The University Libraries just kicked off a month long celebration honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, observed from September 15 to October 15 every year. Programming includes lectures, a book display, documentary screenings, and a photography exhibit.
Photographs from Juan José Bustamante, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Arkansas, are currently on view in the West Hall of Mullins Library. The exhibit, Northwest Arkansas/Birmingham, Alabama: A Visual Narrative of Latina/os Struggles in Two Southern Regions, highlights images from Bustamante’s The Southern Latino and Migrant Voices Project (SLMVP).
“Springdale Advocacy” (above) is a photo by Professor Juan Jose Bustamante and The Southern Latino and Migrant Voices Project (SLMVP).
SLMVP is a collaborative initiative between NWA Workers’ Justice Center, OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology, and Arkansas United Community Coalition, created in 2013. SLMVP’s goals include documenting significant life events of Latina/os and migrants through a Life History Archive. The images in the exhibit are part of that archive. The exhibit is available to view whenever Mullins Library is open. A full schedule of University Libraries’ hours is available online.
After receiving a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and American Library Association (ALA) grant earlier this year, the Libraries began programming to help bring Latino Americans, a landmark PBS documentary chronicling the history and experiences of Latinos in America over the last 500-plus years, out into the Northwest Arkansas Community. The first event was held on September 10 at Fayetteville Public Library and featured baked goods from Ayala’s Family Bakery in Springdale.
Upcoming events featuring Latino Americans include an airing of episodes 3 and 4 of the documentary at the Veterans Administration on October 9 from 1-3pm, and a booth at ArkanSalsa Fest on Saturday, October 17 in Springdale, in downtown Springdale. ArkanSalsa Fest is organized by OneCommunity.
Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a public programming initiative produced by NEH and ALA, is part of the NEH initiative, The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square.
A book display, chosen by Martha Parker, Digital Services Librarian, is also located inside Mullins Library’s main lobby. The display features topics as wide-ranging as poetry, politics, and music highlighting Latino culture and experiences.
Hispanic Heritage Month 2015 programming concludes on October 13 as the University of Arkansas presents Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. Rigoberta Menchú for the 2015 Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture at 7pm in the Union Ballroom. Before her lecture, Menchú will visit Mullins at 9am in the Walton Reading Room as the University Libraries host “A Conversation with Dr. Rigoberta Menchú.” The events are free and open to the public.
“Stop” (L) and “Keep Families Together” (R) are photos by Juan Jose Bustamante on view now in Mullins Library’s West Hall, part of the Northwest Arkansas/Birmingham, Alabama: A Visual Narrative of Latina/os Struggles in Two Southern Regions exhibit from Bustamante’s The Southern Latino and Migrant Voices Project (SLMVP).