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From Farm Labor to Your Family Table: History, Social Justice, and the Legacy of How Food Connects Us
March 1, 2021 - March 5, 2021
March 1 – 5, 2021
The food we eat is harvested by the hardworking hands of essential farm workers. Through harsh weather conditions and during precarious global circumstances, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, they continue their laborious work. Historically, farm workers have always been at the forefront of, not only harvesting the foods we eat, but also spearheading social justice movements for labor rights.
This week-long series for educators, families, and K-12 students connects the relationship between food and farmworker rights. Through a cooking demonstration, an art workshop, guest speakers, and the creation of a personalized cookbook, participants will understand how the food on our table connects to history, social justice, and to our own family history.
SCHEDULE
Monday, March 1, 3-4pm
A Fruit’s Journey: The Orange and the Avocado
Cooking Demonstration with ArtBites
Educator, writer, cook, and founder of ArtBites: Cooking Art History, Maite Gomez-Rejón, prepares a fresh and healthy meal. Join her as she explains the history of the orange and avocado and the workers who bring these ingredients from farm to table.
Tuesday, March 2, 3-4pm
Food Across Borders
Public Lecture
Our production and consumption of food relies on a series of border crossings that we often take for granted. Dartmouth professor Matt Garcia highlights how food, food laborers, and the boundaries they cross lead to new thinking about what it means to be an American and a resident of the greater Los Angeles region.
Wednesday, March 3, 3-4pm
COVID, Immigration, and Issues Confronting Farmworkers Today
Public Lecture
Documentary Photographer David Bacon presents a collection of photographs taken while working with essential workers across California and discusses some of the issues confronting farmworkers today.
Thursday, March 4, 3-4pm
Artefacts: Symbols of Labor Rights
Protest Poster Art Workshop
Join La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in exploring historical objects connected to the fight for farmworker rights. Examine the representation of these objects in the iconography of the United Farm Workers Movement and explore iconography today. Learn how to use symbols to make your own protest poster to shed light on the importance of farmworker rights.
Friday, March 5, 3-4pm
Creating Culturally Responsive Heirlooms
Family Cookbook Workshop
This hands-on activity will encourage participants to connect their own family history to farmworker rights by exploring personal connections to the foods that farmworkers care for and harvest every day. Create your own family cookbook using materials from home.
PRESENTED BY:
Public History Initiative, UCLA Dept. of History
UCLA History-Geography Project
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
Funding provided by the UCLA Luskin Center for History & Policy
