Five-hundred Years of Latino Americans in North America

A three-part PBS documentary brought to the community by the OSU Library

September 3, 2015

Â¡Usted estÃ¡ invitado a asistir a una serie llamada Americanos Latinos: 500 AÃ±os de HistoriaÂ¡ In other words, you are invited to attend a series called Latino Americans: 500 Years of History!

The series of three events based on a PBS documentary will be shown throughout National Hispanic Heritage Month.

"Foreigners in their Own Land," St. Francis Catholic Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.
"Prejudice and Pride," Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room, Edmon Low Library, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.
"Peril and Promise" Stillwater Public Library, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.

Victor Baeza, director of OSU Library graduate services, is the project leader for the grant that the OSU Library received on June 15 from the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities. After a rigorous application process, the OSU Library was the only organization in Oklahoma to receive the grant.

"With the help of this grant, we want to educate people on the history of Hispanics and Latinos in Oklahoma," Baeza said. "As part of this, we are working with the OSU Alumni Association to research the first Hispanic graduate from Oklahoma State University."

Anyone who is interested in Latino or Hispanic history is invited to learn more about the population in Oklahoma, how the Hispanics arrived here and how the culture began. The Latino Americans: 500 Years of History is also a chance for guests to broaden their horizons by trying a cultural snack from a selected country.

"The goal is to encourage our guests to record their own families' history," Baeza said. "We also want to reach out to the Hispanic residents in Stillwater and inspire documentation of their own stories."

Each viewing will include a scholar who will introduce the video and share knowledge of the Hispanic and Latino culture. The first speaker is Dr. Michael Smith from the OSU history department, who will mention the differences in Oklahoma's Latino history compared to the Border States, which are discussed in the documentary series.

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History is free and open to the public.Â For more information, contact lib-pub@okstate.edu or 405-744-7901.

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.

Story by: Amanda Jones, Communications Intern

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/archived-news/fall-2015/latino-americans

Last Updated: 10 August 2018