Black Wall Street: Then and Now with Tamika Sanders

Mesa Public Libraries - Main Branch - Saguaro Room --- 64 E. 1st St., Mesa, AZ, 85201 64 E. 1st Street, Mesa, AZ, United States

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 […]

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

Mesa Public Libraries - Main Branch - Saguaro Room --- 64 E. 1st St., Mesa, AZ, 85201 64 E. 1st Street, Mesa, 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

Dia de los Muertos Storytelling with Zarco Guerrero

Mesa Public Libraries - Main Branch - Saguaro Room --- 64 E. 1st St., Mesa, AZ, 85201 64 E. 1st Street, Mesa, AZ, United States

Dia de Los Muertos is a highly celebrated and significant holiday held throughout Mexico, Latin America and the Southwest. It is a day when homage is paid with prayers, offerings of food and the building of altars to those who have gone before us. Join Zarco and his unique masked characters as they celebrate Día […]

FREE

Asian Americans in Film and Media, Then and Now with Karen Kuo

Mesa Public Libraries - Main Branch - Saguaro Room --- 64 E. 1st St., Mesa, AZ, 85201 64 E. 1st Street, Mesa, AZ, United States

Depictions of Asia and Asians in film and media have defined perceptions of Asian Americans in the U.S. since the early 20th century. We have seen the “model minority,” “asexual nerd,” “submissive mistress,” “tongue-tied immigrant,” and “kung-fu master” portrayals in movies, cartoons, books, and news for decades. These stereotypes reflect historical inaccuracies, and embody racist, […]

FREE

Women’s Resilience and Survival in the Holocaust with Bjorn Krondorfer

Mesa Public Libraries - Main Branch - Saguaro Room --- 64 E. 1st St., Mesa, AZ, 85201 64 E. 1st Street, Mesa, AZ, United States

This talk will trace the lives of two women Holocaust survivors who both grew up in traditional Jewish families in Bedzin, Poland and later became residents of Arizona: Jane Lipski (Tucson) and Doris Martin (Flagstaff). They managed to survive the Nazi onslaught as adolescent girls. While Jane was able to escape the ghetto and join […]

FREE

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