Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood district was coined “Black Wall Street” because it was a thriving African American community that boosted hospitals, churches, shopping centers, schools, and banks. But all that changed, on May 31, 1921, when an angry mob stormed the town and burned everything to the ground. This presentation will explore what made Black Wall […]

Annie Evelyn O’Sullivan aka Annie Clayton aka Eva Blanchard was a notorious Tucson madam, who used different names for her legitimate and illegitimate businesses. Tucson newspapers regularly reported on her criminal and civil exploits, making her one of Tucson’s most well- known citizens. Away from her bordello, O’Sullivan was known to donate money to charity […]

The Colorado, the Gila, the Salt, the Verde, the Hassayampa, the Santa Cruz: Arizona’s rivers were lush green ribbons of life flowing through a desert landscape. They became sustaining paths for indigenous traders and immigrants leaving wagon tracks and settlements. The Hohokam built vast canals from the Salt to direct irrigation water for crops. European […]