The okie

« Okie »

The terme « okie » refers to a resident, native or cultural descendant of Oklahoma. It’s derived from the name of the state and it’s most often used more specifically in a pejorative sense.

« Okie » came to refer to very poor migrants from Oklahoma and nearby states coming to California looking for employment. Many of the migrants headed to the farm labor jobs advertised in the Central Valley of California. 15 % of Oklahoma’s habitant lived outside the region.

Dear diary,

Yesterday, I went to take pictures of the migrants on the road more specifically on the Route 66. During this photoshoot, I’ve seen so many things that make me so bad. Their journey seems very harsh and long. Besides, I could see the migrants tired and dirty due to the many hours of driving. The road was winding, going up and down. I saw them in front of the car waiting for help because theirs tires were deflated and the children were crying. They didn’t have enough money ; for, they came from a very long journey. Therefore, they had to stop the car to try to find a solution. So I wanted to immortalize the moment in order to denounce for the entire population and future generations the distress of migrants. While the father of the family was negotiating the price for new tires, the mother was changing her children’s clothes. In this photo thas I’ve taken, I wanted to show their very difficult way of life in this period of crisis. We will see through my photos, the famine and the misery that these migrants are going through. I want to show people they are also humans like everyone else and they too need the normal life they deserve. I hope that people who see my pictures will be touched by the situation of poor migrants.

...