The University of Alabama will welcome Mireya Loza, a professor from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Monday to give a lecture titled “I was a Bracero: Indigeneity, Race, and the Bracero Program” at 6:30 p.m. in Gorgas Library.

The lecture is part of the Smithsonian Institute exhibit, “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964,” which is being displayed in the J. Wray and Joan Billingsley Pearce Foyer of Gorgas until April 28.

In Loza’s lecture, she will discuss the Braceros, Hispanic workers who were a part of the largest guest worker program in the history of the United States. It began as a way to fulfill labor shortages during World War II in the agriculture and railroad industries, but quickly expanded across the entire United States.

By the program’s end in 1964, an estimated 4.6 million workers had been involved in the program. The program’s name, Bracero, is a Spanish term meaning “strong-arm.”

“My lecture will focus particularly on the ethnic and racial diversity within communities that participated in the Bracero Program,” Loza said. “I hope students that attend will take away a greater understanding of the program and a more complicated vision of Mexican immigration to the United States.”

The Bracero Program exhibit and events are part of “Through the Doors,” the yearlong event dedicated to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Alabama’s campus and the commitment of the University to change over the past 50 years and in the future.

Lynne Adrian, chair of the American studies department, said she believes events such as the Bracero Program are an important part of “Through the Doors.”

“The key aspect of celebrating desegregation is how it opened the doors to all Americans and allowed all of our residents to use their full talents to reach their potential and help develop the U.S. as a whole,” Adrian said. “Understanding the Bracero Program and the participants helps us to expand our understanding of all Americans.”