"There is a father, leading the way with a clear sense of urgency, bent at the waist. A mother, running behind him, despite the prim dress that hugs her knees. A little girl, holding her mother's hand, unable to keep pace, her feet barely touching the ground, her pigtails -- everyone knows the pigtails -- flowing behind."
In the 1980s, illegal immigrants were running across I-5 in California, as they entered the U.S. The highway was very busy, and many of the people, usually the youngest or oldest, were getting hit by cars, and killed.
In 1990, John Hood, a Navajo, Vietnam Vet, and graphic artist, created the picture of the immigrant family, running, in order to help prevent these deaths of illegal immigrants. It was put on a yellow caution sign.
Today, a photograph of the sign is hanging in the National Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C.
"In museums, we are constantly looking for objects that transcend their own history," said Peter Liebhold, chairman of the museum's Division of Work and Industry. "This is, without a doubt, an icon of the current immigration debate. It's taken on meaning that was never intended."
Read the story from the Los Angeles Times
The Artist Behind the Iconic "Running Immigrants" Image í here
