Growing up my father told us colorful stories from his childhood about traveling the United States as a migrant worker with his family. They picked crops of different vegetables and fruits that eventually made its way to American dining tables. Contemplating my father and his family’s contributions makes me wonder in awe at the millions of other families who have anonymously contributed to and helped build this country.

My newest works are about the contributions of families, especially women and children to the cultivation of the lands, economies and culture of the United States. The expression, “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.”, mostly used as an activist cry, expresses the feelings of black and brown families whose physical hard labor of the past and today continues to be overlooked as the roots of the success of our country.

The seeds planted were not only those for produce, but also were seeds of hopes and dreams for families to make a better life in the U.S. Those families’ next generations of children grew up as citizens of the country who continue to contribute on various levels to the economy, culture and identity of the U.S.