Mexican Work, Mexican Workers: Life in Mexican Chicago before 1945
November 16, 2015
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Join us for a Brown Bag Seminar with UIC Alum and Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Alabama.
This talk will explore how the fortunes of Mexicans around Chicago were linked to the available work and the built environment, between 1915, when Mexicans started entering Chicago, and 1945, when post-depression industries thrived in a wartime economy. Mexicans confined themselves to clearly demarcated residential and workplace niches that aided the creation of communities where members changed their environment to help community members survive, and sometimes thrive. Railroads, slaughterhouses, and steel mills—the three most common employers of Mexicans in Chicago—directly and indirectly controlled where Mexicans settled and the initial work available to them. They did not, however, keep them from switching jobs or organizing.
Light refreshment provided.
Feel free to bring a lunch.
Date posted
Aug 13, 2018
Date updated
Aug 13, 2018