Traveling exhibit 'Outside/Inside' on display in Dugan Library thru Oct. 7

Now through Oct. 7, 2023, Newman community members can stop by the Dugan Library to visit the traveling exhibition, “Outside/Inside: Immigration, Migration, and Health Care in the United States.”

This traveling exhibit was produced by the National Library of Medicine and designed by HealyKohler Design with guest curator Beatrix Hoffman, Ph.D.

The exhibit shares a glimpse into how the U.S. health care experience has changed for immigrants and migrants over the past 130 years.

Poster of the "Outside/Inside" exhibit — Poster of the “Outside/Inside” exhibit

The National Library of Medicine shared the following summary on its website:

“Twenty million people, mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe, came to the United States during the era of ‘new immigration,’ between 1890 and 1924.

“At ports of entry, health officials screened new arrivals for contagious diseases, physical defects and psychiatric problems. Many immigrants dreaded the inspections, which could be humiliating, frightening and even painful.

“Germs do not recognize nationality. However, at different times in U.S. history, Irish, Jewish, Chinese, Mexican and other immigrant groups have been stigmatized as disease carriers. Medical campaigns that focused on people’s ethnicity or national origin were not effective methods of disease prevention. Instead, they led to discrimination and sometimes danger for immigrants and migrants.”

The exhibit shares more about Lillian Wald, a German-Jewish nurse and reformer who established the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service in New York in 1893.

According to the National Library of Medicine’s website, “Visiting nurses could play a crucial role in reducing death rates, in helping immigrants adjust to life in the United States and in advocating for the rights of these ‘strugglers on a foreign soil.’ The idea that health care should be inclusive and should address the needs of immigrants evolved throughout the 20th century.”

Visit the Dugan Library to continue learning more about this historical exhibit.