In an effort to shed light on the hardships faced by children living in the migrant farm-working community, CenterScene Public Programs is holding a screening of The Harvest/la cosecha on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA.Every year, there are more than 400,000 American children who are torn away from their friends, schools, and homes to work 12-14 hours, 7 days a week, picking the food we all eat. The Harvest, an award-winning documentary film, follows Zulema, Perla, and Victor through the scorching heat of Texas, the snow of Michigan, and the humidity of Florida in their path as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. The documentary provides a glimpse into the lives of these children who struggle to dream while they follow the harvest.
Author and activist Eric Schlosser, migrant farm-worker advocate José Padilla, as well as actress and Harvest Executive Producer Eva Longoria will be on hand to discuss of the film and the issue.
Event Details
When
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Check-in and Reception begins at 6:00 p.m.
Program Starts at 7:00 p.m.
Where
The California Endowment
Center for Healthy Communities
Yosemite Hall
1000 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
RSVP
This event is free and open to the public but an RSVP is required
Please note that this event will be recorded and made available for viewing within a few days of production.
About CenterScene
CenterScene is a wide-ranging series of public programs organized by the Center for Healthy Communities to raise awareness about the vital issues that affect the health of California’s communities. Admission and parking are free at all events. Use of public transportation is strongly encouraged.
Learn more
Visit the Center for Healthy Communities website
Get the map and directions
Read the CenterScene Newsletters
More questions? Please email rsvpchc@calendow.org
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Eric Schlosser
author and activist
Eric Schlosser tries to explore subjects ignored by the mainstream media and give a voice to people at the margins of society. Over the years he’s followed the harvest with migrant farm workers in California, spent time with meatpacking workers in Texas and Colorado, told the stories of marijuana growers and pornographers and the victims of violent crime, gone on duty with the New York Police Department Bomb Squad, and visited prisons throughout the United States.
Schlosser’s first book, Fast Food Nation (2001), which was on the New York Times bestseller list for two years, helped start a revolution in how Americans think about what they eat. His second book, Reefer Madness (2003), looked at America’s thriving underground economy. It was also a New York Times bestseller. Chew on This (2006), a New York Times bestselling children’s book, co-written with Charles Wilson, introduced young readers to the health effects of fast food and the workings of industrial agriculture. Schlosser has for almost a decade been researching a book on the American prison system. His next book, Command and Control, is about nuclear weapons.
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José Padilla
Executive Director
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA)
José R. Padilla was born and raised in the Imperial Valley, in a family with farm-worker roots. José received his BA from Stanford University in 1974 and worked as a head teacher with Campesinos Unidos Inc. After graduating in 1978 from Boalt Hall School of Law, he began his legal career with CRLA, advocating for the rights of California’s farm worker and rural poverty communities.
At CRLA, José focused on immigration, civil rights, and education law, and co-drafted AB 1382, California’s Migrant Education law. In 1984, José became Executive Director of CRLA, overseeing cases on pesticide exposure, housing, labor, rural education, civil rights, immigration and environmental justice, assisting more than 40,000 rural residents annually.
José testified before President Clinton’s Commission on Race, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and various legislative bodies addressing issues of voting and language rights; and, in 2011, he was nominated by California Latino Legislative Cause as one of four California Supreme Court Nominees.
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Eva Longoria
Executive Producer “The Harvest” / Activist / Actor
Golden Globe-nominated, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning, and ALMA Award-winning actress, Eva Longoria currently stars as “Gabrielle Solis” on the ABC-megahit, Desperate Housewives.
Longoria is an executive producer, in collaboration with Academy Award nominated Shine Global, of the documentary film The Harvest. The documentary presents the challenges these children face as they are unprotected by law, often working twelve hours a day, seven days a week in temperatures that can exceed 100 degrees, while suffering injuries and exposure to pesticides.
Active in philanthropy, Longoria has received many awards for this work. She serves as the national spokesperson for PADRES Contra El Cáncer, and founded the non-profit organization Eva’s Heroes to name a few. In 2010, Longoria partnered with the California Community Foundation (CCF) to create The Eva Longoria Fund.