Byline: Les Payne; 1970-07-11; Newsday;
Report: Working with Migrants; Shadowing the Undocumented
Tags: cotton, Les Payne, Newsday, posed as migrant, potatoes, undercover journalism
". . .As I entered the 17-man migrant camp the first day, I had primed myself to respond to my new name, 'Bubba.' I kept in mimd my briefing on how to function and stay alive. The instructions were given to me by an ex-migrant, a hefty man with a barrell belly and a rolling, gravel voice. With passionless, staccato cadence he told me: 'Drink wine wit' 'em. Shoot craps. Challenge 'em, tell 'em, look man, I'll knock your goddamm head off. Curse at 'em, all the time. But don't mess wit' their women, or you'll get your throat cut'. . ."
Description:Les Payne went undercover posing as a migrant laborer for a week in Long Island, New York.
Rights: Copyrighted, used with permission.
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