The momentous 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case dismantled racial segregation in public schools. Yet, the segregation experienced by Mexican and Mexican American students is often overlooked. Our guest speaker looks at the ways the Latino communities banded together to fight discrimination and demand equal protection under the law, focusing special attention on Kansas examples.

Valerie Mendoza is a historian and Lecturer at Johnson County Community College. She is a story keeper of Black and brown communities focusing on the folklore of the Latinx community in Kansas and the Midwest. She records oral histories and is building a digital archive of little-known and forgotten events. From these recovered histories she crafts public learning opportunities. Recent recognition of her work includes support from Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color. This pilot program, administered by Mid Atlantic Arts and the US Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs), awards significant nonmatching grants to traditional artists, practitioners, and community organizations and keepers that demonstrate a deep commitment to sustaining folklife rooted in communities of color.

Join us in-person on Zeandale Rd or email office@uufm.net for the Zoom link.