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Short Story: The Canyon Flier
Manage episode 347077274 series 3220739
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Written in the tradition of Magical Realism, this short story by C. Dawn McCallum was originally published in READ Magazine.
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Is there a song that is so perfect that it can build a bridge in the sky?
In this story of Mexican braceros, laboring in the U.S. fields during World War II, two brothers race for freedom ... and find it.
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During World War II, the United States suffered a great shortage of manual laborers. With so many Americans supporting the war effort overseas and in industry, U.S. agriculture struggled to survive. In 1942, the U.S. and Mexican governments entered into an agreement that allowed skilled Mexican laborers to work on U.S. farms.
These experienced field workers left their families in hopes of making more money than what they were earning in their own country. Because the braceros signed contracts written in English, many did not understand their rights and conditions of employment in the United States.
Suffering harsh working conditions, frequent harassment, and racist attacks, the braceros kept American agriculture alive. Approximately 5 million Mexican citizens worked as braceros. The program officially ended in 1964.
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Read the full story on C. Dawn McCallum's blog here.
Or listen on YouTube here.
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