Essential but Illegal
Working US fields during pandemic and it’s history.
Dr. Natalia Molina was the speaker during the last lecture I watched; “Essential but Illegal” it was called. She is a MacArthur Fellowship Award recipient and the author of two award-winning books, “How Race Is Made in America” and “Fit to Be Citizens?” Molina is an ally to the undocumented laborers throughout the United States, often speaking out against injustices and giving in-depth analyses of conditions to which laborers are subject to.
This lecture was centered around COVID-19. The pandemic has, of course, disrupted every economic field, but unlike many others, physical field work cannot be easily modified to be COVID-19 compliant. Dr. Molina went in depth to speak about the conditions that field workers usually have to endure and even the cramped, unsanitary facilities that workers were historically given throughout their work shifts.
What was most eye-opening to me, however, was the racist stereotypes that were born of, or amplified by the conditions that field workers, mostly Mexican, were subjugated to. Latino communities were often thought to be dirty or filled with disease because of the higher population densities. This was amplified by the unsanitary conditions.
The overarching theme of the lecture demonstrated just how much Latino labor is desired and valued versus how much the Latino individuals are detested and villainized. It was a very informative lecture. Thank you, Dr. Molina.
Wakelet included: https://wke.lt/w/s/RrBqi6
