Professor Gloria Cuádraz to speak at the State of Arizona Research Library on April 25
PHOENIX— Gloria Cuádraz will present "Mobilizing to Immobilize: The Story of Mexican Workers and the Cotton Industry in Arizona" as part of the State of Arizona Research Library’s 2019 Arizona Author Series.
The event begins at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, at the Polly Rosenbaum State Archives and History Building, at 1901 W. Madison St., Phoenix. Admission is free and it is open to the public. After the presentation, the author will be available to answer questions.
Cotton production saw a period of immense growth when Goodyear Rubber & Tire Company arrived in the Salt River Valley in 1916. Goodyear Rubber & Tire Company established the Southwest Cotton Company, and worked with the Arizona Cotton Growers Association to recruit thousands of Mexican laborers to provide the labor during harvest seasons. Cuádraz examines the tactics of labor repression and immobilization used to control the Mexican workforce and to fuel corporate interests between 1917 and 1921.
"An interesting historical irony is that I discovered my father’s migration story began during the 1917 to 1921 time period, and that he was among the thousands of workers recruited by the Arizona Cotton Growers Association to come to the United States under the Immigration Act of 1917’s ninth proviso," Cuádraz said.
Gloria Cuádraz is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies at Arizona State University. She publishes in the areas of Chicana/os and higher education, theory and methods of oral history, Arizona Chicana/o labor history, feminist methods and testimonio. With Dr. Luis Plascencia, she is co-editor of Mexican Workers and the Making of Arizona. She is co-editor of Claiming Home, Shaping Community: Testimonios de los Valles, and is a member of the Latina Feminist Group, co-authors of Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios.
In 2013, she was awarded the Dan Shilling Public Humanities Scholar of the Year Award by the Arizona Humanities Council. From 2014 to 2017, she was the co-lead editor of Chicana/Latina Studies: The Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social.
The Polly Rosenbaum building has free parking and is conveniently located near several Valley Metro bus routes. Please be advised that no food or drink is allowed in the building. For more information, contact the State of Arizona Research Library at 602-926-3870 or visit the website at https://azsos.libcal.com. The library also provides information on Facebook and Twitter. This program is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information contact Kori Tueller, Arizona Collection Librarian at 602-926-3723 or [email protected]
