Mark Griffin, Ph.D.
Professor of Modern Languages
Arts & Sciences
Modern Languages
Biography
Education
Ph. D. Tulane, M.A. Missouri University
Project Scholarship by Mark Griffin, Project Filmography by Filo Gomez
Our short documentary "Here for Good" is a broad portrait of Oklahoma's Latino community, with a special emphasis on its recent growth, cultural contribution and struggle. After devoting a short amount of space to the community's long-standing presence in the state, the film portrays its economic and cultural vitality, the particular hardship brought on by house Bill 1804 (2007) and the activism of the young "Dreamers." The film also includes a wide range of voices: a historian, a novelist, an artist, a blue-collar worker, business leaders, and students.
Our work links Oklahoma to the U.S./Mexico border in at least two ways. The historical section of our work depicts the state as part of the "Greater Southwest"—in the sense that it has a Mexican-American presence that precedes statehood. The latter section highlights the more recent migration to Oklahoma from the border region (Ciudad Juarez), and the hybrid "borderlands" culture that can be found in places like south Oklahoma City and east Tulsa.
