Grant to Help Engage Latinx Communities

Oberlin College has received a programming grant to participate in Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a nationwide public programming initiative produced by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA).

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History supports the exploration of the history and experiences of the population, who, with more than 50 million people, have become the country’s largest minority group. Latino Americans: 500 Years of History is part of a larger NEH initiative, The Common Good: Humanities in the Public Square, and features the six-part NEH-supported documentary series “Latino Americans,” created for PBS in 2013 by WETA.

Oberlin is one of 203 grant recipients representing 42 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to a cash grant of $3,000 to hold programs about Latinx history and culture, the college will also receive:

• A “Latino Americans” DVD set with public performance rights
• Access to additional programming and humanities resources developed by national project scholars, librarian advisors, and outreach experts
• Promotional materials to support local outreach

Associate Dean of Campus Life Adrian Bautista will serve as the grant project director. According to Bautista, an overarching goal of the Oberlin project will be to enhance engagement between the campus and Lorain County Latinx communities. Pronounced “Latin-ex,” the gender-neutral term is becoming more widely accepted at Oberlin and beyond.

The grant, he says, will support several on- and off-campus activities, including a scholar-led viewing and discussion of an episode in the “Latino Americans” documentary series, as well as a film screening and writer’s workshop in collaboration with the Multicultural Resource Center.

More information about Latino Americans: 500 Years of History can be found on this website.