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Central Valley Opportunity Center: Gaining Ground in the War on Poverty

Authored by Anton Sherin

The cover of the Central Valley Opportunity Center's 1984 Annual Report
The cover of this annual report by The Central Valley Opportunity Center exemplifies the organization’s mission to generate labor mobility for low-income migrant farmworkers.

When “The Central Valley Opportunity Center 1984 Annual Report” was published, nearly all farmworker families living in the Central Valley of California lived below the Federal lower-living standard (CVOC, n.d., 8). Seventy five percent of migrant farmworkers spoke little to no English and language barriers combined with their itinerant existence meant that few were educated beyond the sixth grade. CVOC’s report gives a detailed account of the actions the organization took in 1984 to support migrant farmworkers’ struggle for survival. This report is valuable for understanding the foundations and efficacy of CVOC’s current operations.

The Central Valley of California is a temperate, 450 mile stretch of well irrigated, nutrient rich soil (Norton, n.d.). The 350 different crops grown there generate a quarter of the produce consumed in the United States (Perez 2019). This massive agricultural operation attracts a broad array of migrant workers to the region and wage growth is undermined by competition for unskilled positions. CVOC is one of many community-based organizations that emerged in the 1970s to address the needs of low-income migrant farmworkers in California (Tony Silva, pers. comm.). 

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Cold War Détente: Perturbation during a Period Designed for Peace

Authored by Ryan McDonnell

Photo of a primary source document in the Center for Migration Studies of New York’s Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection. Congressional Record – Extension of Remarks: What Price Détente?, submitted by Honorable John R. Rarick of Louisiana in the House of Representatives, December 12, 1974.

During the late 1960s period of the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union began to share concerns over rising geopolitical tensions in a world ever conscious of the potential for nuclear devastation. Such concerns led to a roughly ten-year period of “détente,” where both nations sought to ease tensions through negotiations pertaining to arms control from 1969 to 1979 (Cahn 1998, 96). Though initially détente was popularly perceived as a step toward a safer and more peaceful world, a growing number of U.S. citizens condemned the program for functioning against the social and economic welfare of the nation (Zanchetta 2013). The 1974 article “What Price Détente,” found in a Congressional Record from the Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection of the Center for Migration Studies, features a strong argument that sought to reveal the economic harm of the détente in order to garner support for the modification or abandonment of this foreign policy initiative.

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The Complicated Details of Migration and Refugee Law: Primary Source Collections to Educate the Development of Immigration in the United States

Authored by Puanani Luhia

Photo of a primary source document in the Center for Migration Studies of New York’s Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection. Congressional Record – Extension of Remarks: Equitable Relief Asked for Haviv Schieber, submitted by Honorable John M. Ashbrook of Ohio in the House of Representatives, May 13, 1974.

The Extension of Remarks is part of the Congressional Record which serves as the official transcript for the House and the Senate. The Center for Migration Studies (CMS) also offers works from the Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection to serve as “primary sources of how migration and refugee law is made and how that process might be improved for future generations of immigrants” (CMS 2015, 4).

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Remembering a World War II Veteran Through His Work

Authored by Emily Leo

A watercolor painting depicting a scene from life in Franklin Square during the 20th Century. A temporary carnival held in or near Franklin Square in the early 1950s. Indiviglia, Salvatore J. 1952. Carnival. Watercolor on paper. Franklin Square Public Library, New York. (The Franklin Square Historical Society owns the copyright to this painting and has loaned it to the Franklin Square Public Library to display. Photo taken with permission from the Franklin Square Public Library by Emily Leo on September 15th, 2020).

World War II veterans are an ever-shrinking population. While most living veterans are well into their 90s, many of their stories have not been told. Salvatore J. Indiviglia was 99 when he passed on May 28, 2018. According to an article from the Pew Research Center, “The [Department of Veteran’s Affairs] projections show that between Sept. 30, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020, 245 WWII veterans are expected to be lost each day” (Schaeffer 2020). Thus, it is more crucial than ever to record as many of their stories and experiences as possible before they are lost for good. However, sometimes their stories live on through the work they have done throughout their lives. I was able to find his story through the paintings he has left behind and the organizations he was a part of. Salvatore J. Indiviglia was a resident of Franklin Square, New York for 68 years, a veteran of World War II, and a prolific artist whose work is displayed in numerous places, most notably, in the Franklin Square Public Library (Newsday 2018).

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Digital Diversity: An interview that captures a historic moment for New Jersey’s LGBTQ community

Authored by Karen Faverzani

Presented as part of the Monmouth County Historical Association’s Digital Diversity Oral History Project, this screenshot depicts pictures and a description of an audio interview with Amy Quinn, an LGBTQ advocate. Her interview took place on August 28, 2020.

Just after the stroke of midnight on October 21, 2013, Amy Quinn and her partner Heather Jensen legally wed on the Asbury Park boardwalk in New Jersey (The Coaster 2013).

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Planting Hope: How Students Across Oklahoma Planted Trees in Honor of Bombing Victims
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Planting Hope: How Students Across Oklahoma Planted Trees in Honor of Bombing Victims

Authored by Carly Ford

This photo was taken in 1995 by Steven Sisney for the Daily Oklahoman. Morgan Taylor Merrell, aged two, shovels dirt on a dogwood tree planted at Mayfield Middle School in memory of those who died in the April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. Morgan’s mother, Frankie, was killed that day.

Trees became a symbol of hope for Oklahomans after the April 19, 1995 federal building bombing. An American Elm tree that grew in the parking lot of the Murrah building somehow survived the blast and then was nearly chopped down as investigators recovered evidence that had gotten caught in its branches (Linenthal, n.d.). This tree became known as the “Survivor Tree” because many Oklahomans saw it as a representation of the people’s ability to persist even in the face of such an atrocity. The survivor tree is memorialized at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial in recognition of the survivors of the blast. It is part of the logo for the memorial marathon that takes place every year (Fredrickson 2015) and its seeds are collected and distributed to communities throughout the United States so that the tree’s longevity is continued through its offspring (Slipke 2017).

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Brother Edmund Rice Collection: A History of Christian Brother Contributions

Authored by Jenna L. Caccavale

This was an annual publication by the Congregation of Christian Brothers detailing activities at their various schools around the world. 1887 was the first volume. It is bound with the issues published in 1888-1891. This volume is part of the Brother Edmund Rice Collection housed within the Archive and Special Collections at Iona College’s Ryan Library.

The Archives Room within Ryan Library at Iona College stores the Archive and Special Collections. The contents are related to Irish life and literature. One of the collections housed here is the Brother Edmund Rice Collection (Iona College 2020).

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Roy Cohn/Jack Smith: Two Views of being Homosexual in America

Authored by Daisy Lorenzo

A copy of an invitation received by William Harris from actor Ron Vawter for a special friends only performance of Vawter’s Roy Cohn/Jack Smith. The letter was sent on April 15, 1992. The image displays Vawter in his roles of Cohn and Smith.

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith is Ron Vawter’s depiction of two white, homosexual men who lead very different lives in the 1950s, but whom both died of AIDS related illnesses in the 80’s. Vawter (1994) uses his performance to focus on the “two powerful forces which shaped their lives: A Virus, and a society which sought to repress their sexuality” (0:10:36-0:10:45). This one-man show has been, thankfully, preserved with the help of filmmaker Jill Godmilow.

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United States Immigration Policy: A Decades-Old Conundrum
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United States Immigration Policy: A Decades-Old Conundrum

Authored by Casey L. Stiller

This scanned excerpt, written by Charles B. Keely and included in Mary M. Kritz’s U.S. Immigration and Refugee Policy, describes the challenges faced in changing United States immigration policy. Keely gives a brief overview of the current immigration climate within the United States in the early 1980’s.

There have been three major migration periods in the United States in the last century: a largely laissez faire outlook in the 1930s; the Bracero Program, in effect during and after World War II; and, following the elimination of the Bracero Program, passage of major immigration laws in 1965 (Rosenblum and Brick 2011, 1). The Bracero Program was a formal agreement signed between the United States and Mexico in 1942, establishing “a migrant guest worker program,” which had favorable conditions for Mexican immigrants (Rosenblum and Brick 2011, 4). The Bracero Program experienced significant pushback, and upon its expiration in 1964, was followed instead by the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965, which established per-country caps and a tiered preference system for rationing visas within a country (Rosenblum and Brick 2011, 5). 

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Sixth Grade Friendship Quilt at Brooklyn Center Secondary School: Building Community Through Craft

Authored by Marissa Heim

Three quilt panels from the Friendship Quilt. Each panel is made of cardstock, decorated with markers, crayons, and pencils, and connected to other panels using yarn. Each panel represents a single student. In this image, one student’s panel expresses that playing (misspelled as “palying”) and having a house make him happy. In another panel, a student names a specific teacher as a source of happiness.

While education systems unjustly underserve students of color, tenacious and creative teachers and librarians are working hard to strengthen their school communities. At Brooklyn Center Secondary, one example is a larger-than-life, colorfully connected friendship quilt. 

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