Lee Wee Kwon, Chinese Grocer in Tucson, 1917-1965 The Chinese had once dominated Tucson’s grocery business. Lee Wee Kwon was among the successful Chinese grocers whose business relied on the patronage of a Hispanic clientele. Lee entered the US as a refugee from Mexican Revolution. Before he came to Tucson, he had lived and worked […]
Swing Into History With the exception of the most ardent collectors and older generation, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio. Join Larson as he revisits the sounds America listened and danced to for more than three decades. Learn how iconic […]
Sheep Ranchers and Herders of Arizona An early viable economic activity of the 1800s in Arizona has been mostly forgotten. Basque, Canadians, Danes among others arrived in the mid to late 1800s to graze sheep on thousands of acres practicing transhumance. Many of these men worked for other established ranchers until ultimately they gained a […]
Arizona Ghost Towns Ghost towns dot Arizona’s landscape and provide unique insights into a diverse history. Some ghost towns tell a boom-to-bust story with few remaining traces of the people who once lived there, while others, like Jerome, have become thriving tourist destinations. Many are old mining locations that once bustled with life, while others […]
Little Sur Shot – Annie Oakley and the Closing of the American West Annie Oakley is perhaps the best recognized, but little know personalities that came out of the American West. Her life story is one which is enmeshed deeply into the fabric of the American character. However it was not a cookie cutter life. […]
The Ballad of Arizona: our First Hundred Years Similar to NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” but with and Arizona twist, this program uses music, storytelling and live radio-style newscasts to present important but often neglected events in Arizona history. The “Hoosiers”-like story of a Miami, AZ High School basketball team comprised of the sons of […]
Arizona Songbirds: The life stories of Marty Robbins and Linda Ronstadt These two Arizonans were blessed with beautiful and unforgettable singing voices and had more hits than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Songs like El Paso, Big Iron, Yellow Roses for Robbins and Different Drum, Blue Bayou and Skylark for Ronstadt. Marty was a little bit country […]
The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864-1868 In 1864, Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Imprisoned on a 40-square mile reservation for four long years the people suffered from hunger, loneliness, illnesses, and severe environmental conditions. On June 1, 1868, U. S. officials and […]
Instruments and Music of Arizona’s Pioneers The story of our state is not complete without music. This program will focus on the various genres of music that reflected the milieu and personalities of our various immigrants. Using musical instruments and stories, audience members will be presented an artistic tableau of our past: heroes, villains, and […]
Art of the Internment Camps: Culture Behind Barbed Wire President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1942 WWII Executive Order 9066 forced the removal of nearly 125,000 Japanese-American citizens from the west coast, incarcerating them in ten remote internment camps in seven states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Government photographers Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and […]
Address:
1242 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone:
(602) 257-0335
TTY users please call 7-1-1
Email:
info@azhumanities.org
Mission:
Arizona Humanities builds a just and civil society by creating opportunities to explore our shared human experiences through discussion, learning and reflection.
