MCC celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month
MARSHALLTOWN – In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, Marshalltown Community College will be welcoming the Migration is Beautiful project, highlighting contributions Latinas and Latinos have made to Iowa history.
The MCC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, in collaboration with the University of Iowa’s Women’s archives and former Marshalltown resident and graduate student, María Marroquín, will set up the traveling exhibit in Spanish Sept. 20 – 30. The exhibit will then change to English Oct. 2-15. The display will be located in the MCC Library along with posters and business cards.
In its title and imagery Migration is Beautiful echoes the spirit and work of American artist Favianna Rodriguez. In her art, the monarch butterfly symbolizes migration as a natural occurrence of central importance to the human experience.
Developed from the Mujeres Latinas Project, Migration is Beautiful started in 2005 at the Iowa Women’s Archives to collect and preserve primary source materials about the history of Latinas and their families in Iowa. Between 2005 and 2008 University of Iowa graduate students, community members, librarians, and archivists conducted over a hundred oral history interviews with Iowa Latinas. Combining these materials with census data and other historical sources, we can begin to fill the gaps in the historical record. A new understanding emerges, one that integrates the contributions of Latinas and their families into a more variegated narrative of Iowa history.
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is excited to welcome the exhibit to campus to bring recognition to the contributions that Latino people have made to Iowa as they celebrate their heritage month. To find out more about the Migration is Beautiful project visit the website at http://migration.lib.uiowa.edu/.