For more than a century, Latinos have come to Indiana in search of opportunity.
But at the same time, they’ve brought with them a diverse culture of food, music, dance and innovation that continues to invigorate our communities. They helped the state feed the country through agriculture, and fueled the rise of the U.S. as an industrial power. They made the state a more rich place to live.
To educate and celebrate the impact of the Latino community throughout the state, the White River branch of the Johnson County Public Library has installed a special exhibition for the month of August. “Be Heard: Latino Experiences in Indiana” reveals more than 100 years of history and culture, from the arrival of immigrants working farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s to the contributions in all areas of local life in places such as Indianapolis, East Chicago and even Johnson County.
Told in historical photos and landmark milestones on massive displays arranged inside the library branch, the story is one that’s so important to understanding a vital part of the community.
“This was a really good compromise to bring in a lot of interesting stories and good information in a way that people could come in and walk through it on their own time,” said Amy Dalton, adult services librarian at the White River branch.
“Be Heard: Latino Experiences in Indiana” is a traveling version of an exhibition created by the Indiana Historical Society and unveiled to the community in 2018. The exhibition grew out of an effort called the Latino Collecting Initiative, which aimed to gather the oral history of the community.
Historical society researchers spent about two years traveling around the state interviewing 25 individuals between the ages of 43 to 100 years old. They collected stories and photographs of Latino communities, using the information they found to create the exhibition.
“The stories told are of individuals of varying cultural backgrounds who recall what it has been like to be Latino in the Hoosier State throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The stories reflect on the Latinos’ cultures as well as on their contributions to local communities or to the State of Indiana,” according to a display explaining the exhibition.
Though the display closed at the Indiana History Center in November 2018, the items that composed it were put on massive fabric boards that could be moved around the state to different locations.
For the White River library, it seemed like a perfect way to focus on Latino heritage, Dalton said.
“I wanted to do a program, but with Zoom being kind of up and down, I didn’t want to book anybody for an in-person event and then have to switch it,” she said. “So this was an option I thought would work.”
The “Be Heard” display fits into the Johnson County Public Library’s commitment to spotlighting other cultures locally, such as the At Home in Johnson County and Building Bridges.
“We’ve been working for years through different program series. It’s a big part of what all of our branches do for that connection between maybe some of our immigrant populations and other populations,” Dalton said.
The exhibition weaves through a variety of historical events that brought Latino people to the state, from the farm labor agreement between the U.S. and Mexico in the 1910s that allowed Mexican workers into the agricultural industry, to those recruited to work at Inland Steel in East Chicago in response to a strike.
Photographs show a worker taking notes in a tomato field, and a Latino worker named Antonio Medina being honored for his service at Inland Steel.
Displays focus on the tumultuous growth of the Latino population in Indiana through 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, as more communities formed around agriculture and industry throughout Indiana. At the same time, forced deportations and hiring discrimination deeply impacted those who remained in the state.
Throughout the mid-20th century, Johnson County saw a significant influx in Latino workers come to work on local farms, particularly in helping pick tomatoes for the local canning industry. A large camp was even established east of Franklin.
Even today, Latinos make up 3.8% of the county’s population, or about 6,000 people, according to the Census Bureau.
Other displays in the exhibition show community-building achievements among Latinos, from the creation of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in East Chicago to Indiana Harbor “Mexican Eagles” baseball team and Our Lady of Victory Sodality softball team in the 1930s.
More recent photographs show celebrations such as FIESTA Indianapolis, which showcased Latino culture for the public, and those in the community who fought for justice and Latino rights.
The “Be Heard” exhibition will remain up throughout August, allowing library patrons to examine at their leisure when they visit. But Dalton has also put a variety of books related to Latino culture on display, from master works by Gabriel García Márquez and Sandra Cisneros to memoirs and biographies of Jennifer Lopez, Pedro Martinez and Rosie Perez.
“It’s a nice way to highlight that collection, and remind them about these people,” Dalton said. “You want to pull this out and highlight these popular people and say, ‘Hey look, this is their heritage too.’”
