Kirkwood’s Iowa City Campus
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (June 29, 2015)-Kirkwood Community College has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association. The funds will be used to support Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a public exploration of the rich and varied experiences of Latinos.
Part of a larger effort to create a nationwide dialogue about American Latino history, the grantees benefiting from the program include public libraries, college/university libraries, state humanities councils, museums and other nonprofit organizations. Most denominations of grant funds were at a $3,000 level, while a smaller number of recipients received $10,000 for the program. Kirkwood was one of four grantees in Iowa and the only community college in the state to receive a portion of the funds.
The Kirkwood Iowa City Campus has been chosen as the college’s location for the project.
“We are very excited to bring this programming to the Iowa City area and to Kirkwood,” said Kate Hess, library coordinator at the Kirkwood Iowa City Campus. “Latino American history and culture is long and rich, but many people are unaware of the background and the influence of Latinos on American culture. Our goal is that the programs, films and guest speakers we bring to our community over the coming year will kick-start many conversations, partnerships and ongoing programs across the whole community.”
As a grantee, Kirkwood will be able to use the funds to hold public film screenings, discussion groups, oral history initiatives, local history exhibitions, multi-media projects, performances and other programs about Latino history and culture. The college will also receive access to additional programming and humanities resources developed by national project scholars, librarian advisors and outreach experts.
The cornerstone of the project is the six-part, NEH-supported documentary film, “Latino Americans,” created for PBS in 2013. The series, which won the Peabody Award, chronicles Latinos in the United States from the 16th century to present day. Kirkwood will receive a copy of the series to screen for the community.
For more information on the Latino Americans: 500 Years of History program, go to www.neh.gov.