Vivek Bald will draw from his book Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America (2013), and present material from his ongoing documentary film In Search of Bengali Harlem and web space “The Lost Histories Project,” to explore the stories of South Asian Muslim peddlers and seamen who settled in the U.S. during the Asian Exclusion era, between the 1890s and 1940s. These two groups of men, who were predominantly from regions in present-day Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal, were highly mobile. Most were sojourners who cycled through clandestine networks in the U.S. Northeast, Midwest, and South to sell “Oriental goods” or to work in restaurants or factories, and then returned to their villages and towns on the subcontinent. But a smaller number settled permanently in the U.S. and married within African American and Puerto Rican neighborhoods: in Tremé, New Orleans; Black Bottom and Paradise Valley in Detroit; and Harlem and the Lower East Side in New York City. At at time when the United States sought to criminalize and exclude Asian immigrants, U.S. neighborhoods of color provided South Asian men with homes, home bases, and the possibility to build lives under the shadows of the immigration laws. Bald will relate these stories of early migration and cross-racial community-making, and discuss their presentation across the multiple media of writing, film, and the web.
Free visitor parking is available by the Indiana Avenue lobby entrance. Metered parking is available at the McCalla School parking lot on the corner of Ninth Street and Indiana Avenue. The parking lot also has spaces designated for Indiana University C and ST permits. During the weekends free parking is available on the surrounding streets. An access ramp is located at the Fess Avenue entrance, on the corner of Ninth Street and Fess Avenue. Reserved parking spaces are available on Ninth Street, between Fess Avenue and Indiana Avenue. If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Please call 812-855-6873.
Cost: Free
For more information contact:
Mathers Museum of World Cultures
(812) 855-1696
[email protected]