BY JULIETTE GARCIA
It is truly an honor and privilege to that I have been given the opportunity to intern at the National Museum of American History. While only having been here for about three weeks now, I have witnessed the immense significance that immigration has made on the United States through the exhibits I’ve visited, by my mentors, as well as the project I am currently working on. Lucky and astonishingly to me, I get the pleasure of working with curator Margaret Salazar-Porizo. Margie and her department “Division of Cultural and Community Life,” work hard to display the voices of many voices that shape our nation. In the introduction, and continuing debates of “Many Voice, One Nation,” Margaret Salazar-Porizo and Joan Fragaszy Troyano reflect on migration in the United States [1]. Through the migration of Latin Americans and other nations, the US has shifted its demographics but has also changed for the better. Through new technologies, perspectives and cultures, US has changed relationships and has become one of the most diverse countries in the world.
Immigrants play a huge role in the success and history of America. The many voices is what makes our nation. In relationship to Latinos, many immigrated to the United States and began working on sugar beet fields and other farms. In these fields the Latino community was extremely discriminated against, and their only outlet was baseball. Margie suggests that “whether it is the story of someone becoming part of a new community, or how players have organized for better labor conditions on the baseball field after a long day of picking citrus or beets in the same fields, baseball, like other forms of popular culture, has provided an important platform from which to celebrate and challenge what it means to be American.” Latinos have turned baseball and softball fields into places for civic engagement and activism. This is significant because not only does it help me understand the “Many Voices” exhibit, but it highlights key themes and ideas in my own project.
In the introduction to “Many Voices,” Troyano questions “Who is free? Who is equal? Who is welcome? And how do these questions impact what it means to be American? (13)” All these questions have become a significant part of the process in putting exhibitions together in the Smithsonian of American History. Both Margie and Joan suggest that “diversity is the backbone of the nation (12).” It has become institutions like the Smithsonian’s responsibility to question and tell stories of the past that shape our nation’s shared values. By collecting and displaying artifacts of those who have migrated to the US, shows their stories and memories for the struggle for a better future. Which is how America was founded and intended. While presenting these stories it also reveals significance to the formation of the continuous success of the nation.
For my project “Pleibol! In the Barrios in the Big Leagues/ En los Barrios Y Las Grandes Ligas,” Margie and other members of the team started a community collecting initiative that would gather artifacts and testimonies from Latin American immigrants and how their baseball transformed their lives as well as the changed the game of baseball in the US. This case study will take visitors on a journey through the roots of the history of US Latino baseball. This is done by demographics, artifacts, oral histories and baseball statistics. For example, my exhibit will have a section dedicated to MLB star Mel Almada. Almada was the first Mexican to play in the major leagues. His tenure was from 1933 to 1939 where he played for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Dodgers as a center fielder. This was a huge accomplishment in the Latino community, and not only inspired others to strive to be in the big leagues, but also diversified MLB. The stories of Latinas/os alongside the artifacts of their remarkable lives, demonstrates the historic role that baseball has played as a social and cultural force within Latino communities across the nation for over a century and how Latinos in particular have influenced and changed the game.
Only having been working on the “Pleibol” project for a few weeks, I believe that there is no doubt that baseball has a huge impact on Latino communities across the nation. I had the opportunity to meet a local entrepreneur and Air Force vetern, Juan Baret whom after his military service name a baseball bat maker. Baret, immigrated from the Dominican Republic when he was a young boy, and grew up in the slums of Bronx , New York. Growing up, in the “Barrios,” (slums) Baret was limited to using his surroundings as a means of recreation. He spent his time learning the game of baseball, playing, and attending $5 Yankee games with his family. After having discussed what baseball meant to Juan he stated that “baseball saved me.” He was determined to get out of the slums and get into the big leagues one way or another. Although he wasn’t able to play MLB baseball, his hand crafted bats and gloves have made it to the MLB.
Latinas/os have celebrated a shared cultural heritage, made a living, and fought for the rights and justice through baseball. The stories represented in the exhibit share experiences to which many people can relate to, including: how one becomes part of a community, how the game can bring together people regardless of race, class, and gender, and how fans can participate in the culture of the sport as easily as players on the field.
This exhibit will be displayed as a traveling exhibit for the next 5 years and contracted inside the National Museum of American History for a year, starting October 9, 2020. Not only will this exhibit be huge or the Latino community in the United States, but is also huge in bringing awareness to others on the significance that migrants played in the US agriculture, demographics, baseball and most importantly American History.
[1] Margaret Salazar-Porzio and Joan Fragaszy Troyano. Many Voices, One Nation: Material Culture Reflections on Race and Migration in the United States. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2017.
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