Discovered in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg, the Vulture Gold Mine was the first big gold mine in Arizona. The mine and its colorful cast of characters, along with the town of Wickenburg, were instrumental in stimulating considerable growth and development in Central Arizona. This presentation will share the multi-layered story of the gold mine, thus […]
In 1921 the Hopi were told that “church people” petitioned Congress to stop their “pagan” dancing. A platform was erected on the U.S.Capitol steps where both Houses of Congress assembled with their families to see the Hopi dancers. Following the performance, Congress passed a Resolution giving the Hopi permission to carry on their dancing “for […]
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 Ansel Adams documented the internment, and artists Toyo […]
U.S. Route 66, known as the “Mother Road,” was built in 1926. It ran from Chicago to L. A. During the depression of the 1930s, it became the major path by which people migrated west, seeking work, warm weather and new opportunities. Shore shares the history of Route 66 in Arizona, including the impact it […]
Vicariously experience the environment and atmosphere of a 1960s-era Civil Rights Movement camp. Through theatrical performance, music, poetry, and participatory activities, audience members will examine the culture of discrimination, racial prejudice, and social injustice in the United States as it was during the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strategy of passive resistance will be […]
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and early 1930s and it was an unprecedented period of expression by African Americans in music, literature, art, dance, poetry, politics, and economics. Never before had America seen such a rich explosion of black culture. This interactive presentation, which includes storytelling, poetry, theatre, art, […]
The Fred Harvey company operated its exceptional chain of restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe Railway from 1876 through the 1960s. Among its many innovations was the employment of “Harvey Girl” waitresses: single women who chose to leave their families and adhere to strict lifestyle restrictions for the opportunity to work at respectable jobs. […]
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 Ansel Adams documented the internment, and artists Toyo […]
The building of the railroad across Arizona in 1879-1880 was a wonder of technology and human will. It created a series of small communities linked by their role in supporting that technology and the initiatives behind it. Overnight it transformed southern Arizona, including Vail, whose story resonates with many other southern Arizona communities. Business and […]
Florence began as a small rural desert town. In 1875 a major silver strike and designation as Pinal County seat changed the character of the town. Despite the past tales of shootouts and stage robberies that echo off the historic adobe walls, many people still find Florence the essence of a “small town” that […]
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Arizona Humanities builds a just and civil society by creating opportunities to explore our shared human experiences through discussion, learning and reflection.