University to document oral histories of guest workers
Interviews will be part of Smithsonian traveling exhibit

California State University Channel Islands is partnering with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to collect oral histories from those who participated in the bracero program, a guest worker program administered by the United States government from 1942 to 1964.

The Center for Community Engagement and the Center for Multicultural Learning and Engagement at CSUCI invites former braceros, their families, growers, administrators and those that had interactions with braceros to a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Tues., Feb. 26 at Cafe on A, 438 South A St. in Oxnard. Refreshments will be provided, and the event is free.

During the meeting representatives from CSUCI, University of Texas at El Paso and the National Museum of American History will share information about the Bracero History Project: Legacy of a Community, which is a grassroots effort to collect, document and share the program's history.

In the months following the meeting, CSUCI students will conduct in-depth interviews with those who wish to share their stories and objects including hand tools, clothing, photographs and documents used during that time.

The oral histories will become part of the Smithsonian collection and will be featured in a traveling exhibit called "Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942 to 1964."

The exhibit is being developed by the National Museum of American History and Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service, and is expected to come to John Spoor Broome Library.

Many Mexican workers came to Ventura County through the bracero program. These guest workers were contracted because of the labor shortage in the agricultural industry created by World War II. At the end of their labor contracts, some of those in the program remained while others returned to Mexico and later immigrated to the U.S.

For more information about the town hall meeting, call Pilar Pacheco at (805) 4378851 or email pilar.pacheco@csuci.edu.