The Museum of Durham History is embarking on an initiative to gather history, perspectives, artifacts, photos, and everyday stories on what it means to be Latino in Durham. To connect with the Latinx community, the Museum is partnering with award-winning filmmaker, Rodrigo Dorfman. The project will culminate in an exhibit at the Museum of Durham History, Nuevo espíritu de Durham. Story collecting within the community will take place throughout the summer of 2019 with the exhibit’s opening reception taking place on September 13th.
Many historians regard the growth of the Latinx community in the South as the biggest historical development since the Civil Rights movement. Between 2010 and 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that North Carolina’s Latinx population grew by 132,000 residents, or 16.5 percent. An estimated 41,000 Latinos live in Durham. This diverse group includes people of Mexican ancestry (about 60 percent) and many with roots in other countries in Central and South America (about 40 percent). Latinx students are the fastest growing group in most school systems in the United States and now make up 50% of new students in Durham’s public school population. Most were born here in the United States and are already citizens, English proficient, and bicultural—embracing U.S. food, entertainment etc. without abandoning Latino culture. Latinxs in all their diversity are an increasingly important group of residents, consumers, employees, employers, and students in Durham.
Be sure to check out the museum’s website for more info on programming related to the exhibit.
| This project was supported by the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. |
Nuevo espíritu de Durham 