The phrase “civil rights” commonly appears in much public discussion. But what are “civil rights”? Where did they come from? Why do we have them? Civil rights in U. S. law have revolved around what, if any, personal characteristics should control the legal relation of an individual to others and to the community at large, […]
The rise of car travel in the 40s, 50s and 60s meant that thousands of people were traversing the broad expanses of the Southwest looking for new landscapes and adventure. As the cars sped past, restaurants, motels, curio shops and gas stations needed large, bright signs to make an impression. This informative and entertaining visual […]
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 Miyatake, […]
Arizona’s New Deal built sidewalks, post offices, provided school lunches and outhouses. It produced roadside shrines and monuments to encourage tourism, check dams and mud stock tanks to support Arizona ranchers as well as golf courses and pools for recreation. The federal investment in the built and cultural landscape of 1930s Arizona and the nation […]
During WWII a select group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines with a unique weapon. Using the Navajo language, they devised a secret code that the enemy never deciphered. For over 40 years a cloak of secrecy hung over the Code Talker’s service until the code was declassified and they were finally honored […]
This presentation focuses on the lively and lawless days of Eloy, Arizona. Eloy might have had a reputation that rivaled that of Tombstone, with its killings, graft, good time houses, and mysterious murders. Explore this turbulent time in Territorial Eloy, when the influx of seasonal cotton pickers "raised hell" on the weekends. Geta LeSeur […]
The American Southwest is world-renown for its colorful, modern landscape, but you’ll be amazed to learn what it used to look like. The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the Superstition Mountains, and the Petrified Forest hold clues to the fascinating story of how the Southwest was once the site of tropical seas, Sahara-like deserts, coastlines stalked […]
This engaging program, similar to a “Prairie Home Companion” but with an Arizona twist, uses live music, storytelling, video, and other visual aides to highlight stories of Arizona’s first century. Jay Craváth and Dan Shilling form the nucleus of the program, relating vignettes through song and story, such as the murder of reporter Don Bolles, […]
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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.
