February 18 - April 1, 2012

“Bittersweet Harvest”, a bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition from the Smithsonian, explores the little-known story of the Bracero program; the largest guest worker program in U.S history. Between 1942 and 1964, millions of Mexican men came to the United States on short-term labor contracts. Both bitter and sweet, the Bracero experience tells a story of exploitation but also of opportunity. This exhibition is organized into three main sections that explore the braceros’ motivations and expectations for the journey north, the work they did and the effects the Bracero program had on family and communities in Mexico and the United States. “Bittersweet Harvest” features the work of famed photojournalist Leonard Nadel as well as oral histories collected by the Bracero Oral History Project. The exhibition was organized by the National Museum of American History in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and funded by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

"Bittersweet Harvest Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964" is organized by the National Museum of American History and organized for travel by SITES. Funding is made possible through the Smithsonian’s Latino Center, which celebrates Latino culture, spirit and achievement in America by facilitating the development of exhibitions, research, collections and education programs.

Community Spotlight

Program Spotlight  - Padres con Iniciativa

For more than 20 years, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center has been reaching out to families in need of support and education on effective parenting.  Called Padres con Iniciativa, the curriculum was developed by a nurse who saw too many families struggling with self-esteem and communication problems that could lead to defiant behavior and domestic violence.

The program was originally designed to serve a largely Hispanic, migrant farmworker population.   But as the Virginia Garcia client population has grown and changed, so has the Padres con Initiativa program.  Families in the program enroll in a 12 part parenting class that teaches everything from childhood stages and development, to positive discipline to early literacy. Parents are taught listening and communication skills and simple ways to reduce personal and family stress.  They are taught as parents to model good relationships.

Each family also has a case manager who can arrange transportation to classes, and follows up with a home visit to access their progress.

That ear is parent educator, Ileana Henriquez.  Henriquez joined Virginia Garcia eight years ago and continues to improve the ‘Padres’ program by focusing on self esteem and family issues the Virginia Garcia population faces.

For more information about Padres con Iniciativa call Phone: (503) 359-5564

                                 olaa research

The Latino Health Equity Conference will provide a forum to focus on individual and community pathways to health through research, programs and policies for Latinos.

This interactive summit will build the path for a Latino Health Initiative with strategies to eliminate health disparities.

The goals will be to:

1. Enhance participants’ understanding of social, economic and political factors that impact health for Latinos.
2. Understand major disease prevention and health promotion challenges facing Latinos locally, nationally and globally and potential solutions to those challenges.
3. Build understanding of culturally appropriate public health practice and research to promote health for Latinos.
4. Develop partnerships between Latino communities and key stakeholders in building community capacity for health through research, education and advocacy.

Conference proceedings will be developed into a white paper which will assist local and national policy and decision makers in establishing funding priorities for Latino health.

Participants will include:

• Community members and community organizations
• Health professionals
• Students
• Educators and researchers
• Local, national and global organizations dedicated to community health
• City, county and state administrators

Keynote Speaker

 Dr. Pastor is Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Founding director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Pastor currently directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at USC and is co-director of USC’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. Dr. Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of environmental justice, regional inclusion, and the economic and social conditions facing low-income urban communities. His most recent book, Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future (W.W. Norton 2010; co-authored with Angela Glover Blackwell and Stewart Kwoh), documents the gap between progress in racial attitudes and racial realities, and offers a new set of strategies for both talking about race and achieving racial equity.

About Familia En Accion

Familias en Acción was founded in 1998 in response to a growing need by the Latino community in the Portland Metro area for a Latino culturally specific community based organization focused on family well-being.

Familias en Acción is a health promotion and advocacy organization dedicated to health equity for Latinos in Oregon and SW Washington. Leadership development and family empowerment are central to the mission and purpose of Familias en Acción. Training is provided to community members and promotores/community health workers building leadership and knowledge of health, family wellness, mental health, health equity and other topics important to healthy family functioning.

In addition to our health promotion programs we work in research partnership with the University of Portland and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). All staff and promotores/community health workers are trained in Community Based Participatory Research.