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Ernest Lowe: Black Migrants to the Central Valley, 1960-1964

January 22, 2019 - 4:30pm to April 5, 2019 - 5:00pm

Immediately following World War II, more than 30,000 Black sharecroppers migrated to California's Central Valley. Coming from places like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, these migrants looked to escape the oppression of new-slavery tenant farming and the Jim Crow south. These migrants established their communities in the shadows of the giant farms of the Central Valley, but soon found themselves without work as industrial agriculture took root, and mechanization further decimated the number of available jobs. Some migrants migrated again to the coastal cities in search of new opportunities, but others remained. In the early 1960s, photographer Ernest Lowe visited the Central Valley towns of Pixley and Dos Palos. The photographs showcased in this exhibition are a record of that visit--showcasing communities of single-walled houses with little to no electricity, no roads, no infrastructure. They tell the remarkable story of those who ventured west in search of a dream, and who were forced to simply survive, and keep dreaming, in the face of poverty, racism, and the broken promise of California. The exhibit will be on display from January 22 through April 5, 2019.

Exhibit reception:

Date: Friday, February 1
Time: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Location: 2nd floor of the Kolligian Library, in front of the Library Office Suite doors.

Refreshments will be provided.

An original exhibit of the Fresno Art Museum. Sponsored by the UC Merced Library, Arts UC Merced Presents, and the UC Merced Center for the Humanities.

The exhibit will be on display from January 22 through April 5, 2019.

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Location

UC Merced Library

5200 N. Lake Road
Merced, CA 95340

Contact Information

The Center for the Humanities
(209) 228-2453
Center for the Humanities