As I was ruminating on colonialism, self-determination, and freedom, this exciting event was brought to my attention: “In Conversation with Miguel Luciano and Sylvia Méndez”—featuring Puerto Rican artist Miguel Luciano (“Porto Rican Cotton Picker,” “Freedom Rider Vest,” “Double Phantom”) and civil rights icon Sylvia Méndez. This conversation will be moderated by curator Taína Caragol at the McEvoy Auditorium, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (NPG) on Saturday, September 28, 2024, from 3:30pm to 4:30pm (EST). [This event is free and open to the public; registration required.]
Description: Please join us for a special conversation at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery with civil rights icon Sylvia Méndez and her sister Sandra Méndez Durán, whose parents led the fight to desegregate schools in California in the landmark civil rights case Mendez v Westminster (1946).
The works “Porto Rican Cotton Picker” and “Freedom Rider Vest” are on view on the museum’s third floor, and commemorate Sylvia’s mother, Felícita Méndez, whose family migrated from Juncos, Puerto Rico to the cotton fields of Arizona, before moving to California. There she married Gonzalo Méndez and together they led the fight to desegregate the school district of Westminster, California, filing a lawsuit on behalf of five families against the discrimination of Latino children.
Their victory in 1947 made California the first state to desegregate public schools in the U.S. and set a crucial precedent for Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The conversation will be moderated by curator Taína Caragol.
For more information, see https://npg.si.edu/event/conversation-miguel-luciano-and-sylvia-m%C3%A9ndez
To get tickets, see https://www.eventbrite.com/o/national-portrait-gallery-810710525
See “Double Phantom” at https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/double-phantomentropr-116832