From migrant farmer to future teacher
How a migrant farmworker defied the odds through personal determination and family sacrifice
Written by Lauren Cook | Photography by Anne Bannister | A Charles Butt Foundation Production
In April 1995, Raquel Pérez’s family left Edinburg, Texas at 3 a.m. to drive north. In their early 1980s Ford truck, the family of six began the 1,500-mile trek to Benton Harbor, Michigan. They drove for 16 hours, then pulled into a motel to catch a few hours of sleep. They woke up well before dawn the next morning, continued the journey, and arrived in Benton Harbor in the afternoon.
This marked Raquel’s first trip as a migrant. She was four months old. Every year since, Raquel has repeated the same journey with her parents and three sisters. The spring of 2018 marked her family’s 27th consecutive year migrating to work at the L.H Piggott and Girls Farm from April to October.
Migrant farming for Raquel and her parents is defined by deep family ties and an unwavering work ethic. It is a lifestyle woven with struggle and sacrifice. Raquel proudly embraces her migrant identity and who she has become. She is strong. She is determined. And she is the future of Texas teaching.
“At a young age, I came to realize that summers didn’t consist of waterparks or family vacations, but rather the reality of migrating as a form of subsistence.”
Directed & Produced by Lauren Cook | Edited by Anne Bannister | Cinematography by Anne Bannister, Chela Giraldo, & Charlotte Moore | Assisted by Thea Ulrich-Lewis
