomst Center.

“Bittersweet Harvest” examines the Emergency Farm Labor Program, also known as the Bracero program, which enabled approximately 2 million Mexican laborers (“braceros”) to come to the U.S. and work on farms and railroads on short-term contracts during the mid-20th century.

The Bracero program began as a means of addressing the labor shortage on American farms during WWII and was extended until 1964, in the process becoming the largest Mexican guest-worker program in U.S. history.

The program was controversial in its time, offering Mexican laborers a real opportunity for work and money. However, many of the laborers experienced exploitation at the hands of their employers, often enduring harsh living conditions, sometimes without proper pay.

The exhibit is simply organized, but highly informative and powerful. It includes 15 freestanding banners featuring contextual history, quotes and photographs from the program, as well as 11 oral histories from former braceros and their family members. These first-hand accounts, from both men and women, give a vivid picture of the living conditions that many braceros experienced during their time in the U.S., and what it was like for the family members left back home.

“We chose to exhibit the Bracero program because we knew that the Red River Valley has a rich history of Mexican and Mexican-American migrant workers,” says Maureen Kelly Jonason, executive director of HCSCC.

Despite the high importance of agriculture in our region, “Bittersweet Harvest” claims North Dakota was one of the few states to have not received any braceros during the program’s duration, something which surprised Jonason when setting up the exhibit.

“It was interesting because North Dakota was shown as a place that didn’t have any braceros,” says Jonason. “We had two historians look into it, and the state historical society has a number of records showing that North Dakota did indeed have workers from the program.”

The exhibit will be on display until Nov. 15, which is the day after Pangea, HCSCC’s free multicultural indoor festival that celebrates the rich diversity of the F-M metro area. Dr. Jesus “Chuy” Negrete, a musicologist from Chicago, has studied the songs that came out of Bracero program, and he will be performing them at the event. His performance is made possible in part by a grant from the Lake Region Arts Council’s Legacy fund.

“Bittersweet Harvest” is an immersive, fascinating exhibit about a little-known piece of American history, and it serves as a reminder that we are often less informed than we assume.

“I overheard a volunteer remark that it always amazes her that whole sections of history could be complete blanks she knew nothing about,” says Jonason. “I think it behooves us all to learn about what is really true about our history – in this case how we needed the braceros, how they served the American people and how they then went home.”

IF YOU GO:

“Bittersweet Harvest” exhibit

Hjemkomst Center, 202 1st Ave N, Moorhead

Sept. 10-Nov. 15

Admission (for museum): $10 adults / $9 seniors and college students / $8 youth (5-17) / children (4 and under) free / HCSCC members free

(Free admission on third Tuesday evening of each month)

http://www.hcscconline.org/uncategorized/the-bittersweet-struggle-of-the-bracero-is-revealed-at-hcs/