Hometown Heritage to host Becoming American programming series in 2018-2019
In December 2017, Hometown Heritage applied to host the Becoming American programming series. This documentary and discussion series is designed by City Lore, a New York City non-profit dedicated to community education and the preservation and sharing of art and history, and funded by an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It focuses on the role that immigration has played in shaping American culture, both in the past and today. We are happy to announce that Hometown Heritage has been selected as one of 32 organizations nationwide that will host this series in 2018-2019.
The Becoming American series consists of 6 documentary films and discussions over 6 - 12 weeks, with 4 screenings in Perry and 2 in Des Moines. The films look broadly at immigration, investigating topics including cultural identity, work and family, prejudice and discrimination, and popular culture among a variety of groups, including 19th century European and Chinese immigrants and 20th and 21st century Latino immigrants and African refugees. Each screening will be followed by a discussion led by one of our moderators, Jon Wolseth (ISU Extension and Outreach) and Inbal Mazar (Drake University), which will tie the topics in the films to immigration in Iowa.
Other planned programming will include a screening and panel discussion for Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry, IA and exhibits at the Carnegie Library Museum and the State Historical Museum of Iowa.
More details are to come, but in the meantime, please check out the Becoming American website, which gives a brief summary of the films to be screened.