Join us for the first in a series of programs exploring the diverse voices that capture the journey towards Democracy in America. We are proud to feature these presentations as part of the traveling Smithsonian Exhibit
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America that will launch in March 2020. TheÂ
Voices and Votes exhibit will travel to six Arizona towns, and feature programs across the state.
Our democracy has been shaped by many people. We are most familiar with the famous, the nation’s founders and Presidents. But many more individuals have contributed to the depth and breadth of our nation’s values of life. liberty and justice. This program explores the contributions from those in the shadows, some faceless and nameless, who built America.
Join us as we learn about the Coded Messages of the Underground Railroad, and later The Green Book. Communication and secrecy were key to the successful operation of the Underground Railroad. Safety was more important than quickness. Both fugitive slaves and members of the Underground Railroad learned to code and decode hidden messages, and to disguise signs to avoid capture. Using storytelling, activities and songs, this presentation will depict the ingenuity and resiliency used by those involved in the Underground Railroad to help over 100,000 slaves escape to freedom between 1810 and 1850. For many years after the Civil War it was not safe or easy for Blacks to travel in the segregated U.S. Restaurants, hotels, theaters and businesses did not serve Blacks. They developed a network of safe spaces so that they could travel, live and work despite illegal and legally sanctioned discrimination through Jim Crow laws.
Dr. Tamika Sanders is an entrepreneur who decided to become an educator to help address the lack of minority faculty in higher education, and serve as a role model for minority students who rarely see people of color in academia. She hopes to continue using the arts to break barriers, unite people, and create social change.
Dr. Tamika Sanders is an entrepreneur who decided to become an educator to help address the lack of minority faculty in higher education, and serve as a role model for minority students who rarely see people of color in academia. She hopes to continue using the arts to break barriers, unite people, and create social change.