In-Conversation with David Bacon & Kevin De León: Movements for Change in California
A conversation with photojournalist David Bacon, Los Angeles City Councilman and former President pro Tempore of the California Senate Kevin de León, and Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, Ph.D. to commemorate the opening of the exhibition Work and Social Justice: the David Bacon Photography Archive at Stanford.
This talk explores social justice movements in California including advocacy and electoral politics. David Bacon’s photography captured social movements in California during an economic transformation. As the state entered an economic recession in the early 1990s, labor unions witnessed major losses, and wages for workers stagnated. During this period, California also witnessed nativist and anti-immigrant sentiment across the state, labor leaders organized strategically and led large protests, most notably millions marched to protest the rhetoric in 1994 and 2006. Bacon’s photography captured the labor, the movement, and organizers who led the immigrant rights movement.