Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim? by Yolanda M. Lopez
Opening Reception:
Saturday, May 9, 2015
3 to 6 pm
Give me your tired, your poor; Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . . The enormous disparity between the eloquent promise of the Statue of Liberty and the ongoing attacks against immigrants is enormous. Immigration to the United States varies broadly—who comes, why, from where, and when is emphasized in posters that speak to ongoing efforts to make immigrants’ reality closer to Emma Lazarus’s aspiration. Yet from the Irish and Chinese in the nineteenth century to the Mexicans and Middle Easterners of the twenty-first centuries, discrimination based on race, class, language, and culture has unfortunately been consistent. Whether the reason for migration is to escape war, seek asylum from persecution, or pursue better economic opportunities, leaving one’s family, friends, and home is never easy, and the posters in this exhibition present the human side of this wrenching experience.
Funded in part by the California Arts Council, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and individual donors.
Venue: Mercado La Paloma
Location: 3655 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90007