A while ago, I had the chance to attend Susan Harbage Page’s exhibit in the Davidson Gallery. Her exhibit was called the U.S. – Mexico Border Project, in which she made yearly trips to the US-Mexican border to photograph and pick up artifacts she deemed important. This included more than 1,000 objects, such as clothing, razors, shoes, backpacks, toothbrushes among many other items. The goal of the exhibit was to show the reality of what was happening at the border – fear, prosecution, trauma and much more.
Many immigrants from Latin America travelled thousands of miles to escape war, violence, and unfair treatment in their home countries in order for a better life in the US. However, these leftover items tell us that many migrants had to leave items on the road as they were either too heavy which impeded their trip, or they were picked up by border control and sent back to their countries. I found this exhibit powerful because based on their items, we can see what many of the migrants were thinking as they made their trip to the border. Some brought along toys, meaning they were probably travelling as a family. Others brought along lipstick, possibly for the purpose of creating motivation for themselves to finish the journey. Many pieces of clothing were left as well, signifying that some migrants were possibly raped and assaulted by “smugglers”. All these individual objects tell us a separate story, but seeing these objects together also give us a wider picture of the burdens, fear, and aspirations of many of the migrants.
Even though we haven’t covered migration in the 21st century in Latin America, some connections can be established between the class on Cesar Chavez and the Bracero Program with the exhibit. In this class, we talked about migration and labor mobility from Mexico to the US. Even though there were many documented workers, there were also undocumented workers who came to the US to work. Many workers thought they would have a better life in the US, but it turns out that most were treated poorly with low wages and houses with no running water. If this was the case for legal and documented migrant workers, I would hate to imagine what it would be like for undocumented workers. This exhibit focuses on the journey for migrants, but not the potential outcomes for migrants who make it pass the border. While the journey is extremely difficult, the conditions once across the border may be even harsher if there is a lack of support.
I think this exhibit seems fascinating and appears to be an enlightening experience for you to have. It brings up this interesting connection between the growing hatred more and more Latin American individuals have towards the United States, but the corresponding desperation to escape corruption that results in these individuals attempting to cross the border anyways. I also think your point about the protection of worker rights is very relevant to both our unit and this course. Furthermore, it begs the question of worker rights in Latin America and how they compare.
Hi Jeremy, thank you for sharing your time visiting this exhibit. It seemed to be a very eye opening experience and a great chance to touch on a topic that we haven’t covered in class. We mainly hear from news outlets about the poor treatment towards immigrants after they cross the borders but not as much about the conditions on their trip to the border, and this exhibit seems to effectively increase awareness on this issue. Since we have focused on other waves of migration in Latin America in our course, I wonder if those immigrants suffered through similar conditions in their journeys.