WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian抯
Anacostia Community Museum presents Baldemar Vel醩quez, founder and director of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, as the featured speaker for the museum抯 24th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program being held Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. Vel醩quez will speak on the topic, 揕atinos and Civil Rights: Changing the Face of America at Baird Auditorium in the Smithsonian抯 National Museum of Natural History. This year抯 program is co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
The event will include a performance by Chicano guitarist and singer Rudy Arredondo. Admission is free, but seating is limited. To obtain more information or make reservations, e-mail acmrsvp@si.edu or call (202) 633-4875 .
揈ach year we select a speaker or presentation that embodies the philosophy of Dr. King, said Camille Giraud Akeju, museum director. 揇r. King was empathetic to the plight of migrant workers. A grass-roots organizer like King, Baldemar Vel醩quez has effectively worked through the system, sometimes one person at a time, and emerged a powerful advocate against injustice.
揟he Smithsonian Latino Center is proud to be partnering with the Anacostia Community Museum on this important event which highlights the shared struggles and support between our communities, said Eduardo Di醶, director of the center. 揃aldemar Vel醩quez embodies the center抯 mission to highlight the contributions of Latinos and their positive impact in the United States, particularly its labor history.
Vel醩quez is a highly respected national and international leader in the farm-labor movement and in the movement for Latino and immigrant rights. In 1967, he founded FLOC, AFL-CIO, a union of migrant farmworkers in the eastern United States, to provide these laborers a voice regarding their work conditions. Incensed by the injustices suffered by his family and other farmworkers, Vel醩quez began organizing migrant and seasonal farmworkers in northwest Ohio. He ultimately focused FLOC抯 efforts on changing the structure of the agricultural industry through three-way negotiations among farmworkers, growers and agricultural corporations.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, FLOC rose to national prominence in 1978 when it led more than 2,000 workers in one of the largest agricultural strikes in Midwestern history, demanding unprecedented trade-union recognition in multiparty collective bargaining agreements. Since most FLOC members are immigrant workers, the organization has assumed a prominent grass-roots leadership role in building a broad network in the larger society to advocate for policies ensuring the human, civil and working rights of immigrants. Recognizing that the policies of multinational agricultural corporations affect workers worldwide, Vel醩quez has also expanded FLOC抯 influence to unions beyond the United States into Mexico and other countries where similar crops are grown.
Vel醩quez抯 work has been recognized by labor, government and progressive organizations. His numerous honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, an Aguila Azteca Award by the government of Mexico and honorary doctorates from Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo.
Arredondo returns to the Smithsonian after performing with La Danza Company at the 2002 Days of the Dead program. He is also a farm organizer and agricultural policy analyst.
