Our River Stories: The Gila and the Salt with Zarco Guerrero

McFarland State Historic Park 24 W. Ruggles St, Florence, AZ, United States

Join Zarco for a series of stories that share the vibrant and tragic history of water and the River People, over a 2,000 year period. Beginning with the Toltec trade route that brought agriculture and corn to the Southwest. The history of the O’Odham before and after the expansion west is revealed. We learn about […]

FREE

The Underground and Overground Railroad with Dr. Tamika Sanders

Scottsdale Civic Center Library 3839 N Drinkwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ, United States

Using storytelling, historical artifacts and songs, this presentation will depict the ingenuity and resiliency used by those involved in the Underground Railroad to help over 100,000 enslaved people escape to freedom between 1810 and 1850. We’ll then fast forward to the Jim Crow era and explore the Overground Railroad created by the Green Book which […]

FREE

You Can’t Quit Being White: Arizona Territories Intriguing First Inter-Racial Marriage Trial with Bernard Wilson

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

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court Case Loving vs. Virginia, the validity of an inter-racial marriage was dependent upon the state or territory a person lived. In the Arizona territories the laws governing miscegenation, or inter-racial marriage, focused on the prevention of creating mixed racial persons, rather than actual marital unions. In 1892, a couple […]

FREE

Writers of the Purple Sage with Jim Turner

Pima County Public Library - Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. Branch 7800 N. Schisler Dr., Marana, AZ, United States

This presentation covers five Arizona novelists: Zane Grey spent his honeymoon at the Grand Canyon and went on to be one of the first and most famous Western writers of all time; Harold Bell Wright came to Tucson with lung problems and became a bestseller from 1900 to 1930. University of Arizona writing professor Richard […]

FREE

Deconstructing the Taco: The History and Lore of a Beloved Food with Gregory McNamee

Cochise College Benson Center 1025 S. Highway 90, Benson, AZ, United States

The foods of Arizona speak to the many cultures, native and newcomer, that make up our state. Consider the taco, that favorite treat, a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cooking and an old standby on an Arizonan’s plate. The corn in the tortilla comes from Mexico, the cheese from the Sahara, the lettuce from […]

FREE

Why Arizona Dark Skies Matter with Matthew Goodwin

Verde Valley Archaeology Center 460 W Finnie Flat Road, Camp Verde, AZ, United States

Flagstaff, Arizona was the world’s first community designated an International Dark Sky Place for its active efforts reduce light pollution and protect the visibility of the night sky. There are now over 130 dark-sky communities, places, and parks globally. Arizona alone has 17 dark-sky places, which is more than any other country in the world. […]

FREE

Plants of the Mojave Desert and the Traditional Tribal Uses with Carrie Calisay Cannon

Pueble Room, Monte Vista Village 8865 E. Baseline Road, Mesa, AZ, United States

Although the desert may seem like a desolate landscape devoid of life, it is actually home to hundreds of unique species. Some are only visible or appear alive for a short time, others grow for hundreds of years, and many are not found anywhere else on earth. Participants will learn about the many traditional Tribal […]

FREE

Social Art-ivism: Black Panther Culture, From Oakland to the World with Pamela Mays McDonald

UA Poetry Center, Rubel Room 1508 East Helen Street, Tucson, AZ, United States

Join Pamela Mays McDonald, Arts Advocate, Historian, Activist, and Curator, for a discussion and exploration of a case study on Oakland’s Black Panther culture. The motto that propels her art activism is “Yesterday’s histories unravel today’s mysteries.” Mays McDonald explores Black culture through multiple artistic lenses — language, music, visual and performing arts, literature, poetry, […]

FREE

Black Woman Rising: African American Community Mothers in Phoenix with Akua Duku Anokye

Buckeye Valley Museum - 116 E. MC85, Buckeye, AZ 85326 116 East MC85, Buckeye

African American women have had a tremendous impact on the lives of Arizonans. In a project I’ve been working on for the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of interviewing some of these amazing women. I call them othermothers/community mothers–these social activist who emerged from the Black woman-centered network of community. Let me […]

FREE

Water in the Southwest: Where Have We Been, and Where Are We Going? with Jennifer Richter

Heroes Regional Park Library- Yucca Meeting Room 6075 N 83rd Avenue, Glendale

It has been said that “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.” This is especially true of water politics in the American Southwest, a region defined by its lack of water. The massive 20th century federal investments into dam systems controlled the great rivers of the West, allowing cities like Phoenix to “bloom like […]

FREE

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