Joaquín Lara Midkiff moderates this conversation with three panelists with deep experience and commitment with this topic and the region. The conversation will illuminate the many ways that the mid-Willamette Valley has been home to powerful farmworker and solidarity movements that transformed the lives of migrant laborers and reshaped Oregon's political and economic landscape.

This conversation is part of our 2025–26 Consider This series, Beyond 250, and is presented in partnership with the 2026 Oregon Heritage Conference focused on Stories, Culture, Place – Weaving Community Heritage.

Tickets

This event is free, but registration is required. Click here to reserve your seat.

Can't make it in person? Tune in from anywhere! The conversation will be streamed live, for free, on our YouTube channel, and will remain available for viewing after the program.

Thanks to our funders

Consider This is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Oregon State Capitol Foundation, The Standard, and Tonkon Torp LLP.

This event is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation's cultural life and imagine its shared future. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as a complement to the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.