Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College issued the following announcement on Feb. 7.
Dr. John Vanzo will speak on “Melanija Knavs and the Right Way to Come to America” in the opening lecture of a three-part series at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22 in Ernest Edwards Hall at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Melanija Knavs is the maiden name of Melania Trump, wife of former President Donald Trump.
Vanzo’s lecture addresses a special mural exhibition titled “Coming to America—The Immigrant Experience Featuring the Lost Mural of Ellis Island” which opened to the public in Edwards Hall on Jan. 18. Vanzo is a professor of political science and geography in ABAC’s School of Arts and Sciences.
Other supporting lectures include Dr. Elizabeth Medley on “Rise of the Resistance: Immigrant Women’s Political Activism from Ellis Island to the Modern Era” on March 3 and Dr. Russell Pryor on “Fried Chicken, Spaghetti, and Tacos: Mass Migration and the All-American Meal” on April 7. Medley and Pryor are both assistant professors in the School of Arts and Sciences.
The 85-foot mural by Andrew Sabori is a reproduction of the 200-foot mural titled “The Role of the Immigrant in the Industrial Development of America” which was created circa 1935 by Edward Laning as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project.
Sabori and Roberta Sabori conceived the idea for their project when they visited Ellis Island in the New York harbor in 2003. Roberta Sabori examined a photo of the Laning mural in the Ellis Island dining hall. The beautiful work of art was known only to the immigrants passing through Ellis Island since its location was off limits to the public.
When Ellis Island closed in 1954, much of the original mural was lost after a violent storm damaged the building. Following painstaking research, Sabori began painting his reproduction of the Laning mural in 2008.
In addition to the beautiful mural, the exhibit includes Sabori’s original portraits of 35 significant immigrants and facsimiles of relevant documents from the National Archives including passenger arrival lists, census records, draft registration cards, and naturalization petitions.
There is no charge to visit the mural or attend the lectures. Edwards Hall is open from 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Fridays.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
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