The campus community is invited to attend the History Forum on Thursday, March 27 at 5:30pm in the Dezember Reading Room, Walter Stiern Library, for a talk by Dr. Anna Toledano (Executive Director, Los Altos History Museum) entitled, “Black, Native and Japanese Botanical Laborers Hidden in the Archive, from 18th-Century Mexico City to California Today.” Dr. Toledano will discuss her research into the Spanish naturalists who established the Viceregal Botanical Garden of New Spain in Mexico City in 1788 and will revisit archival materials and the methodologies she used to uncover the contributions of Black and Indigenous laborers, whose roles remain obscured in official accounts. Dr. Toledano will also apply these techniques to her current work on Japanese apricot orchardists within her small local history museum collection, demonstrating practical approaches for recovering marginalized voices.

The event is free and open to the public. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.