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Hi friend,
I'm writing this from the Huntington Library, where I have recently begun to serve as Interim Research Director while we search for a permanent Research Director (I am also the co-chair for the search). I have been coming to Huntington since I was a graduate student. I did some research for and wrote my entire dissertation here. I love the quiet of the Rothenberg Reading Room, whose long tables, book-lined walls, and high windows foster focus and writing, while the large, open space makes it easy to bump into fellow researchers and colleagues. I have made lifelong friendships here.
The Huntington can also be an intimidating place, especially for scholars of color and first gen. I know that was the case for me. When I first started coming to the Huntington as a graduate student, I was often only one of the only people of color and the only Latina in the reading room.
One day, I invited my dad—a Mexican immigrant who worked as a bartender most of his life in the US—to have lunch with me in the garden café. He remarked what a beautiful place the Huntington was, especially its gardens. I shared with him that I could sometimes feel intimidated in the space. Without missing a beat, he leaned in, looked me in the eye, and asked, “Why? We built this place.” He was referring to the fact that so much construction labor in early twentieth-century Southern California (and today, for that matter) was done by Mexicans. That observation instantly reframed how I understood the Huntington, as well as how I viewed my place there. I used to go into the stacks and picture what was missing, and it was my story, which is why I needed to write my book. I wasn't just contributing to LA and Latinx history, building on the work of Latinx scholars before me. I was part of a longer continuum of Latinx workers, including those who made this place. In addition, it sparked a new curiosity in me about those Mexican workers. Years later, I have now embarked on a book to tell their stories, tentatively titled “The Silent Hands that Built the Huntington.”
That is all a long way of saying I know what it feels like to be an outsider, and I hope to do my small part for people to find the Huntington more accessible, including shedding light on practices they have changed, such as making it easier to access the collections. I’ll share more about what I learn as Interim Research Director in future newsletters!
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