Attend an Arizona Humanities Program in May

Sedona Public Library (SPL) has worked closely with Arizona Humanities for many years. Thanks to this long-standing partnership, the Library is able to offer interesting and engaging humanities-based programs for our community. While you may be familiar with Sedona Public Library, you may not know much about Arizona Humanities.
 
Arizona Humanities is a statewide, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the Arizona affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1973, Arizona Humanities has supported public programs that promote understanding of the human experience and are held at cultural, educational, and nonprofit organizations across Arizona.
 
 AZ Speaks is the longest running and most popular program of Arizona Humanities. AZ Speaks presenters represent a diverse range of expertise, from a variety of professional backgrounds including civic engagement, film and media, and cultural and gender studies. Speakers are carefully selected based on their expertise and ability to offer content and insight that inspires discussion with audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
 
Sedona Public Library, in partnership with Arizona Humanities, is pleased to offer these Arizona Humanities programs during May:
 
Monday, May 8 at 1:30 p.m. at the Church of the Nazarene, 55 Rojo Drive in the Village of Oak Creek:  Attend Jan Cleere’s presentation “The Woman Who Shot Cowboys” to learn about Louise L. Serpa, rodeo photographer.  This program illustrates the courage of a woman determined to decide her own fate at a time when women were expected to marry, raise a family, and know their place in society. It includes some of Louise’s amazing rodeo photographs and family pictures.
 
Wednesday, May 10 at 1:30 p.m. in the Si Birch Community Room at SPL: The Library is pleased to partner with Arizona Humanities and the ASU School of Art to offer “Beyond the Underground Railroad:  Visually Relocating American History and Culture from a Black Perspective.” This community conversation will be facilitated by Stephen Marc, ASU Professor of Art. Attendees will discuss several issues: why the Underground Railroad (UGRR) and the legacy of slavery are still important in today’s society; connections between the UGRR and the West; and contemporary racial issues that face this country. This program is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities and is part of the Humanities and the Legacy of Race and Ethnicity in the United States Initiative.
 
Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m. in the Si Birch Community Room at SPL:  As part of Read Around Sedona, a community reading program, Erik Berg will present “Ghost Towns of World War II:  Arizona’s Historic Military Sites.” This presentation uses photographs and first-hand accounts to illustrate Arizona’s war-time role by focusing on the stories of those World War II sites in Arizona that still have significant remaining features from the war period.
 
Sponsored by Arizona Humanities and Friends of the Sedona Library, these programs are free and open to the public. Sedona Public Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Donations are gratefully accepted.

Sedona Public Library
Column for May 5, 2017
Written by ​Cheryl L. Yeatts, Manager of Sedona Public Library in the Village