WEBVTT 00:01.500 --> 00:03.633 align:left position:17.5%,start line:83% size:72.5% - Today, we are pleased to introduce Sergio Gonzalez 00:03.766 --> 00:05.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% as part of the Wisconsin Historical Museum's 00:05.633 --> 00:07.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% History Sandwiched In lecture series. 00:07.733 --> 00:10.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The opinions expressed today are those of the presenters, 00:10.166 --> 00:11.266 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% and are not necessarily those 00:11.400 --> 00:13.133 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% of the Wisconsin Historical Society 00:13.266 --> 00:14.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% or the museum's employees. 00:14.866 --> 00:17.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Sergio M Gonzalez is a doctoral candidate 00:17.266 --> 00:18.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% in the Department of History 00:18.600 --> 00:20.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% at the University of Wisconsin Madison. 00:20.500 --> 00:22.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% His research and teaching interests include labor, 00:22.866 --> 00:25.100 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% working class, and immigration history. 00:25.233 --> 00:27.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% His primary research focuses on the development 00:27.166 --> 00:29.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Latino communities in urban areas 00:29.200 --> 00:30.966 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in the American Midwest with an emphasis 00:31.100 --> 00:33.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% on the religious communities Latino immigrants developed 00:33.500 --> 00:36.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, throughout the 20th century. 00:36.566 --> 00:38.700 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% His article, "Interethnic Catholicism 00:38.833 --> 00:40.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "in the Transnational Religious Connection: 00:40.866 --> 00:42.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "Milwaukee's Mexican Mission Chapel 00:42.866 --> 00:46.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% "of Our Lady Guadalupe, 1924-1929" 00:46.433 --> 00:48.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% will appear in the upcoming winter edition 00:48.133 --> 00:50.233 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% of the Journal of American Ethnic History, 00:50.366 --> 00:52.566 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and he is currently completing a book manuscript entitled, 00:52.700 --> 00:53.966 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% "Mexicans in Wisconsin" 00:54.100 --> 00:56.033 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. 00:56.166 --> 00:57.266 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% So if you could all please join me 00:57.400 --> 00:59.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% in welcoming Sergio Gonzalez. 00:59.166 --> 01:02.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% (audience applauding) 01:05.266 --> 01:07.533 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% - Buenas tardes. - [Audience] Buenas tardes. 01:07.666 --> 01:08.966 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% - Ah, buenas tardes, all right. 01:09.100 --> 01:11.100 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% That's the extent of the Spanish for the day 01:11.233 --> 01:13.700 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% for those of you who thought it'd be bilingual some. 01:13.833 --> 01:15.800 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Well, a little bit more mixed in. 01:15.933 --> 01:17.200 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Thank you all for being here today. 01:17.333 --> 01:18.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It's a beautiful day outside, 01:18.866 --> 01:20.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and I know it took a little bit of effort probably 01:20.600 --> 01:22.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to come out from the sunshine and spend an hour in here, 01:22.633 --> 01:24.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% so thank you for being here. 01:24.133 --> 01:26.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% We're gonna spend the majority of our time today 01:26.300 --> 01:29.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% in the 1920s, which is where the story of Los Primeros, 01:29.500 --> 01:32.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Milwaukee's first Mexican community, takes place. 01:32.600 --> 01:35.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% But before we go back nearly a hundred years, 01:35.333 --> 01:37.100 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% I'd actually like to start with an event 01:37.233 --> 01:39.866 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% that happened this year. 01:40.000 --> 01:41.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Raise your hand if you're familiar with the events 01:41.933 --> 01:44.733 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% of February 18th of 2016. 01:44.866 --> 01:46.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Okay, so quite a few of you. 01:46.233 --> 01:47.600 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% So for those of you who don't know, 01:47.733 --> 01:51.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% El Dia Sin Latinos occurred on February 18, 2016, 01:51.666 --> 01:54.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% when over 20,000 people, including immigrants, 01:54.766 --> 01:56.600 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% their native born sons and daughters, 01:56.733 --> 01:58.666 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and their allies took to the streets, 01:58.800 --> 02:01.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% here around the Capitol, and then eventually inside of it, 02:02.066 --> 02:05.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to protest what they believed to be anti-immigrant 02:05.666 --> 02:07.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and truly anti-Latino legislation. 02:08.000 --> 02:11.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And they were protesting specifically two bills. 02:11.166 --> 02:14.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The first was AB450, Assembly Bill 450, 02:14.666 --> 02:16.266 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% which would have allowed police officers 02:16.400 --> 02:17.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to question anyone they suspected 02:18.100 --> 02:21.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of committing a crime about their immigration status 02:21.133 --> 02:22.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and then detaining them for deportation 02:22.800 --> 02:25.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% if they thought they were here undocumented. 02:25.200 --> 02:27.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The second bill that the people were protesting 02:27.633 --> 02:30.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% on that day was Senate Bill 369, 02:30.733 --> 02:32.200 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% which eventually did pass, 02:32.333 --> 02:33.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and that one blocks counties statewide 02:33.966 --> 02:35.366 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from issuing local IDs 02:35.500 --> 02:39.000 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to people who can't access state versions. 02:40.200 --> 02:42.866 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% What we saw on February 18th was part 02:43.000 --> 02:46.166 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of a multi-year process of anti-immigrant legislation 02:46.300 --> 02:49.900 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that really kind of first started in Arizona with SB1070, 02:50.033 --> 02:52.466 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and we've seen pop up throughout the American Southwest, 02:52.600 --> 02:53.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the American South, 02:53.966 --> 02:56.233 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% and parts of the American Midwest as well. 02:56.366 --> 02:58.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% However, the collective action of the people that day, 02:58.966 --> 03:02.333 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the 20,000 people-plus that stormed the Capitol, 03:02.466 --> 03:05.700 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% successfully defeated the more kind of odious 03:05.833 --> 03:09.266 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of the two proposed bills, AB450, 03:09.400 --> 03:11.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and also brought to light the growing power 03:11.566 --> 03:14.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of the state's Latino community. 03:14.133 --> 03:16.266 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Now, for many Wisconsinites, 03:16.400 --> 03:17.733 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% this may have been the first time 03:17.866 --> 03:20.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that they've caught a glimpse of so many Latinos 03:20.300 --> 03:21.566 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% in their state. 03:21.700 --> 03:26.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And they may have even considered this kind of, 03:26.166 --> 03:27.466 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% an anomaly, and abnormality, 03:27.600 --> 03:28.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and they might've thought, how did this happen? 03:29.066 --> 03:30.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% How could there be so many Latinos in this state? 03:30.600 --> 03:31.900 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% I've traveled throughout the country, 03:32.033 --> 03:33.600 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and when I tell them where I'm from, 03:33.733 --> 03:35.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and I tell them that my parents are both Mexican immigrants, 03:35.833 --> 03:38.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% the first thing that I'm invariably asked is, 03:38.133 --> 03:40.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% I didn't know there were Latinos in Wisconsin. 03:40.133 --> 03:41.400 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% (audience laughing) 03:41.533 --> 03:43.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% They may have mistakenly thought this community 03:43.233 --> 03:46.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% was a new one, and in some ways they would be correct. 03:46.466 --> 03:49.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Latino's share in the state's overall population has grown 03:49.533 --> 03:51.866 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% from about 2% in 1990, 03:52.000 --> 03:54.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% to 3.5% in 2000, 03:54.366 --> 03:57.566 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% to 6.3% in 2013. 03:57.700 --> 03:59.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% The Latino community, 03:59.266 --> 04:00.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and specifically the Mexican community, 04:00.800 --> 04:02.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which is the focus of our talk today, 04:02.833 --> 04:04.466 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% however, has a history in this state 04:04.600 --> 04:07.533 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% that reaches back over a hundred years. 04:07.666 --> 04:10.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And interestingly enough, the anti-immigrant legislation 04:10.133 --> 04:13.300 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and this kind of anti-immigrant atmosphere 04:13.433 --> 04:16.000 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% that led to the development of these bills, 04:16.133 --> 04:18.633 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% also reaches back over a hundred years 04:18.766 --> 04:20.966 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in this state's history. 04:21.100 --> 04:23.233 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% The response from the Latino community, 04:23.366 --> 04:25.433 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% as you might imagine, also goes back to those time 04:25.566 --> 04:28.100 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of Los Primeros, the first Mexicans who came to this state. 04:28.233 --> 04:29.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% So what I'd like to do today is 04:30.066 --> 04:32.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to give us a brief introduction to that history, 04:32.433 --> 04:34.100 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% drawing from some of the research 04:34.233 --> 04:37.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that I've done for my dissertation and for my upcoming book. 04:37.200 --> 04:40.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And we're going to learn a little bit about Los Primeros, 04:40.700 --> 04:43.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Spanish for the first, primero is first. 04:43.466 --> 04:46.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% The original pioneers who came from Mexico 04:46.433 --> 04:48.833 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to establish roots and make the first Mexican community 04:48.966 --> 04:49.966 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% in Milwaukee. 04:50.100 --> 04:51.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% In order to give the protest 04:51.566 --> 04:53.600 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that occurred this year a little bit of context 04:53.733 --> 04:55.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and, perhaps, open discussion afterwards 04:55.433 --> 04:57.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% for where our state's Latino community might be going, 04:57.566 --> 04:58.800 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% moving forward. 05:00.300 --> 05:02.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% I'm gonna go back farther than Los Primeros, 05:03.000 --> 05:05.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% before 1920s though, to introduce you 05:05.233 --> 05:06.500 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to an important figure, 05:06.633 --> 05:08.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% a man who kinda has a singular place 05:08.533 --> 05:10.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in Wisconsin's history. 05:11.933 --> 05:15.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And so this man actually predates the establishment 05:15.433 --> 05:17.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Milwaukee's first Mexican community. 05:17.433 --> 05:19.366 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% His name is Raphael Baez. 05:19.500 --> 05:23.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Raphael Baez was born in Puebla, Mexico, in 1863, 05:23.200 --> 05:26.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and he actually came to Wisconsin in 1886. 05:27.100 --> 05:28.966 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% His story is very different from the stories 05:29.100 --> 05:30.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of Los Primeros who came in the 1920s 05:30.700 --> 05:32.266 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% for a number of different reasons. 05:32.400 --> 05:35.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Number one, he was recruited to come to the United States 05:35.866 --> 05:37.766 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% as a classically trained musician. 05:37.900 --> 05:40.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He was actually living in Mexico City at the time 05:40.400 --> 05:42.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that the was found by the CD Hess Opera Company, 05:43.033 --> 05:44.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% a national American opera company, 05:44.733 --> 05:47.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and he was a classically trained violinist. 05:47.133 --> 05:49.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He was recruited to come to the United States 05:49.366 --> 05:50.666 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% to perform music. 05:50.800 --> 05:53.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so in 1886, he came to the United States, 05:53.300 --> 05:56.633 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and he settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, of all places. 05:56.766 --> 05:58.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% And he was a composer. 05:58.466 --> 06:00.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He was an organist and music and choir director 06:00.700 --> 06:03.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% for churches and synagogues throughout the city 06:03.333 --> 06:04.400 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% of Milwaukee. 06:04.533 --> 06:06.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He was also a tutor and a professor. 06:06.900 --> 06:08.366 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% We can actually count him as being 06:08.500 --> 06:11.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% the first Latino professor at Marquette College, 06:11.233 --> 06:14.233 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% now Marquette University, in 1892. 06:14.366 --> 06:16.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And he was also respected and active member 06:17.033 --> 06:18.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of the city's civic scene. 06:18.600 --> 06:20.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He was a member of the Jefferson Club. 06:20.600 --> 06:23.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And for you political fans, at the turn of the century, 06:23.866 --> 06:25.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the Jefferson Club was the most important, 06:25.966 --> 06:27.933 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% Democratic party organization in the state. 06:28.066 --> 06:30.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% He was actually on the music committee 06:30.333 --> 06:32.566 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% for the Jefferson Club, maybe helping set the music 06:32.700 --> 06:34.833 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% for the political party, I don't know. 06:34.966 --> 06:36.600 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% His story, as I said, though, was atypical 06:36.733 --> 06:38.900 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from that of the stories we're going to hear 06:39.033 --> 06:40.600 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% for the rest of today's talk. 06:40.733 --> 06:46.166 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% He was a highly skilled, highly educated in classical music. 06:46.300 --> 06:48.866 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% He was recruited here to come to serve in these number 06:49.000 --> 06:51.366 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of different positions as a director of choirs, 06:51.500 --> 06:52.866 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and as an organist. 06:53.000 --> 06:55.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And probably most important, as you'll see today, 06:55.166 --> 06:58.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% he also gained a pretty fairly well respected position 06:58.300 --> 07:00.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in the state's community, 07:00.266 --> 07:04.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and, specifically, in Milwaukee's community. 07:04.366 --> 07:06.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% The majority of the early Mexican immigrants, 07:06.600 --> 07:09.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% however, that came after Baez in the 1910s, 07:09.400 --> 07:11.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% didn't come as classically trained musicians, 07:11.633 --> 07:13.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and they didn't come to work as composers. 07:14.000 --> 07:15.800 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% The majority of them came to work 07:15.933 --> 07:17.500 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% in the state's agricultural industries, 07:17.633 --> 07:19.766 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% many arriving by way either of Mexico 07:19.900 --> 07:23.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% or by state's in the southwest, in the American southwest. 07:23.700 --> 07:26.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Employers in Wisconsin in the sugar beet industry 07:26.800 --> 07:28.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% were actually the first to recruit large numbers 07:29.100 --> 07:30.633 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% of Mexicans in the 1910s, 07:30.766 --> 07:32.433 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and they called these workers [speaking in Spanish], 07:32.566 --> 07:34.833 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% which is someone who picks beets, 07:34.966 --> 07:36.400 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% in larges numbers to fill positions 07:36.533 --> 07:39.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that had formerly been held by Germans, Belgians, 07:39.366 --> 07:42.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and Russians in the state's beet fields. 07:42.233 --> 07:45.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And Mexican who came to Wisconsin in the 1910s came 07:46.000 --> 07:47.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to work all over the state. 07:47.866 --> 07:49.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% We have reports of them working in Green Bay, 07:50.100 --> 07:53.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and Fond du Lac, and Oshkosh throughout the 1910s. 07:53.466 --> 07:55.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And they actually had their largest concentration 07:55.566 --> 07:58.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% in those first two decades of the 20th century 07:58.400 --> 08:00.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in Waukesha and the surrounding area, 08:00.666 --> 08:02.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% where they worked both in agriculture as well as 08:02.866 --> 08:05.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% for companies like International Harvester, 08:05.500 --> 08:08.233 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% the Werra Aluminum Foundry, the Waukesha Foundry, 08:08.366 --> 08:10.533 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and General Casting Company. 08:10.666 --> 08:13.633 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% This early Mexican migration and immigration, however, 08:13.766 --> 08:15.266 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to the state was pretty minimal, 08:15.400 --> 08:18.866 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% as groups of 10s or 20s, and many times they didn't stay 08:19.000 --> 08:20.933 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% for too long and they went back to Mexico. 08:21.066 --> 08:22.600 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% It wasn't really until the 1920s 08:22.733 --> 08:24.733 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% that we saw the first big growth 08:24.866 --> 08:28.100 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% of Wisconsin's Mexican community. 08:28.233 --> 08:30.533 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And to kind of understand how it is that Mexicans came 08:30.666 --> 08:32.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to arrive to Milwaukee in the 1920s, 08:32.266 --> 08:33.566 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% we have to get a little bit 08:33.700 --> 08:35.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of immigration and political history. 08:35.166 --> 08:37.533 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So I hope you can keep up with me, and if not, 08:37.666 --> 08:40.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% raise your hand, and we'll try to fill in the spots. 08:40.566 --> 08:43.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So the settlement of Los Primeros in Milwaukee was 08:43.566 --> 08:46.433 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% in many ways facilitated by changes 08:46.566 --> 08:48.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% in national immigration law. 08:48.600 --> 08:51.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% At the national level throughout the first two decades 08:51.133 --> 08:53.633 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of the 20th century, federal legislators were wrestling 08:53.766 --> 08:55.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% with fundamental questions 08:55.466 --> 08:59.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of how immigration helped shape the character of the nation. 08:59.166 --> 09:01.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And when I saw character, I mean a few different things. 09:01.600 --> 09:04.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Federal legislators, and social commentators, 09:04.300 --> 09:07.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% considered questions of how immigrants shaped the cultural, 09:07.966 --> 09:10.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% the linguistic, the religious, 09:10.433 --> 09:14.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and the racial character of citizens of the United States. 09:14.633 --> 09:17.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% So this is a story that some of you might be familiar with. 09:17.533 --> 09:19.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Rapidly increasing numbers of immigrants 09:19.833 --> 09:21.833 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% from southern and eastern Europe arriving 09:21.966 --> 09:23.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in the United States at the turn of the century 09:23.933 --> 09:25.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% were the reason that a lot of these questions 09:25.633 --> 09:26.766 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% were coming up. 09:26.900 --> 09:28.200 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% And with more and more immigrants 09:28.333 --> 09:29.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% from these countries settling in urban centers 09:29.833 --> 09:33.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% like Milwaukee, questions of who was an American, 09:33.733 --> 09:36.166 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and what qualified someone for becoming an American, 09:36.300 --> 09:38.533 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% occupied the minds of many. 09:39.900 --> 09:43.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% So drawing upon nativists, xenophobic concerns 09:43.133 --> 09:45.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of increasing number of hyphenated Americans, 09:45.466 --> 09:48.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Irish-American, German-American, Italian-American, 09:48.166 --> 09:49.666 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in other words, people who define themselves 09:49.800 --> 09:53.333 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% by dual ethnicities or dual understandings of their identity 09:53.466 --> 09:55.333 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% in the years following World War I, 09:55.466 --> 09:58.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% federal legislators came to define who was desirable 09:58.333 --> 10:00.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% for entry into the United States 10:00.500 --> 10:02.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% upon racial and ethnic distinctions in order 10:03.066 --> 10:05.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to better maintain a national American character 10:05.933 --> 10:08.000 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and a national American identity. 10:08.133 --> 10:10.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so Congress passed two pieces of legislation 10:10.333 --> 10:12.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that radically altered the face of immigration 10:12.600 --> 10:14.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% for the ensuing four decades, 10:14.133 --> 10:17.866 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and that's the map you see on the right over here. 10:18.000 --> 10:20.166 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% The Emergency Quota Act of 1921, 10:20.300 --> 10:24.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and then followed by the Immigration Act of 1924, 10:24.133 --> 10:25.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% drastically limited the number of immigrants 10:25.933 --> 10:27.533 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% from southern and eastern Europe, 10:27.666 --> 10:30.600 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and curbed all immigration from Asia. 10:30.733 --> 10:33.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Suddenly stopping this immigration flow, however, 10:33.700 --> 10:36.600 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% caused a major headache, and problem for business owners. 10:36.733 --> 10:38.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Ending immigration from those parts of Europe 10:38.566 --> 10:41.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% was basically shutting off the spigot, 10:42.100 --> 10:45.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% turning off all sources of labor for their businesses. 10:45.966 --> 10:49.133 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And so in the build up to the passage of these two laws, 10:49.266 --> 10:51.400 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% growers and industrialists throughout the United States, 10:51.533 --> 10:53.466 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% and specifically agriculturalists, 10:53.600 --> 10:56.766 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% demanded access from Congress to importable labor 10:56.900 --> 11:00.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% that would be inexpensive and that would be easily accessed. 11:00.666 --> 11:02.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so thanks to lobbying from these business interests, 11:02.866 --> 11:05.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Congress decided to solve the problem 11:05.300 --> 11:08.133 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% by exempting all immigrants from the western hemisphere. 11:08.266 --> 11:09.900 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So that'd be Canada. 11:10.033 --> 11:12.400 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% You can imagine that's not really what they had in mind, 11:12.533 --> 11:14.200 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% specifically Latin America. 11:14.333 --> 11:16.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And so those two areas, the entire western hemisphere, 11:17.066 --> 11:18.933 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Canada and all of Latin America was exempted 11:19.066 --> 11:20.566 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from these quotas. 11:20.700 --> 11:23.066 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And due to Mexico's proximity to the United States, 11:23.200 --> 11:25.966 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% legislators argued that Mexican immigrants 11:26.100 --> 11:28.333 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% would be less likely to attempt to permanently remain 11:28.466 --> 11:29.866 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% in the country. 11:30.000 --> 11:31.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% They said, well, look, Mexico's right down the way, 11:31.266 --> 11:32.566 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% they'll come and do their work, 11:32.700 --> 11:34.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and then they'll head back when they're done. 11:34.166 --> 11:36.000 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And, thus, they would pose a minimal threat 11:36.133 --> 11:38.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to national cultural and racial homogeneity, 11:38.433 --> 11:40.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to this idea of an American identity 11:40.366 --> 11:42.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% or an American character. 11:42.600 --> 11:44.533 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% The popular term for immigrants coming from Mexico 11:44.666 --> 11:47.533 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% at the time was this idea of birds of passage. 11:47.666 --> 11:49.766 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Right, you know how a bird migrates according 11:49.900 --> 11:51.266 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% to the seasons. 11:51.400 --> 11:53.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so legislators argued that Mexicans would come 11:53.300 --> 11:55.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to work as temporary migrants during peak levels 11:55.866 --> 11:58.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of employment, considered when the planting season 11:58.933 --> 12:00.233 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% and the harvesting season, 12:00.366 --> 12:02.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and then they would return home to Mexico 12:02.333 --> 12:04.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% when they were no longer needed. 12:04.233 --> 12:05.500 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% So during the 1920s, 12:05.633 --> 12:07.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% because of this changes in immigration law, 12:07.633 --> 12:10.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% about 50 to 100,000 Mexican immigrants made their way 12:10.533 --> 12:11.966 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to the United States annually. 12:12.100 --> 12:14.100 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% This is a dramatic jump. 12:15.300 --> 12:16.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Milwaukee companies were not immune 12:16.866 --> 12:18.600 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% to the changes in immigration law. 12:18.733 --> 12:20.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Faced with declining immigration from Europe, 12:21.033 --> 12:23.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and increased industrial needs following World War I, 12:24.100 --> 12:26.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% many Milwaukee companies looked south for new workers, 12:26.800 --> 12:29.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% both for African American workers in the US south, 12:29.133 --> 12:31.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% but also, more importantly for our discussion today, 12:31.466 --> 12:34.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% recruiting laborers of Mexican descent from Mexico 12:34.300 --> 12:36.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% and the American southwest. 12:36.133 --> 12:38.500 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% So here's what companies would do. 12:38.633 --> 12:41.166 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Companies would send down what were known as enganchistas. 12:41.300 --> 12:43.166 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Enganchista means someone who hooks. 12:43.300 --> 12:45.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Enganchar means to hook or to grab. 12:45.233 --> 12:46.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And these were labor recruiters. 12:46.866 --> 12:48.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% So they would send them down either to the border region 12:48.833 --> 12:50.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% or directly into Mexico. 12:50.466 --> 12:53.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And these Enganchistas, they promised Mexican men, 12:53.266 --> 12:55.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% many of them who were single and young, 12:55.200 --> 12:56.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% they promised them the opportunity to travel 12:56.733 --> 12:59.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to the United States to find stable employment. 12:59.900 --> 13:01.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so these labor recruiters went down 13:01.733 --> 13:02.933 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% to a number of states, 13:03.066 --> 13:04.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% specifically to the central parts of Mexico. 13:04.766 --> 13:06.100 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% So they went to states in Mexico, 13:06.233 --> 13:09.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% including Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Michoacan, 13:09.166 --> 13:11.233 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Zacatecas, Nuevo Leon, and Jalisco, 13:11.366 --> 13:14.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which is actually where both of my parents are from. 13:14.266 --> 13:15.566 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% These men would sign contracts, 13:15.700 --> 13:17.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and they were usually limited term contracts. 13:17.766 --> 13:20.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So they'd say you can come to work to Wisconsin 13:20.300 --> 13:22.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% for six months to a year, and then your contract expires 13:22.900 --> 13:24.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% and you'll head back. 13:24.433 --> 13:26.700 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% But here was the rub, here was the problem. 13:26.833 --> 13:28.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% These contracts were often in English. 13:28.266 --> 13:29.733 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% They weren't translated into Spanish. 13:29.866 --> 13:31.666 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And what the workers were not told in Mexico 13:31.800 --> 13:33.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% when they were signing these contracts 13:33.433 --> 13:35.633 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% is that they were actually being recruited as scabs 13:35.766 --> 13:37.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to come up to Wisconsin 13:37.166 --> 13:40.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to help replace the unionized workforce. 13:40.166 --> 13:42.100 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Now, for those of you who know Milwaukee's history, 13:42.233 --> 13:45.000 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Milwaukee has a rich and long union history. 13:45.133 --> 13:48.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Milwaukee was a stronghold of labor power throughout 13:48.133 --> 13:49.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the turn of the century, 13:49.533 --> 13:52.000 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and up really until pretty recently. 13:52.133 --> 13:53.700 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% And so I'll give you one example. 13:53.833 --> 13:55.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% On the left over there 13:55.266 --> 13:56.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% is one of the Pfister & Vogel tannery sites. 13:57.100 --> 13:59.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Anyone familiar with Pfister & Vogel tannery? 13:59.700 --> 14:02.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% All right, so Pfister & Vogel, in the spring of 1920, 14:02.366 --> 14:04.733 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% they sent down their enganchistas, their labor recruiters, 14:04.866 --> 14:06.633 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% to Mexico in the midst of a strike 14:06.766 --> 14:09.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that we initiated by the Polish and Slavic workers. 14:09.233 --> 14:12.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And they recruited trains full of Mexican men to come 14:12.666 --> 14:15.033 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% to Wisconsin, to come to Milwaukee. 14:15.166 --> 14:17.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% These men were of course hoping to find stable work, 14:17.833 --> 14:20.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and instead they were greeted at the train depot 14:20.366 --> 14:22.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% by striking workers who were ready to kill them. 14:23.100 --> 14:25.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So you can imagine the type of tone that set 14:25.300 --> 14:28.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% for these two communities from the onset. 14:28.766 --> 14:31.066 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Pfister & Vogel management obviously was worried 14:31.200 --> 14:32.433 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% about protecting their investment. 14:32.566 --> 14:34.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% They paid a lot of money to send labor recruiters 14:34.466 --> 14:36.066 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% down to Mexico to grab these workers, 14:36.200 --> 14:37.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and they were afraid of retaliation 14:37.733 --> 14:39.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% on behalf of Polish and Slavic workers. 14:39.300 --> 14:41.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% So what they actually did is 14:41.466 --> 14:44.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% that they didn't let the Mexican workers leave the factory. 14:44.166 --> 14:46.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% They actually put up cots inside the factory walls, 14:46.400 --> 14:48.800 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and they made the Mexican men sleep inside the factory 14:48.933 --> 14:51.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% for fear that if they left the building, 14:51.333 --> 14:52.533 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% they would meet trouble 14:52.666 --> 14:55.600 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% with the city's European origin communities. 14:55.733 --> 14:58.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And so it got so bad that the Pfister & Vogel 14:58.566 --> 15:00.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% tannery company actually hired instructors 15:00.300 --> 15:03.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% from the YMCA to come in and do classes and do recreation, 15:03.533 --> 15:05.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% so that the Mexican men wouldn't get bored 15:05.433 --> 15:06.633 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in their off-hours 15:06.766 --> 15:09.966 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% So this was the opening introduction 15:10.100 --> 15:12.266 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of Mexican workers to Milwaukee. 15:12.400 --> 15:13.866 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% They're scabs. 15:14.000 --> 15:15.600 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% They're here to take our jobs. 15:15.733 --> 15:18.733 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% You've probably heard some of that before. 15:18.866 --> 15:20.766 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Soon, other Milwaukee companies followed the lead 15:20.900 --> 15:22.300 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% of the Pfister & Vogel tannery company. 15:22.433 --> 15:25.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So the Bucyrus Company, Harnischfeger Company, 15:25.200 --> 15:26.666 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the Ladish Company, Allis-Chalmers, 15:26.800 --> 15:29.200 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% England Steel, Northwestern Coke, 15:29.333 --> 15:30.933 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and then railroads like the Milwaukee Road 15:31.066 --> 15:33.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and the Northwestern Railroads sent labor recruiters 15:33.566 --> 15:38.133 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% down to get Mexican workers to come to the United States. 15:38.266 --> 15:41.700 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% Well, as worker recruitment for Mexico grew 15:41.833 --> 15:44.866 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% across the country, Americans soon realized 15:45.000 --> 15:46.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that this promise from federal legislators 15:46.966 --> 15:50.333 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and industrial owners of Mexican simply being birds 15:50.466 --> 15:52.866 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of passage was an empty promise. 15:53.000 --> 15:55.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% You can imagine, if you come to the United States 15:55.333 --> 15:56.633 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% and you find stable work, 15:56.766 --> 15:58.200 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% regardless of the discrimination you might find, 15:58.333 --> 16:00.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% you find stable work and good paying jobs, 16:00.433 --> 16:02.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% you might decide to stay here to help better provide 16:02.400 --> 16:03.900 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% for yourself and for your family. 16:04.033 --> 16:06.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so as more Mexican immigrants decided to settle 16:06.866 --> 16:09.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in the United States and not go back to Mexico, 16:09.200 --> 16:12.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% not kind of fulfill this idea of the birds of passage, 16:12.166 --> 16:15.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% questions of assimilation and racial acceptability, 16:15.233 --> 16:16.766 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% once again, rose to the forefront 16:16.900 --> 16:18.566 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% of conversations regarding immigration, 16:18.700 --> 16:22.800 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% except this time it wasn't Europe, it was focused on Mexico. 16:22.933 --> 16:24.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And so Americans debated whether 16:24.433 --> 16:26.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% the country's new immigrants could be integrated 16:26.700 --> 16:28.100 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% into American society, 16:28.233 --> 16:30.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% or if they should be excluded once again 16:30.400 --> 16:32.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to protect national identity. 16:32.233 --> 16:33.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And these questions were definitely on the mind 16:34.066 --> 16:38.366 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of Milwaukeeans throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. 16:38.500 --> 16:39.733 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Besides settling in one 16:39.866 --> 16:41.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of the most ethnically heterogeneous, 16:41.500 --> 16:44.066 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country, 16:44.200 --> 16:45.566 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Milwaukee, the city of Milwaukee, 16:45.700 --> 16:46.833 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Mexican workers experienced 16:46.966 --> 16:48.966 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% a much different settlement experience 16:49.100 --> 16:50.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% from that of European origin immigrants. 16:50.900 --> 16:52.366 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Marked less by growing access 16:52.500 --> 16:54.733 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to social and political power 16:54.866 --> 16:57.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and marked more by ethno-racial discrimination, 16:57.300 --> 17:01.500 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% economic exclusion, and social isolation. 17:01.633 --> 17:03.400 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% So institutions across the city, 17:03.533 --> 17:06.100 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and we're talking about the media, social services, 17:06.233 --> 17:08.800 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and public schools, viewed Mexicans more as a problem 17:08.933 --> 17:13.100 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to be solved than a community to be welcomed into the city. 17:14.266 --> 17:16.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Numerous editorials from the Milwaukee Journals 17:16.266 --> 17:17.766 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% throughout the 1920s. 17:17.900 --> 17:19.666 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Everyone knows the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, right? 17:19.800 --> 17:21.066 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% So in the 1920s, 17:21.200 --> 17:23.566 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the Milwaukee Journal published editorials, 17:23.700 --> 17:25.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% advocating strongly for the expansion 17:25.533 --> 17:28.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of these quotas that have been imposed on Europe 17:28.166 --> 17:30.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to Latin American, specifically to Mexico. 17:30.533 --> 17:32.766 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And I'm going to hold off on discussing a reading 17:32.900 --> 17:34.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from them because, quite honestly, 17:34.433 --> 17:35.833 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% they're pretty disgusting editorials, 17:35.966 --> 17:37.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% but I'll just mention that they used terms 17:37.566 --> 17:39.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% like mongrel and half-breed when they refer to Mexicans 17:40.066 --> 17:43.666 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and the reasons why quotas should be extended to the south. 17:43.800 --> 17:45.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% I would like to turn, however, 17:45.133 --> 17:46.766 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to a more comprehensive justification. 17:46.900 --> 17:48.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Probably one of the longest reports that was prepared 17:49.100 --> 17:51.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in Milwaukee advocating for the extension of quotas 17:52.100 --> 17:53.633 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% or at least to keep an eye 17:53.766 --> 17:55.700 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% on these Mexicans arriving in Milwaukee. 17:55.833 --> 17:58.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And that comes from a 1930 report prepared 17:58.466 --> 18:00.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% by the International Institute, 18:00.266 --> 18:04.933 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% which was a settlement agency organized by the YWCA. 18:05.066 --> 18:07.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And this report was prepared by a social worker. 18:07.333 --> 18:08.600 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Her name was Agnes Fenton, 18:08.733 --> 18:10.166 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% and Agnes Fenton surveyed members 18:10.300 --> 18:12.333 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of the community on Milwaukee's south side where a lot 18:12.466 --> 18:13.766 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of Mexicans were settling. 18:13.900 --> 18:16.333 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And she interviewed police officers, teachers, 18:16.466 --> 18:18.500 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and medical professionals. 18:18.633 --> 18:22.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And here's what her final report asked Milwaukeeans. 18:22.266 --> 18:25.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% She asked Milwaukeeans, "Do you know how intimate 18:25.500 --> 18:29.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "an American problem the Mexican has become?" 18:29.300 --> 18:31.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Her report depicted an immigrant group that threatened 18:31.800 --> 18:34.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to disrupt the cultural and social character of the city. 18:35.100 --> 18:37.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% She portrayed Mexicans as lazy, uneducated, 18:37.900 --> 18:41.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% unscrupulous, and ultimately as being undesirable 18:41.133 --> 18:43.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% for integration as citizens. 18:43.133 --> 18:44.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And she commented that this racial group, 18:44.966 --> 18:47.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which she referred to constantly as peons, 18:47.333 --> 18:50.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% was darker skinned and of lower intelligence 18:50.300 --> 18:52.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% than Europeans who had proceeded them. 18:52.766 --> 18:55.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Her findings marked Mexicans as racially 18:55.500 --> 18:58.100 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and culturally non-white, as dangerous, 18:58.233 --> 19:00.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and, thus, as being unworthy of integration. 19:00.733 --> 19:03.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And through her conversation with city officials, 19:03.533 --> 19:05.166 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% she additionally stoked fears 19:05.300 --> 19:07.400 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of potential public safety concerns. 19:07.533 --> 19:08.966 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% So, reporting from conversations 19:09.100 --> 19:11.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% with the city's police officers, 19:11.233 --> 19:13.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% her survey stressed this inherent criminality 19:13.700 --> 19:15.166 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% among Mexican immigrants. 19:15.300 --> 19:16.700 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And this is what she said, 19:16.833 --> 19:18.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% she said, quote, "The Mexican is law-abiding 19:18.833 --> 19:21.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "as long as he knows he is being watched." 19:22.066 --> 19:25.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% She supported her report with so-called academic 19:25.400 --> 19:28.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and pseudo scientific articles by eugenicists, 19:28.600 --> 19:31.366 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% who emphasized the quote-unquote "Indian character" 19:31.500 --> 19:34.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Mexicans as being a justification for exclusion 19:34.366 --> 19:37.500 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in order to demonstrate their racial incompatibility. 19:37.633 --> 19:39.133 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% The report is long. 19:39.266 --> 19:41.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% It's multiple pages, and you can actually download a copy 19:41.133 --> 19:42.766 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of it through the Wisconsin Historical Society. 19:42.900 --> 19:44.533 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% It's online. 19:44.666 --> 19:46.733 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% I recommend, if you're interested, to read more of kind of 19:46.866 --> 19:49.300 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% the attitudes at the time, you log on and you grab that. 19:49.433 --> 19:52.666 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% But I would like to end with one quote from Ms. Fenton 19:52.800 --> 19:54.566 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% from that report. 19:54.700 --> 19:58.300 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% She said, quote, "While the social workers are afraid 19:58.433 --> 20:01.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% "that the peons will not mix with our native population, 20:01.500 --> 20:03.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "the eugenists are afraid that they will. 20:03.766 --> 20:06.633 align:left position:30%,start line:77% size:60% "It is certain that interbreeding cannot be prevented. 20:06.766 --> 20:08.700 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% "That might be considered a happy ending 20:08.833 --> 20:10.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "if the quality of our racial stock was not lowered 20:10.900 --> 20:12.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% "in the process. 20:12.366 --> 20:15.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "If the stock of the Mexican is as good as ours, 20:15.133 --> 20:17.333 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% "there can be no scientific objection, 20:17.466 --> 20:20.533 align:left position:30%,start line:77% size:60% "but there are, however, competent and impartial observers 20:20.666 --> 20:22.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% "who consider the peon inferior to the whites, 20:22.966 --> 20:24.833 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% "both physically and mentally." 20:24.966 --> 20:26.800 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% You're getting a taste for the scene 20:26.933 --> 20:29.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in Milwaukee in the 1920s for Mexicans. 20:30.066 --> 20:32.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Even beyond dealing with social services agencies 20:32.466 --> 20:34.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% like the International Institute, 20:34.233 --> 20:35.633 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Mexicans face harsh prospects 20:35.766 --> 20:37.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in finding their own spaces throughout Milwaukee 20:38.066 --> 20:42.066 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% that might not be marked by exclusion and by segregation. 20:42.200 --> 20:44.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Juana Danas, who arrived in Milwaukee in 1927, 20:45.100 --> 20:47.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% recalled in a 1974 interview 20:47.433 --> 20:49.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that Mexicans weren't allowed inside 20:49.166 --> 20:50.866 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% the south side's Gem Theatre. 20:51.000 --> 20:52.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% On the rare occasion that Mexicans attempted 20:52.600 --> 20:54.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to buy a ticket and enter the establishment, 20:55.066 --> 20:57.566 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% white patrons would run them out, 20:57.700 --> 20:59.366 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% they would yell racial slurs at them, 20:59.500 --> 21:02.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and then they would physically assault them. 21:02.333 --> 21:04.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Mexicans also learned to be weary of the police, 21:04.433 --> 21:05.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of the city's police department, 21:06.033 --> 21:07.400 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% who would arrest Mexicans after dances 21:07.533 --> 21:09.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% on trumped up charges of drunkenness. 21:09.866 --> 21:12.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And their interactions between Mexican men 21:12.300 --> 21:13.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and European-American women also served 21:13.966 --> 21:15.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% as a point of contention. 21:15.433 --> 21:16.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Remember that fear of miscegenation, 21:16.933 --> 21:19.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of intermixing between races. 21:20.333 --> 21:23.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Their interactions with Italian and Polish men usually led 21:23.166 --> 21:25.766 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% to confrontations in social settings. 21:25.900 --> 21:28.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So Porfirio Gonzalez remembers socials 21:28.433 --> 21:30.300 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% at the Wisconsin Roof, which was a bar, 21:30.433 --> 21:32.666 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% a popular bar on the near south side, 21:32.800 --> 21:34.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% where members of different European origin groups 21:35.066 --> 21:37.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and Mexicans, quote-unquote (speaking foreign language), 21:37.566 --> 21:39.633 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% which means they got into fights over dances 21:39.766 --> 21:42.300 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% with European-American women. 21:42.433 --> 21:44.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Despite discrimination, however, 21:44.500 --> 21:46.566 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Mexicans continue to come to Milwaukee, 21:46.700 --> 21:51.333 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and specifically in search of better economic opportunities. 21:51.466 --> 21:53.333 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And the recruitment of one Mexican worker 21:53.466 --> 21:55.266 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to the city typically led to the creation 21:55.400 --> 21:56.800 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of a chain migration, 21:56.933 --> 21:59.366 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% as those who successfully secured employment, 21:59.500 --> 22:01.900 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% sent word back home that there were better opportunities 22:02.033 --> 22:03.366 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% in Wisconsin. 22:03.500 --> 22:04.866 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And eventually the recruitment 22:05.000 --> 22:07.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of single men as workers led to the arrival 22:07.366 --> 22:09.700 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of entire families from Mexico. 22:09.833 --> 22:11.333 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% So through 1910, 22:11.466 --> 22:14.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% there were fewer than 50 foreign-born Mexicans living 22:14.833 --> 22:16.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% in Milwaukee. 22:16.366 --> 22:20.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% By 1927, that number had risen to over 3,000 Mexicans, 22:20.733 --> 22:23.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% and by the end of that decade, that number was anywhere 22:23.533 --> 22:24.900 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% from 5 to 7,000. 22:25.033 --> 22:28.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So the community really grew over those 10 years. 22:28.833 --> 22:30.166 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Newly arrived Mexicans settled 22:30.300 --> 22:32.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in neighborhoods nested around their workplaces 22:32.600 --> 22:34.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% on the near south side. 22:34.133 --> 22:35.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So a lot of them settled around the Walkers Point area, 22:36.033 --> 22:37.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% the River West area, and Merrill Park. 22:37.733 --> 22:39.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And their neighbors many times included 22:39.833 --> 22:41.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% the more established ethnic communities 22:41.266 --> 22:43.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of earlier German and Polish immigrants, 22:43.133 --> 22:45.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% but they were usually more recently arrived immigrants, 22:45.633 --> 22:49.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% like Norwegians, Czechs, Ukrainians, Greeks, 22:49.200 --> 22:51.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Bulgarians, Serbs, and Slovenians. 22:52.933 --> 22:55.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Mexican children, this will be surprising to you 22:55.300 --> 22:57.300 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% after what we've heard, but Mexican children, of course, 22:57.433 --> 22:58.900 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% didn't have a great time arriving 22:59.033 --> 23:00.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% at the public schools in Milwaukee either. 23:00.966 --> 23:05.633 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% They caught themselves in what I called linguistic catch-22. 23:05.766 --> 23:07.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Spanish-speaking students encountered resistance 23:07.966 --> 23:10.966 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% from public schoolteachers and administrators complaining 23:11.100 --> 23:13.633 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that the city's newest immigrants weren't doing enough 23:13.766 --> 23:17.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to integrate themselves into American society. 23:17.366 --> 23:19.533 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% How they would have done so, I'm not sure. 23:19.666 --> 23:21.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% The story of a young child 23:21.166 --> 23:23.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% who attended Vieau Elementary School demonstrates 23:23.166 --> 23:24.500 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% those difficulties. 23:24.633 --> 23:26.800 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Like many Mexican children who came to Milwaukee 23:26.933 --> 23:29.700 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% in the 1920s, this student didn't speak any English, 23:29.833 --> 23:31.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and he struggled to keep up with his American peers 23:31.900 --> 23:33.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% and his classes. 23:33.366 --> 23:36.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% In response to this child's difficulties, 23:36.300 --> 23:37.633 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% the child's teacher demanded 23:37.766 --> 23:40.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that he return home until he learned English, 23:41.000 --> 23:44.866 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% at which point he would be allowed back in class. 23:45.000 --> 23:46.100 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% The educational experience 23:46.233 --> 23:48.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Mexican children differed greatly 23:48.533 --> 23:49.966 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from those of German and Polish students 23:50.100 --> 23:51.700 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in the late 19th and early 20th century. 23:51.833 --> 23:54.900 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And there's quite a bit of irony in the situation here. 23:55.033 --> 23:58.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% European immigrants who had settled previously had fought 23:58.166 --> 24:00.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% for Milwaukee's public and parish schools 24:00.600 --> 24:03.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to use native language along with instruction in English, 24:03.600 --> 24:06.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% elevating their own cultural linguistic heritage 24:06.733 --> 24:09.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to the same as American and English standards. 24:09.433 --> 24:11.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Milwaukee's schools, before the arrival 24:11.300 --> 24:13.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% of Mexicans to the city, 24:13.700 --> 24:15.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% at this point had a national reputation 24:15.600 --> 24:18.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% for the progressive language immersion programs. 24:18.133 --> 24:20.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% But, of course, they didn't seem to extend 24:20.333 --> 24:22.466 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% that same sort of progressive idea 24:22.600 --> 24:26.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to the newly arrived Mexican immigrants. 24:26.200 --> 24:27.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% These experiences, however, 24:27.466 --> 24:29.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% didn't deter early Milwaukee Mexicans 24:29.500 --> 24:32.100 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from looking to create their own social, economic, 24:32.233 --> 24:34.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and religious spaces. 24:34.200 --> 24:35.666 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% Artur Morales, 24:35.800 --> 24:37.633 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% one of the Pfister & Vogel company's earliest recruits, 24:37.766 --> 24:39.600 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% who had arrived in the early 1920s, 24:39.733 --> 24:42.766 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% managed to save and borrow the $2,000 he needed 24:42.900 --> 24:45.966 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to open Milwaukee's first Mexican grocery store in 1925. 24:46.100 --> 24:49.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And that is Artur Morales' store on the near south side. 24:50.066 --> 24:53.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The Abila family also opened (speaking foreign language), 24:53.666 --> 24:56.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which served as a grocery and a general store, 24:56.266 --> 24:58.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% a restaurant, and an importing location 24:58.966 --> 25:01.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% for peppers and herbs as well as kitchen goods, 25:01.633 --> 25:03.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% like la tamalina, which is used to make tortillas. 25:04.066 --> 25:06.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% You can imagine you weren't going to find la tamalina 25:06.333 --> 25:08.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% in random Milwaukee stores. 25:08.733 --> 25:09.966 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% The Abila's restaurant also served 25:10.100 --> 25:11.500 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% traditional Mexican dishes, 25:11.633 --> 25:14.533 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% like enchiladas, frijoles and chiles. 25:14.666 --> 25:18.400 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Now, I've painted a pretty negative picture, 25:18.533 --> 25:21.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% you might say, of this settlement experience 25:21.400 --> 25:23.866 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% for Milwaukee Mexicans, but I don't want you to think 25:24.000 --> 25:26.866 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% that every single relationship that Milwaukee Mexicans 25:27.000 --> 25:29.900 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% had with the general community was an antagonistic one. 25:30.033 --> 25:32.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And so what I'd like to do is actually point towards one 25:32.566 --> 25:34.666 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of the brightest spots for Milwaukee's Mexican community. 25:34.800 --> 25:37.266 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% It's what my primary research looks at. 25:37.400 --> 25:41.733 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% And that is the development of a religious home. 25:41.866 --> 25:43.700 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Milwaukee Mexicans found common ground 25:43.833 --> 25:45.966 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% with the city's European-American community 25:46.100 --> 25:47.666 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% through a shared Catholic faith 25:47.800 --> 25:49.600 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and the creation of Spanish language, 25:49.733 --> 25:51.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% quote, "pioneer missions" 25:51.166 --> 25:53.200 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% in the mid 1920s. 25:53.333 --> 25:54.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% This first Mexican Catholic parish right here, 25:54.900 --> 25:56.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% this is Holy Trinity, and I'll talk about Holy Trinity 25:56.700 --> 25:57.866 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% in a second. 25:58.000 --> 25:59.400 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% But the first Mexican Catholic Parish 25:59.533 --> 26:02.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% that Mexicans eventually created helped meet the cultural, 26:03.100 --> 26:05.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% spiritual, social, and linguistic needs 26:05.933 --> 26:07.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of the Mexican community throughout the period. 26:07.933 --> 26:12.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And it was only possible through interethnic collaboration. 26:12.233 --> 26:14.133 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% In 1924, Mexicans began attending 26:14.266 --> 26:17.433 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Holy Trinity Catholic Church on the near south side. 26:17.566 --> 26:19.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The church's fraternal order of the Knights 26:19.500 --> 26:22.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of Columbus noticed this growing Mexican community, 26:22.166 --> 26:24.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and they reached out to the new congregants. 26:24.366 --> 26:27.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And after consulting with Mexican community leaders, 26:27.566 --> 26:29.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% the Knights of Columbus decided 26:29.133 --> 26:31.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to sponsor a Spanish language mission 26:31.800 --> 26:33.533 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in 1924 during holy week. 26:33.666 --> 26:36.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So this was a Mass, this was a series of Masses 26:36.333 --> 26:39.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that were conducted completely in Spanish by a, 26:39.333 --> 26:41.866 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% I believe he was German-American Jesuit priest 26:42.000 --> 26:43.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% who spoke un poquito espanol, right? 26:43.900 --> 26:45.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So he did his best to trudge through 26:46.100 --> 26:47.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% a Spanish language mission, 26:47.600 --> 26:49.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% but this was really the first time 26:49.233 --> 26:51.100 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% that Milwaukee Mexicans felt any sort 26:51.233 --> 26:53.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of invitation to the city's community. 26:53.666 --> 26:55.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Frank Gross, a parishioner from Holy Trinity 26:56.066 --> 26:58.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and an active member of the Knights of Columbus, 26:58.200 --> 26:59.466 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% took the lead. 26:59.600 --> 27:00.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He was very interested in Mexican culture. 27:01.033 --> 27:02.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He took the lead, he spoke Spanish fluently, 27:02.833 --> 27:04.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in working with Mexican community leaders 27:04.766 --> 27:07.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to provide regular Spanish language Masses. 27:07.500 --> 27:10.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Gross, Frank Gross, he contacted the office 27:10.166 --> 27:12.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of the Archbishop, Sebastian G. Messmer, 27:12.433 --> 27:14.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% who provided a little bit of financial support 27:14.366 --> 27:16.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% from the archdiocese, and then he also reached out 27:16.833 --> 27:18.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to Catholic social organizations, 27:18.433 --> 27:20.466 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% like the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, 27:20.600 --> 27:24.233 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to help provide for the physical welfare of the community. 27:24.366 --> 27:28.400 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% Together, Frank Gross and Mexican community leaders created 27:28.533 --> 27:30.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% the Mexican branch of the Knights of Columbus, 27:30.833 --> 27:33.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which was called El Club Mexicano, in 1924. 27:34.100 --> 27:35.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And this was, without a doubt, 27:35.866 --> 27:39.866 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% the first Mexican-led organization in Wisconsin's history. 27:40.000 --> 27:42.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% El Club offered the city's Mexicans the first space 27:42.466 --> 27:44.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to celebrate their national heritage 27:44.866 --> 27:46.166 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% through ethnic Catholic traditions 27:46.300 --> 27:47.766 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% and through community dances. 27:47.900 --> 27:50.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% In 1924, the committee brought the community together 27:50.900 --> 27:52.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to commemorate the Battle of Puebla 27:52.700 --> 27:55.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in early May through prayer, dancing, 27:55.200 --> 27:57.966 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and singing in an event sponsored by the Knights. 27:58.100 --> 28:00.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Organized as a celebration of national identity, 28:00.566 --> 28:03.900 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% advertisements included images that emphasized pride 28:04.033 --> 28:06.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and Aztec heritage and past military victories. 28:06.966 --> 28:09.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So imagine this: after years of the type 28:09.300 --> 28:11.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of discrimination and prejudice they faced 28:11.566 --> 28:13.633 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% on the south side, they actually have an opportunity 28:13.766 --> 28:18.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to express and to celebrate national and ethnic heritage. 28:18.133 --> 28:20.633 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Mexican leader and Frank Gross continue 28:20.766 --> 28:23.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to collaborate throughout 1925, 28:23.433 --> 28:26.000 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and developed a welcoming spiritual home 28:26.133 --> 28:28.366 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% for Mexicans through Spanish language Catholic Masses. 28:28.500 --> 28:30.566 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% This is actually from 1924. 28:30.700 --> 28:34.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% This is a dance that the Club Mexicano held 28:34.300 --> 28:36.733 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in September of 1924. 28:37.666 --> 28:39.233 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% They recruited Spanish-speaking priests 28:39.366 --> 28:41.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% from around the Midwest to help lead services, 28:41.400 --> 28:42.666 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% usually from Chicago, 28:42.800 --> 28:44.666 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% where the Mexican community was much larger, 28:44.800 --> 28:47.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and their work led to the December 1925 mission, 28:47.400 --> 28:50.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% which was the most successful event organized up to date 28:50.333 --> 28:51.766 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in the Mexican community. 28:51.900 --> 28:53.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The celebration was devoted in honor 28:53.966 --> 28:56.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to Mexico's patron saint, Guadalupe. 28:56.966 --> 28:59.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And a celebration of Las Posadas, just a few days later, 28:59.366 --> 29:01.466 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% represented a public renewal 29:01.600 --> 29:04.866 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of their shared Mexican religiosity and history. 29:05.000 --> 29:07.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% After living through five years of racial antagonism 29:07.533 --> 29:08.866 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% on Milwaukee's south side, 29:09.000 --> 29:11.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% the city's Mexican community saw in the image 29:11.433 --> 29:14.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the celebration 29:14.166 --> 29:16.133 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% of her feast day, a powerful symbol 29:16.266 --> 29:18.966 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of ethnic collective solidarity. 29:19.100 --> 29:21.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So with momentum and enthusiasm growing 29:21.700 --> 29:23.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% within the Mexican Catholic community in Milwaukee, 29:24.100 --> 29:25.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Milwaukee's Mexican leaders 29:25.466 --> 29:27.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and white Catholic laity and clergy came together 29:27.633 --> 29:30.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to plan a development of an independent chapel 29:30.333 --> 29:33.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that would be capable of supporting the Mexican community 29:33.266 --> 29:35.100 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% in the spring of 1926. 29:35.233 --> 29:37.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And here's where it gets really interesting, 29:38.000 --> 29:40.566 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% or at least I think it does. 29:40.700 --> 29:42.100 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% The decision to create a new chapel 29:42.233 --> 29:44.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% for Milwaukee's Mexican Catholics in 1926 coincided 29:45.066 --> 29:47.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% with the beginning of a war in Mexico initiated 29:47.700 --> 29:49.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% by the government against the Catholic church, 29:50.066 --> 29:52.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% called the Cristero War, La Cristiada. 29:52.866 --> 29:55.866 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Mexican president Plutarco Elias Calles saw 29:56.000 --> 29:58.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% in the Catholic church a direct challenge in his attempts 29:58.533 --> 30:01.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to solidify control, and so in February of 1926, 30:01.200 --> 30:03.066 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% he ordered the enforcement of a series 30:03.200 --> 30:05.533 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% of anti-clerical provisions. 30:05.666 --> 30:07.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% In response, Catholic protesters rose up 30:08.066 --> 30:09.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% in arms throughout northern and western Mexico 30:09.966 --> 30:13.600 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% through the summer of 1926, with cries of Viva Cristo Rey, 30:13.733 --> 30:15.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Long live Christ the King. 30:15.866 --> 30:18.166 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% The ensuing war, and the persecution of Mexican Catholics, 30:18.300 --> 30:20.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% captivated Milwaukee's Catholic community. 30:20.766 --> 30:22.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so this is from the Milwaukee Catholic Herald, 30:22.666 --> 30:26.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which was one of the Catholic publications. 30:26.700 --> 30:30.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And we see over there, an advertisement from the Compass, 30:30.333 --> 30:32.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which was the Milwaukee Knights of Columbus periodical. 30:32.466 --> 30:34.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so what the Knights of Columbus actually did 30:34.433 --> 30:36.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% is connected their fundraising efforts 30:36.166 --> 30:39.200 align:left position:30%,start line:77% size:60% for Milwaukee's Mexican community with fundraising efforts 30:39.333 --> 30:40.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% for Mexican Catholics abroad. 30:40.733 --> 30:42.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Right, so they said in order 30:42.266 --> 30:44.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to protect Catholicism across the world, 30:44.166 --> 30:46.600 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% we actually need to support Mexican Catholics here 30:46.733 --> 30:48.466 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% in Milwaukee. 30:49.466 --> 30:51.733 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% In the midst of the Cristero War, 30:51.866 --> 30:53.300 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% things began to falling into place 30:53.433 --> 30:55.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% for Milwaukee's Mexican community when they are able 30:55.333 --> 30:56.533 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to secure two necessary things 30:56.666 --> 30:58.966 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% for building a religious space: 30:59.100 --> 31:01.933 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% their own committed physical location, 31:02.066 --> 31:03.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% and a spiritual leader. 31:03.600 --> 31:05.900 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% So exiled clergy, especially foreign-born priests, 31:06.033 --> 31:09.033 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% such as the Chilean reverend Ernesto Osorio Aguirre, 31:09.166 --> 31:10.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% were fleeing Mexico throughout the period, 31:10.966 --> 31:13.500 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and Aguirre is right here. 31:13.633 --> 31:16.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And Aguirre was living in Texas at the time in 1926, 31:16.566 --> 31:18.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% and he answered the call 31:18.133 --> 31:20.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to become Milwaukee's Spanish-speaking priest. 31:20.266 --> 31:21.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And then Archbishop Messmer proceeded 31:21.833 --> 31:23.266 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to cover the $9,000 cost needed 31:23.400 --> 31:25.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to purchase an old storefront on 5th Street, 31:25.800 --> 31:27.933 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% which was then Grove Street. 31:28.066 --> 31:31.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And so, on December 12, 1926, Archbishop Messmer, 31:31.566 --> 31:33.233 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% along with Reverend Aguirre, 31:33.366 --> 31:35.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% led the dedication of the Mexican mission chapel 31:35.633 --> 31:38.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of Our Lady Guadalupe, held in accordance with the feast 31:38.133 --> 31:41.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% of the patron saint of Mexico, la Virgen de Guadalupe. 31:41.833 --> 31:44.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% For the next two years, Our Lady Guadalupe's Masses took 31:45.066 --> 31:47.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% on a distinctly political tone in response 31:47.566 --> 31:50.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to the continued persecution of Catholics in Mexico. 31:50.466 --> 31:52.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% It became a cross-ethnic political space 31:52.733 --> 31:55.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% for Mexicans and Milwaukee's European origin community 31:55.900 --> 31:58.333 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to track geopolitical events 31:58.466 --> 32:01.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that affected the entire city's Catholic community. 32:01.300 --> 32:03.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So from the opening of this chapel 32:03.166 --> 32:07.000 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% until the end of the La Cristiada, the Cristero War in 1929, 32:07.133 --> 32:08.900 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% congregants gathered every single night 32:09.033 --> 32:12.266 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to pray for Mexican Catholics abroad. 32:12.400 --> 32:15.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% By 1929, the Milwaukee Sentinel reported 32:15.166 --> 32:17.766 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% that the chapel had become, quote, "the general headquarters 32:17.900 --> 32:22.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% "for all of the activities of Mexican life in Milwaukee." 32:22.500 --> 32:24.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Besides the church, like many European immigrants 32:24.966 --> 32:26.666 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% who had made their home in Milwaukee, 32:26.800 --> 32:28.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Mexican community members also created a number 32:28.600 --> 32:31.566 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of mutual aid societies known as mutualistas. 32:31.700 --> 32:34.133 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% These organizations served partially as civic groups, 32:34.266 --> 32:35.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% as well as places to celebrate cultural 32:35.866 --> 32:37.400 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% and ethnic identity. 32:37.533 --> 32:39.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% However, they were usually just spaces 32:39.200 --> 32:40.966 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to spend time with compatriots. 32:41.100 --> 32:43.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% So there were two mutual aid societies I'd like to mention. 32:43.400 --> 32:45.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The first was La Sociedad Mutualista Hispano-Azteca. 32:45.733 --> 32:47.100 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% The first one to pop up, 32:47.233 --> 32:49.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and I want you to notice the American flag along 32:49.200 --> 32:50.566 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% with Mexican banners in the background, right? 32:50.700 --> 32:54.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So there's this idea of dual citizenship 32:54.500 --> 32:56.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% or of understanding of dual allegiances. 32:56.333 --> 32:59.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And the second was (speaking foreign language), 32:59.933 --> 33:03.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which was founded a little bit later in 1929. 33:03.366 --> 33:05.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% These organizations were responsible for establishing 33:05.333 --> 33:07.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% the city's first Spanish language newspapers, 33:07.633 --> 33:10.233 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% which included El Sancho Panza, 33:10.366 --> 33:12.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% El Boletin Informativo, and El Mutualista. 33:13.000 --> 33:16.300 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And El Mutualista was the most popular of those newspapers. 33:16.433 --> 33:17.800 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% And that's over there on the left. 33:17.933 --> 33:20.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And Mutualista covered a wide range of things. 33:20.133 --> 33:23.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% New stories, poetry, editorials, religious essays, 33:23.666 --> 33:26.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and patriotic appeals to the community. 33:27.066 --> 33:29.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Mutual aid societies also took on the role 33:29.733 --> 33:32.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of social functionaries, funding and hosting dances 33:33.100 --> 33:35.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and celebrations for the city's Mexican community. 33:36.066 --> 33:38.100 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So two special dates stood out for celebration, 33:38.233 --> 33:40.300 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Cinco de Mayo and then the Mexican independence day. 33:40.433 --> 33:42.166 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% And this is what we see right here. 33:42.300 --> 33:43.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% This is September 16, 1930, 33:43.866 --> 33:47.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and this is the first Mexican parade in Milwaukee. 33:47.300 --> 33:49.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% This is a celebration of Mexican Independence Dday 33:49.733 --> 33:53.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% through the Bay View neighborhood, 1930. 33:53.200 --> 33:56.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So by the late 1920s and early 1930s, 33:56.200 --> 33:58.466 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% it really seemed like Milwaukee's Mexican community 33:58.600 --> 34:00.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% had found a foothold in the city. 34:00.200 --> 34:02.733 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Remember we said about 5 to 7,000 Mexicans. 34:02.866 --> 34:05.733 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% They've got a church base, they've got businesses, 34:05.866 --> 34:08.566 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and they've got a social scene. 34:08.700 --> 34:10.566 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Not a happy ending. 34:10.700 --> 34:13.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% This all comes to a halt with the Great Depression. 34:13.166 --> 34:15.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% The ramifications of the Great Depression dug deeper 34:15.566 --> 34:17.700 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and deeper into the city's economic opportunities 34:17.833 --> 34:19.533 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% throughout the early 1930s. 34:19.666 --> 34:21.200 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So, for example, in 1933, 34:21.333 --> 34:23.733 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% only a quarter of the wage earners in Milwaukee 34:23.866 --> 34:25.600 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% across the city still had a job, 34:25.733 --> 34:27.633 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% while only one out of every five families 34:27.766 --> 34:31.133 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% was actually already on some form of welfare or state aid. 34:31.266 --> 34:33.800 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% Because most Milwaukee business viewed Mexicans 34:33.933 --> 34:35.700 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% as simply surplus labor, 34:35.833 --> 34:37.800 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% they were usually the first ones fired 34:37.933 --> 34:40.133 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% from the city's factories and tanneries. 34:40.266 --> 34:41.800 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Faced with high unemployment with the onset 34:41.933 --> 34:44.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of the Great Depression, Milwaukee's Mexican colony began 34:44.433 --> 34:46.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% to shrink very quickly. 34:46.466 --> 34:48.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Felix Gonzalez remember in 1975 interviewed 34:48.866 --> 34:51.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that a large majority of the single men who had come 34:51.300 --> 34:52.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to Milwaukee in search of work, 34:53.033 --> 34:54.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% ended up leaving on their own, 34:54.600 --> 34:56.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% but a lot of the families that had come weren't able 34:57.033 --> 34:59.000 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to pay their way back because it was so expensive 34:59.133 --> 35:00.466 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% to go back to Mexico. 35:00.600 --> 35:02.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So they were forced to hunker down in Milwaukee. 35:02.566 --> 35:04.300 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% Depleted county welfare resources 35:04.433 --> 35:07.100 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% and rising anti-immigrant settlement also fueled crackdowns 35:07.233 --> 35:09.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% on both documented and undocumented immigration 35:09.633 --> 35:11.233 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% throughout the period. 35:11.366 --> 35:13.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Local elected officials worked 35:13.133 --> 35:14.500 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% with federal immigration officers 35:14.633 --> 35:17.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to search for Mexicans on the county welfare rolls 35:18.100 --> 35:20.566 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% and line them up for deportation. 35:20.700 --> 35:22.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And regardless of their citizenship status 35:22.200 --> 35:23.700 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% or their documentation status, 35:23.833 --> 35:26.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% many of those suspected, quote-unquote "public charges" 35:27.000 --> 35:29.366 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% were apprehended and then taken for deportation proceedings 35:29.500 --> 35:33.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% in Chicago, oftentimes without any form of due process. 35:33.633 --> 35:36.666 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% By 1933, Milwaukee's Mexican community had been reduced 35:36.800 --> 35:39.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to fewer than 1,500 people, 35:39.266 --> 35:40.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% as many Mexicans either returned on their own 35:41.000 --> 35:43.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% or were forced back through these deportations. 35:43.266 --> 35:44.533 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% Nationally, the repatriation 35:44.666 --> 35:47.033 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Mexicans during the Great Depression led 35:47.166 --> 35:48.566 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% to the deportation of anywhere 35:48.700 --> 35:51.633 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% from 500,000 to two million people back to Mexico. 35:51.766 --> 35:54.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% And I'll just note that a lot of those people 35:54.366 --> 35:55.500 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% were actually American citizens, 35:55.633 --> 35:56.933 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% some of them born in this country 35:57.066 --> 35:59.166 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% or people who had achieved citizenship status. 35:59.300 --> 36:00.733 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% In fact, a few decades ago, 36:00.866 --> 36:03.166 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% California actually issued a formal apology 36:03.300 --> 36:05.100 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% because of the repatriation of Mexicans 36:05.233 --> 36:06.833 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% during the Great Depression. 36:06.966 --> 36:08.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% In Milwaukee, it wouldn't be until the years 36:08.800 --> 36:10.166 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% following World War II 36:10.300 --> 36:11.833 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% that Milwaukee's Mexican community would recuperate 36:11.966 --> 36:13.800 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% and grow, but we'll have to leave 36:13.933 --> 36:15.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% that story for another talk. 36:16.066 --> 36:18.066 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% So we're almost done here, but before we go, 36:18.200 --> 36:20.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% I'd like to return to El Dia Sin Latinos protest 36:20.566 --> 36:23.166 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% from earlier this year. 36:23.300 --> 36:25.533 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% In a number of ways, Los Primeros, 36:25.666 --> 36:28.433 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% the first Mexicans to make their home in Milwaukee, 36:28.566 --> 36:30.500 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% encountered a sense of anti-immigrant fervor 36:30.633 --> 36:32.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% both from their settlement experience in the 1920s 36:33.066 --> 36:35.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and then in the possible repatriation they faced 36:35.400 --> 36:36.866 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% in the 1930s. 36:37.000 --> 36:39.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% These challenges were driven by a number of factors. 36:39.533 --> 36:41.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Fear of the other, fear of change, 36:41.966 --> 36:43.733 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% fear of a loss of economic opportunities, 36:43.866 --> 36:45.233 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% and then, of course, 36:45.366 --> 36:48.633 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% at times just unabashed discrimination and racism. 36:48.766 --> 36:51.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Those fears that drove cause to push Latino immigrants out 36:51.900 --> 36:54.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of Wisconsin communities nearly a hundred years ago, 36:54.366 --> 36:56.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% I believe, are still in some ways apparent today. 36:56.833 --> 36:59.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Not only in these pieces of anti-immigrant legislation, 36:59.833 --> 37:02.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% but also, of course, in calls for mass deportations 37:02.666 --> 37:04.500 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% and walls along our borders 37:04.633 --> 37:07.366 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% from certain presidential candidates. 37:07.500 --> 37:09.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% But here's the thing, throughout the history 37:09.966 --> 37:12.500 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% of Wisconsin Latino community there has always been a spirit 37:12.633 --> 37:13.933 align:left position:30%,start line:5% size:60% of perseverance. 37:14.066 --> 37:15.733 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% At times, people turned inward, 37:15.866 --> 37:18.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% as they did in developing mutual aid societies 37:18.533 --> 37:19.866 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% or their own businesses. 37:20.000 --> 37:22.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% At other points, however, they found allies 37:22.533 --> 37:24.300 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% in their surrounding communities who were willing 37:24.433 --> 37:26.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% to stand with them, as they did in the development 37:26.533 --> 37:28.400 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of Our Lady Guadalupe mission chapel 37:28.533 --> 37:29.933 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% and as they did on the steps 37:30.066 --> 37:32.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% of the Capitol just a few months ago. 37:32.366 --> 37:34.433 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% There's a saying in the immigrant rights movement: 37:34.566 --> 37:36.666 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% (speaking foreign language), 37:36.800 --> 37:40.000 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% which means we're here and we're not going anywhere. 37:40.133 --> 37:42.066 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% So regardless of these efforts to drive away immigrants, 37:42.200 --> 37:44.366 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% census and demographic reports 37:44.500 --> 37:46.233 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% are painting a very different reality. 37:46.366 --> 37:50.133 align:left position:10%,start line:5% size:80% They show us that no population will grow faster or larger 37:50.266 --> 37:51.833 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% than the state's Latino population, 37:51.966 --> 37:55.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% which today stands at about 336,000 residents 37:55.966 --> 37:59.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% but will grow to nearly one million people by 2060. 37:59.933 --> 38:01.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% And Wisconsin Latinos, 38:01.433 --> 38:04.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% those who are here today and future generations, 38:04.266 --> 38:06.866 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% have Los Primeros to thank for laying down the roots 38:07.000 --> 38:08.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to endure and (speaking foreign language). 38:08.866 --> 38:10.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Thank you. 38:10.366 --> 38:12.366 align:left position:20%,start line:5% size:70% (audience applauding)