Braceros Program 

photo credit:  (67suenos.portfoliobox.net, T. G. E. + P. P. + 67 Y. (n.d.). Abuelito Fue Bracero. AFSC 67 Sueños. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://67suenos.portfoliobox.net/abuelitofuebracero) 

From 1942-64 the governments of Mexico and the United States of America entered into an agreement to cover a lack of workforce in America, primarly in the field of agriculture. These workers were all volunteers and moved across two nations to work. The need of the Bracero Program arose due to work shortages becuase of World War II when many of the eligible men who made up this work force were drafted and called overseas to fight in the war. 

There were many activists that thought the program was good and their were also many who thought that the program took advantage  of the workers comming up from Mexico. These people who were against the program fought for years to gain more protections for the workers, and to raise the rate of pay for the workers. 

In Texas the program did not fully get instituded until 1947 when the Mexican Government felt that its citizens that were volunteering for the program would be treated correctly, as in years past Mexicans were treated very badly and were akin to second class citizens without the same rights and protections as white citizens. 

Once the Bracero Program took hold in Texas, small towns were many of the areas that took great advantage of the program to help in local farms and ranches being able to keep up with demand and keep workflow going during trying times. 

Conclusion to our findings: We had the intended target for our research in the panhandle area and tried to focus in on small communities. We believed there would be lots of stories that were untold, undiscovered to the smaller communities generally having less media resources such as a news channel. Many times, the only thing available is a small local newspaper, however those generally talk about local topics such as weather, school districts, and agriculture. We wanted to find the agriculture topics and see if there were mentions of braceros that many may not have heard of due to their general smaller audiences. For example, the interview over my grandpa, was one that was never written or publicized. He was an English non-speaker so there was no way that a local media would be able to record it unless they had an interpreter. He was also one, who like many tried to stay out of the spotlight to stay hidden with the fear of deportation. We hope to have uncovered some light on these rich bracero stories in small rural communities.