News Release

Nuestras Historias, Nuestros Sueños/Our Stories, Our Dreams

News Release Date: August 27, 2010

September 20 - October 31

An Exhibition from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and Student Action with Farmworkers

The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University created a Migrant Project that led to the founding of Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF) in 1992, establishing a new model for blending advocacy with documentary expression.

Through the collaborative project Nuestras Historias, Nuestros Sueños/Our Stories, Our Dreams, the CDS at Duke University and SAF collected stories about the experiences of Latino immigrants, illuminating their reasons for coming to this country and the obstacles they face once they arrive. In particular, the project focuses on farmworker families in the Carolinas and their dreams for the future; in their traditions, their educational aspirations, and their challenges as they try to pursue higher education.

As border crossings, undocumented immigration, and related labor issues continue to be debated in the national political arena, the perspectives of those who have uprooted their lives and risked their livelihoods to come to the United States are seldom heard.

This traveling exhibition developed from a project that began in 2006 and involved undergraduate students at CDS, SAF interns from across the country, faculty members, seasoned documentarians, and young people from farm worker families. The exhibit uses the documentary arts to amplify the voices of Latino youth and their families so that their stories can be heard.

Free and open to the public daily from September 20 to October 31, 2009, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, 1515 SE Monroe Street, Topeka, Kansas, 66612.

For more information, call the Brown Foundation at [phone] or send an email by clicking here.