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Ihave a name is a project that sets out to illustrate, through
photos and biographies, that the often nameless, faceless migrants
trying to enter the U.S. from Latin America are real
people...individuals with names, faces, and histories.
For
the past eighteen months, Tom Feher, a talented photographer, and I
have been working on this project in Mexico. Tom has been taking
photos of Latin American migrants passing through a shelter in
Oaxaca, Mexico on their way to the U.S., and I’ve been interviewing
them. Our goal is to produce a movable exposition of 30 or more
life-sized photos and written vignettes that will convey what we’ve
been learning firsthand--that it’s one thing to have a concept such
as “migrant,” “migrant worker,” “undocumented worker,” or
“illegal alien,” and quite another to know people as individuals
with their own names, faces, life stories and dreams.
The
inspiration for this project came to Tom when a neighbor of his in
Seattle kept referring to a worker as “Jose” or “the Mexican.”
When Tom spoke with “Jose,” he found out that he was neither
Mexican nor named Jose. That was the catalyst for I have a
name. Tom and I want to do what we can to let people meet the
usually nameless and faceless migrants who pick our food, staff our
restaurants, build our houses and maintain our homes. We think this
approach has the potential to change hearts and minds. We’ve now
interviewed and photographed 18 men and women, about half the number
we want for the exposition. We’ve lined up our first venue,
Trinity Church in Boston, for December, 2014.
Putting together an exhibit like
this will require considerable financial support.
Tom has calculated the
material and transportation costs of the project at about $25,000. We
hope to raise this amount through the funding site indiegogo.com.
Any contribution you can make, from $1.00 up, will help. You can see more about the project and contribute if you wish by clicking here or on any of the links above. And, if you
feel as we do that this is a worthwhile project, please send this
note on to some of your friends or associates.
Thanks
very much for your time and attention, and, hopefully, your support.
Robert
Adler
