Don’t miss the Quilt display in Gainesville!
The Lake Apopka Farmworker Memorial Quilts went on display
in Gainesville, Sept 9, 2013, at the Alachua County Main Library where they
will remain on the library’s third floor until Oct. 27th. An opening reception, held from 11 am until
1pm on September 21st in a library meeting room was attended by more than 25
people.
Jeannie
Economos opened the reception with a timeline power point presentation and talk
about the history, including environmental problems, of Lake Apopka from 1940’s
through today. Sarah Downs followed
with a description of how the idea and creation of the quilts began and
subsequently evolved. Then Linda Lee,
Geraldean Matthew and Betty Dubose, all former Lake Apopka farmworkers, each
spoke, movingly, of their personal histories and their struggles for the
recognition of their collective problems and their rights after the closing of
the farms.
The
final speaker was Dale Slongwhite, author of an upcoming book soon to be
published based on the oral history interviews with Lake Apopka farmworkers that capture both their
compelling personal stories and the broader scope of the lives and conditions
faced by the farmworkers on Lake Apopka.
The book, which we are all looking forward to, will be published in spring,
2014, by the University of Florida Press.
Congratulations Dale!
A question and answer discussion, and refreshments, followed
these presentations.
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