History of the Cuban refugee community on display
La Crosse Public Library displays refugee exhibit
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — The La Crosse Public Library is putting the culture and history of Cuban refugees in La Crosse on display.
This upcoming April marks the 40th anniversary of Cuban refugees entering the US, and thousands of them came to our area through Fort McCoy.
The La Crosse Public Library is hosting a panel on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 pm. Eight Cuban refugees will speak on the history of the Cuban exodus to the La Crosse Area. An exhibit of photos and artifacts from the Refugee Program at Fort McCoy will also be on display, at the La Crosse Public Library, throughout the month of October.
University of Wisconsin La Crosse, Latin American Studies Prof. Omar Granados, will be speaking at the event. Granados says events like these bring light to the issues our Cuban community still faces.
“We always focus on the policy aspects of migration, the law aspects of migration, and we often times forget that these are humans. Even though it’s been 40 years since this exodus, even today we’re seeing the same issues,” said Granados.
125,000 Cuban refugees came to the US during the 1980s, and 14,000 of those were housed at Fort McCoy’s Refugee Camp.
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