Coded Messages and Songs of the Underground Railroad

Florence Community Library 778 N. Main St., Florence, AZ, United States

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. There were code names for routes and code numbers for towns. A quilt […]

Hyenas in Petticoats: How Women Struggled Against Every Trick in the Books to Win the Vote!

Chandler Sunset Library 4930 W. Ray Rd. Chandler AZ , Chandler, AZ, United States

As we celebrate the 100th birthday of the 19th Amendment in 2020, it’s time to look back at the enormous effort it took for women to be granted full citizenship and the vote. History has downplayed suffrage, as if it were just a footnote in American history, when in fact, it was the nation’s largest […]

Hyenas in Petticoats: How Women Struggled Against Every Trick in the Books to Win the Vote!

Eloy Santa Cruz Library 1000 N. Main St., Eloy, AZ, United States

As we celebrate the 100th birthday of the 19th Amendment in 2020, it’s time to look back at the enormous effort it took for women to be granted full citizenship and the vote. History has downplayed suffrage, as if it were just a footnote in American history, when in fact, it was the nation’s largest […]

Curry and Kreplach: A Look at 12 Unique Jewish Communities Around the World

East Valley Jewish Community Center 908 N. Alma School Rd., Chandler, AZ, United States

Take a virtual journey across some of the most interesting and off-the-beaten path Jewish communities on four different continents: from India’s historic Bene Israel community, to Alaska’s tight-knit “Frozen Chosen,” to Ecuador’s opulent JCC located just miles from the center of the world, to Myanmar’s miraculous Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue in Yangon. This talk will explore […]

More than Pocahontas and Squaws: Indigenous Women Coming into Visibility

East Flagstaff Community Library 3000 N 4th St #5, Flagstaff, AZ, United States

This visual presentation shows how Indigenous American women have contributed service to Arizona and the US, yet remain invisible in the media and stereotyped in early films. Nevertheless, they have been honored in all areas of public service—law, medicine, literature, military, education, and activism with awards such as, the Presidential Freedom, the McArthur (genius award), […]

CANCELED – Coded Messages and Songs of the Underground Railroad

Christ Lutheran School 3901 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, United States

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. There were code names for routes and code numbers for towns. A quilt […]

CANCELED – Mescal Agave Use in Arizona: Food, Fiber and Vessel

Pueblo Grande Museum 4619 East Washington St., Phoenix, AZ, United States

The agave plant was used by Native peoples for numerous utilitarian items. Mescal served as a valuable food source still being harvested and prepared to this day by many Indigenous groups. For millennia people have pit roasted the heart of the plant yielding a nutritious food staple rich in calcium and zinc. This talk includes […]

CANCELED – The Gila: River of History

Yuma County Library - Main Library 2951 S. 21st Dr., Yuma, AZ, United States

Six hundred miles long from its source in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico to its confluence with the Colorado River above Yuma, the Gila has been an important avenue for the movement of birds, animals, plants, and peoples across the desert for millennia. Many cultures have sprung up on its banks, and millions of […]

CANCELED – Arizona’s Great Escape

Sun Lakes Methodist Church 9248 East Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, AZ, United States

During the night of Christmas Eve in 1944, twenty-five Nazi German prisoners of war escaped from Papago Park POW camp on the outskirts of Phoenix and headed towards Mexico. These men were hardcore Nazis, ex U-boat commanders, and submariners, who had successfully dug a nearly 200-foot underground tunnel that took four months to complete. Many […]

Pershing’s Chinese: Asylum Seekers amid Chinese Exclusion

Arivaca Old School House 17080 W. 4th St, Arivaca, AZ, United States

In 1917, Gen. John J. Pershing brought 527 Chinese refugees from Mexico. These men had attached themselves to the punitive expedition conducted by Gen. Pershing in pursuit of the Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco “Pancho” Villa from 1916 to 1917. When Pershing withdrew, aware that the lives of the Chinese who had served his troops were […]

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