Colgate University invited Jason De León, preeminent anthropologist, archeologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, to give the annual Peter C. Schaehrer ‘65 Memorial Lecture in Peace and Conflict Studies on Thursday, Sept. 25. De León addressed issues of immigration, Trumpian fanaticism and the importance of humane discourse, pulling from his 2014 book “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling” — winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction — which took a nuanced approach to human smuggling.
Tony Pearl, classmate, fraternity brother and friend of Schaehrer, emphasized the importance of Peace and Conflict Studies in his introduction. Colgate students were subject to the draft during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s. For almost four years, Pearl himself witnessed violence and death in Vietnam.
“When you hear this lecture about the horror of violence and war, you will work hard to prevent it,” Pearl said. “It is not just an academic exercise. It is important that you work on stopping it.”
De León took a multidisciplinary approach to studying migration from Latin America to the United States, using personal stories, forensic science and archaeological research to bring the lives and deaths of migrants to light. At a divisive time in American politics, De León helped the Colgate community understand the migration process on an individual level. Associate Professor of Anthropology Santiago Juarez emphasized De León’s well-timed visit.
“I believe I speak for many of my colleagues when I say that we hope his words will offer crucial insight into the continuing struggle to recognize the humanity of all people,” Juarez said.
De León’s words ultimately fulfilled Juarez’s hope. For sophomore Leah Nemi, the way De León discussed immigration helped shed light on the importance of empathy.
“I think a lot of us only think about immigration through the news headlines and policy debates, and it can be easy to forget that we’re talking about real people and families, not just statistics,” Nemi said. “I found De León’s lecture to be an important reminder that immigration is both a deeply human and historical issue, and it deserves a lot more empathy than it often receives.”
To convey his ideas effectively, De León began with an honest and personal insight, sharing how he used to approach lectures with the mindset of rock and punk bands like Fishbone and The Drive: without compromises or regrets, De León left it all on stage. Trump’s presidency, however, changed things.
“When I started this fall tour last week in Texas, I did not want to admit to myself or to the audience that for the first time in my life, I was scared to speak my mind publicly about what is happening in our country,” De León said. “I dialed it back because I felt like free speech was being pummeled by a fascist regime that rejects logic, compromise, kindness and the rule of law.”
New norms around freedom of speech motivated De León to be honest with himself and those in attendance.
“I am going to come out and say it: I am scared about where this country is going,” De León said. “And I think it is okay to be scared, because being scared can lead to action. What I refuse to be is afraid.”
Even though he shared this self-reflection with the audience, sophomore Annika Wilson emphasized De Léon’s eloquence as an orator.
“De León was a very interesting storyteller, and his recounting of these people’s experiences was incredible,” Wilson said. “He made sure to connect these issues to their root cause, explaining the context of the horrific situations people were facing. I think that everyone learned something new, whether they have read his books or not.”
De León’s “Soldiers and Kings” primarily explores the lives of “coyotes,” or human smugglers, who guide migrants through Mexico to the U.S. border. His writing, rife with complex language and rhetoric, delves into how migrants pursue a version of the American dream while navigating the exploitative and dangerous smuggling industry.
De Léon embraced his rhetorical flair at the lecture. Using vivid imagery and dialogue, he transported the audience to a 2016 Trump rally, setting a powerful scene.
“We are waiting in the gymnasium,” De León said. “It drags on. They start teasing us with terrible ‘80s music and inspirational rock. The crowd starts to get antsy and chants ‘build a wall.’ How can they not know this wall is a farce, a smokescreen, a false promise? We finally get Trump to come out. Trump says, ‘This is an amazing crowd, and we have thousands of people outside trying to get in.’ People cheer. I am looking around, and it is literally half full. What is happening here?”
De León communicated the complex gap between reality and beliefs, in which Trump supporters denied the facts around them in an effort to construct their own fantasy about America’s future.
“This crowd craves a wall because the truth about immigration, about lost American jobs, about why working-class white folks in rural Michigan cannot make ends meet on $9.25 an hour, is too much to bear,” De León said. “Like the millions of people on the southern side of the border who are dying to come here, this crowd also wants the elusive American dream.”
De León transitioned from Warren, Michigan to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. He narrowed his focus from the broad American dream to a nuanced examination of the experiences of smugglers and migrants living in the global South. For De León, border walls are no match for the human will to survive.
“Thinking far beyond any current political moment, our species thrived because we have been able to move across the landscape,” De León said. “Getting out of Africa was the first movement in search of new habitats, resources and places. Human mobility can never be stopped.”
His closing thoughts emphasized how the American dream is deeply connected to the devastating struggles of smugglers and migrants.
“We are living in a Trump rally right now,” De León said. “We have to decide whether or not we can accept the realities of the world. Are there thousands of people in the parking lot trying to get in? Are migrants really to blame for why America is no longer great?”
