Many New England communities from Portland to Burlington have experienced a surge in their immigrant populations, swelling the ranks of ESOL students. In addition, in some states, Massachusetts, for example, immigrants make up over 50 percent of ABE and GED students. The changing makeup of the communities calls for adult educators and other community members to learn more about the newcomers, and vice versa. ABE and ESOL teachers frequently weave activities into instruction that help students from different backgrounds to get to know one another. Now there is a new resource that can add another dimension to these discussions, that of racism and exploitation that immigrants of color face in this country.

Echando Raices/Taking Root is a new educational video produced by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); for which New England Literacy Resource Center's Andy Nash wrote a discussion and education guide. This thought-provoking video tells the stories of immigrant communities and the struggle for immigrants' rights in three different parts of the country: California's Central Valley, a major agricultural area; Houston, Texas, where immigrants have reshaped the city's political and economic landscape; and central Iowa, where newly emergent immigrant communities face a host of challenges. It features the stories and reflections of immigrants and refugees from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, Cambodia, and Laos. A special feature is the inclusion of testimony by indigenous people, including Hmong refugees from Laos, Mayan refugees from Guatemala, and Mixteco immigrants and refugees from Mexico. Also included are perspectives from researchers, African American and European American community activists, local officials, displaced workers, and more.

Echando Raices/Taking Root offers an opportunity for adult students, who often are part of marginalized communities, to think about the impact of immigration and immigration policy on their lives. The film validates the struggles they have endured, and the good will they bring to this country. The issues raised in the film touch on themes that resonate with most poor and working people—unsafe workplaces, torn families, discrimination and bigotry, and struggles over inadequate resources. If the viewers are not immigrants, the film invites them to think about their beliefs, where these beliefs come from, and whose interests they serve. All viewers are prompted to consider their own place in this dynamic: Whose fears do they identify with? Whose strengths?

The video is accompanied by a discussion guide that includes activities for adult education settings as well as background information on a range of immigration issues. The guide offers step-by-step guidance in facilitating a one-or two-session viewing of the film. It includes suggestions for pre-viewing, during viewing and post-viewing discussions, and other educational activities. The activities invite the viewers to reflect on and discuss their own experiences, reactions, and opinions. They develop students' communication skills, and their knowledge of history and geography. The final chapter provides background information on various immigration issues. The first section of this chapter covers basic statistics about immigrants in the United States, their countries of origin, changes in immigration pattern, and the labor force. The other sections cover immigration law and policy, the roots of immigration to the United States, tensions between different immigrant groups, anti-immigrant movements, as well as movements for immigrant rights.

Echando Raices/Taking Root is an open-ended educational resource designed for use by adult educators, service providers, other community organizations, labor unions, faith communities, and immigrant organizations. The complete production is one hour long and each of its three sections may be used either separately or together.

Silja Kallenbach is the director of the New England Literacy Resource Center at World Education, Boston. Additional literacy resources are available online at www.nelrc.org. She can be reached by e-mail at skallenbach@worlded.org.