AMERICAN LEFT HISTORY

This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager

Thursday, November 15, 2018

CIW’s Harvest Without Violence Mobile Exhibit travels to Haverford College for a Fair Food-filled week!

Students from Haverford College, Temple University, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore get fired up in Student/Farmworker Alliance’s Boot the Braids Campaign!

Last week, the CIW’s eye-opening Harvest Without Violence Mobile Exhibit traveled from Immokalee, Florida, to the Keystone State for a week-long visit at Haverford College to educate students and community members about the Fair Food Program’s unique success in ending sexual violence and other human rights abuses in the fields. And that was only the beginning of what proved to be a full-on Fair Food week at Haverford!

Today, we bring you a quick, exciting photo report from the Student/Farmworker Alliance, who lined up back-to-back events in Haverford throughout last week. Enjoy!

In between studying for midterms and getting out the vote last week, students at Haverford College in Pennsylvania took a pause to stand in solidarity with the women and men who harvest the food we eat. The John B. Hurford ‘60 Center for the Arts and Humanities, Philadelphia Arts Creative Collective (PACC) Program, Distinguished Visitors Program and Haverford Microfinance and Impact Investing Initiative (MI3) at Haverford College invited CIW’s co-founder Lucas Benitez and Ximena Pedroza of the Student/Farmworker Alliance to debut the Harvest Without Violence Mobile Exhibit at their dining center, educating over 300 students about the alarming rate of sexual harassment and assault confronted by farmworker women in the fields and about the only proven solution in agriculture to end and prevent such abuses: the award-winning Fair Food Program. While touring the exhibit’s legal documents, farmworker testimonies and extensive research, scores of students learned about the Campaign for Fair Food and pledged to boycott Wendy’s until the fast-food chain joins the rest of the industry in protecting farmworkers’ rights.

In addition to the guided tours, the Immokalee team led a series of classroom workshops on the Fair Food Nation’s impressive organizing track record on Thursday, November 8, as well as a keynote speech titled “Holding Goliath Accountable”. Lucas drew from the biblical story of David and Goliath, painting a picture of how farmworkers – as determined and steadfast as David himself – have managed to hold Goliath accountable...