Kauffman Museum in North Newton will host, “Flour Power,” a presentation and discussion by Gene T. Chávez on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 3:00 p.m. online via Zoom. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.  Sign up to attend on Zoom. The presentation will also be broadcasted live on the Kauffman Museum Facebook page.

During the period of the Mexican Revolution, many immigrants made their way to Kansas to raise their families and work in the railroad, agricultural, industrial, and hospitality sectors of the state. A cultural offshoot of this new group of Mexican residents settling in the Midwest was the search for the perfect tortilla, a staple of Mexican cuisine. Because corn tortillas were difficult to make by hand, many restaurants and home cooks substituted wheat flour tortillas for their signature dishes. Join us to discuss the rich history of Mexican immigration to Kansas and the journey of the humble but important tortilla.

Gene Chávez is the founder and president of Chávez and Associates. He consults with groups throughout the country on bilingual education and cultural diversity. In addition, he has taught at the secondary and post-secondary levels in Kansas and other states.

This event is a public program to accompany the current special exhibition, Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition drawing on the history and culture of rural America to provoke fresh thinking and spark conversations about the future and sustainability of rural communities. As a host site, Kauffman Museum will display a complementary exhibition, Of Land & People: Our Community at the Crossroads of Change, and host public programs that spark conversations about life in rural Kansas.

Crossroads: Change in Rural America is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and Humanities Kansas.