A new documentary film on immigration begins with a Jan. 19, 1989, speech by President Ronald Reagan, delivered in the final hours of his two-term presidency. Of all the topics he could have addressed, it was America’s role as a welcoming sanctuary for people from around the world that was on the mind of the departing president.
“We’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier,” he said. “This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever close the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.”
“Immigration: America’s Bittersweet Dream” explores the history of immigration and discrimination in the United States and Kern County and features interviews with local experts on immigration law, undocumented migrants and those who have experienced racial and ethnic prejudice themselves.
“Unfortunately, we're in a real mess today because too many people don't understand the net economic benefits immigration brings, and has always brought, to our nation,” said Dr. Mark Martinez, a producer of the film and director of CSUB’s Center for Social Justice, which raised private donations to fund the film. “The hope is open and informed discussions on this issue will help us in the future. This documentary is designed to provide information, not fear.”
The film is the second collaboration between filmmaker Miguel Orozco and Dr. Martinez, both of whom teach political science courses at CSUB. Their first film, 2017’s “American Migrant Stories,” received the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Award in 2018, and was taken to festivals in the United States and Europe.
“The main idea behind the first film was to demonstrate that we are a nation of immigrants,” Dr. Martinez said. “We laid out our migratory history, including the movement west, and explained how immigration has always been a source of energy and inspiration for our nation with every new wave of immigrants.”
The filmmakers will premiere the latest film at two free screenings in Bakersfield. The first will be held at CSUB on Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. in the Student Union Multipurpose Room. Bakersfield College will host the second on Oct. 15.
Panel discussions with immigration experts and people featured in the film will follow the screenings.
Dr. Martinez took the time to answer a few questions about the film and what surprised him during his research:
Describe the film to someone who is considering seeing it.
An informative and eye-opening look at immigration in America.
The film looks at the history of discrimination in Kern County. What did you find?
We were surprised to see the legacy and level of redlining in Bakersfield. It's clear Bakersfield was very comfortable with the practice. In the interview with former Bakersfield Police Department Chief Lyle Martin, he tells a compelling story of visiting one of Kern County's ‘sundown’ towns and how this impacted him. Learning about the region's comfort with discrimination tells us all another story about the place we call home.
Is there anything that surprised you while doing your research?
Shared experiences, first with the people from Oklahoma and Arkansas, and now migrants from south of the border. California did not welcome them initially."
What do you hope audiences will take away from this film?
A more enlightened experience of who we are. We're a young country. (Filmmaker) Miguel Orozco has always said, "We're better together trying to solve these issues than we are as a nation divided," as we're currently seeing. More specifically, as we point out in the documentary, America needs a reckoning. Unlike the Germans who had a cleansing after World War II, the United States never learned the lessons we desperately needed to learn regarding race. Sure, we had the military occupation of the South. But unlike Germany, it didn't last. We made a deal with the devil and the KKK, segregation and the Black Codes emerged in the latter half of the 19th Century and we're still trying to recover from it. The idea is to get people to think about our future, together, which includes our history of immigration. Immigration has always been a net plus for this country, which Ronald Reagan lays out in the beginning of this documentary.
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