The Long Journey of the People from Europe and Latin America in the Merrimack Valley
Highlights from a workshop that took place on January 23, 2021
Greater Lawrence is and has always been a mixture of different cultures and populations. In this workshop, we examined how these peoples’ journeys exemplify perseverance and change.
The questions brought up during this workshop included:
- What are the similarities and differences between the people who came to Lawrence from Europe in the 19th century and the people who came to Lawrence from Latin America in the 20th century?
- How can voices from the community inform our understanding of how to approach this topic with our students?
- How do examples of groups’ experiences in Essex County, Massachusetts illuminate how some histories have been portrayed within our larger American story?
- How can we help students connect with this history, keeping their voices and ideas at the forefront of our teaching?
- How do we allow for meaningful discussion about complex issues and what it means to be “American”?
While you are welcome to watch the entire workshop, as it was recorded on Zoom (except for the break out sections), here are some specific resources that may be useful for designing lesson plans.
In this video, Wendy Waldron discusses using materials from the workshop in her lesson plans.
Wendy Waldron’s reflection on how the implemented lesson went (this includes activity “worksheets” and student work).
Workshop facilitator and educator Brian Sheehy and students demonstrate how local examples and difficult conversations related to immigration history can be put into practice in the classroom.
Using Essex History 
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