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The museum was REALLY busy last month. We provided over 20 tours to over 300 people in less than 3 weeks. We are so grateful for your interest. This shows that there was a need and our founders were right! Thank you Styne, Collier, Richard, Joe, Felicia, Kimberlee, Brenton, Amber...and, of course, Jody! We had over 30 requests from schools, senior communities, and University Departments.
We hope to have walk-in hours in the next few weeks. Thank you, Jenn Bates, for stepping up to coordinate tours and visits. We will soon have self-guided visits and tours. Our volunteer training went well, but we can always use a few more to help out.
The museum hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the last tour starting at 3:00 PM. Please submit a request on our website sign-up page to visit as a group or individual tour! We finally received our display cases. Thanks to a grant from Pima County, we are able to provide you with more materials that will educate and inspire!
Relationships and collaborating with students:
- Thank you, Tucson High African American Culture Club – Richard Langford and Jeff Sawyer – for organizing Musical Melodies that helps students attend the Black College tour. We support HBCUs and we support you.
- Jack and Jill Chapter of American / Tucson Chapter, thank you for honoring AAMSAZ by donating a portion of the funds from your popcorn fundraiser to the museum.
Sincerely,
Beverely Elliott, Executive Director
African American Museum of Southern Arizona (AAMSAZ)
“We are a movement, not just a museum.”
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Tucson Mayor Regina Romero honors AAMSAZ in Black History Month!
In celebrating Black History Month, the Mayor of the City of Tucson, Regina Romero, issued a proclamation to the African American Museum of Southern Arizona. The proclamation was read in the chambers and presented at the February 22nd City Council Meeting. Representing the museum were AAMSAZ board members Daisy Jenkins, speaking on behalf of the museum, Taunya Villicana, and Jeff Sawyer. Also present were photographer, Founder, and Advisory Board member Joe Jackson and founder and Advisory Board Members Felicia Jackson and Velvia Evans. Community leaders and supporters, Donna R. Liggins and Doris Snowden, were also in attendance. Thank you, Tucson and our Southern Arizona community!
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March is Women’s History Month
Let’s talk about the Women’s Plaza of Honor on the Campus of the University of Arizona. We hope that you have visited, as it is a truly peaceful place. If you have not visited, stop by in person or visit online at Women's Plaza of Honor and African American Women’s Arch. Did you know that there’s a bench on the Plaza that honors former Supreme Court Justice RBG? AAMSAZ is launching a campaign to have a bench placed on the Women’s Plaza of Honor in tribute to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American woman to sit on the Supreme Court. Most of us know the questions that she was asked and had to endure in order to be confirmed. Please help us raise the $15,000 for the bench in her honor. Any amount helps even if you want to be a sponsor. Please be sure to note that your donation is for the Ketanji Brown Jackson bench.
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Margaret Campbell Herstory
Mrs. Margaret Campbell was the first African American woman novelist published in Arizona. She published her book, Iba the Dawn, which is available in the UA Libraries Special Collections. In an underground home, she lived in the South Park neighborhood at Santa Rita and 29th Street. Mrs. Campbell began digging to build the foundation in her home by herself. Her home had three floors, one of which housed a piano. She spoke five languages and gave piano lessons to neighborhood children. There is much more to Mrs. Campbell's story. Her niece, Cornelia, who lives in Georgia, contacted AAMSAZ, to share Mrs. Campbell's wonderful herstory.
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Over 300 people joined us at The Loft Cinema on February 3rd for the Fireside Chat with Stacey Snowden. Stacey and her husband, Dave, put together amazing clips from over 50 years of Coach Fred Snowden’s life including the focus on his life here in Tucson as the first African American basketball NCAA Division I Head Coach at a major college or university.
Stacey provided us with stories, clips, photos, and newspaper articles from years gone by. We loved the Motown music that had us singing in our seats! Some of the clips were tough to hear and see, but that was their life. UA Basketball Head Coach Tommy Lloyd and Dave Heeke, VP of Athletics, attended to hear and support the event. Thank you to our donors and Arizona Athletics as our Title Sponsor. Pat Parrish of KGUN and David Kelly KVOA were there to capture the moment.
Thanks, Ken, of Ken’s Hardwood Barbecue for providing us with delicious barbecue meals before we started the program. Volunteers from COX and AmeriCorps were wonderful. The Loft Cinema, also celebrating its 50 years anniversary, was so easy to work with. Thank you, Peggy Johnson, JJ, and Stephanie Troutman Robbins, for your collaboration and support of this amazing evening.
Photos by Dominic Ortega.
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Musical Melodies at Tucson HS
Thank you, Tucson High African American Culture Club – Richard Langford and Jeff Sawyer - for organizing Musical Melodies. This program helped students raise money so that they could attend the Black College tour. We support HBCUs, students, and we support you!
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Jack and Jill Teens of Tucson - Double Good - for AAMSAZ
We are so proud and GRATEFUL to the Jack and Jill Tucson Teens for selling $9641 in popcorn! Thank you to the AAMSAZ community for your support - their sales were poppin! Net proceeds totaled $4,820.50. The Jack and Jill Teens of Tucson are donating two-thirds of the funds, $3213.66, to AAMSAZ! Thank you... Jack and Jill Tucson Teens and Advisors, for this thoughtful and beautiful gift!
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AAMSAZ honored at Halftime
On January 12th in NCAA's men's basketball, the Arizona Wildcats played an impressive game against Oregon, scoring 84 points to Oregon's 52. Congratulations to the Wildcats for their outstanding performance. Additionally, the African American Museum of Southern Arizona was honored at Halftime!
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African American stories and recipes
The Meals and Memoirs second edition is published after 30 years. This is NOT just a cookbook, but it is a collection of African American stories and recipes from people living in Southern Arizona. Dr. Tani Sanchez, an Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at UArizona, says the new edition features health-conscious recipes and new interviews, recollections, and living histories from the Black community. Congratulations! The book is Available on Amazon.com. You will love it and use it!
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Legacy Donors – Again, thank you, for your support of our mission!
Thank you for granting us educational supplies and public relations information. We are grateful for the community outreach efforts.
African American Leadership Forum Grant
PNC Grant
Pima County
The Office of Senator Kyrsten Sinema
Southwest Foundation Grant
Office of the Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs
Byte4Byte
Thank you, Ernie McCray, for sharing that it was James Baldwin who once said, “If you know whence you came, there is no limit to where you can go.”
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AAMSAZ will be awarded a 100GB storage grant from Byte4Byte-Permanent.org to support our community archives, digitization, and digital preservation efforts. Our mission is to document, digitize, and preserve African American life, culture, and history in Southern Arizona for the benefit of the community. We invite other nonprofit organizations to apply for the grant to help achieve the goal of creating sustainable cultural heritage organizations. Thank you for supporting us!
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Harriet Tubman Visions of Freedom
Documentary screening and panel discussion at UArizona for Harriet Tubman Visions of Freedom
March 18, 2023, 6:00 PM
ENR2 Building at 6th and Park
The panel discussion will include professors from the University of Arizona. For more information, contact Timna Guerchon, Arizona Public Media, 520-621-5828 or email tguerchon@azpm.org.
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Bisbee, AZ Vintage Baseball Tournament
The 12th Annual Copper City Classic Vintage Base Ball Tournament at Warren Ball Park in Bisbee, Arizona.
- Saturday, April 1st and Sunday, April 2nd
- Gates open both days at 10 A.M. and games will be played all day long.
- Tickets for the event are available at $10 for a one-day ticket, and $15 for a two-day ticket.
- Kids aged 12 and under are free with an adult ticket.
- Active military and DOD employees can also enjoy the event for free with their ID.
- Proceeds from the event will go towards Warren Ball Park restoration.
Don't miss this opportunity to enjoy vintage baseball in a beautiful setting and support a good cause.
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Your Vote Matters!
Every vote counts. Together, we can make a difference in our communities and our country. Visit Vote.gov to begin the voter registration process. Select your state or territory. Depending on its rules, you will find instructions on how to register online, by mail, or in person at your local election office.
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U.S. Mint redefining what freedom looks like
The Maya Angelou quarter is the first U.S. coin minted to honor a Black woman. The new Maya Angelou quarter is more than just a 25-cent piece of U.S. currency: The coin is helping to redefine what freedom looks like in America. The Maya quarter launched in January 2022. Check if you have at least one!
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Women of color fought to secure the right to vote in 1920, just prior to the elections!
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, which allowed women to vote in the presidential election that year.
The suffrage movement, although it included women of color, the 19th Amendment discriminated against women of color. The movement, especially in New York City, had support from a diverse array of women of color. One of those women was Sara J.S. Garnet, who, in the late 1880s, organized the Equal Suffrage League and inspired the vote through the National Association of Colored Women. Mabel Lee lead a parade down Fifth Avenue in New York City with a large group of Chinese and Chinese- American women to support the vote for minority women.
White suffragist in New York and around the U.S. often made African American or Negro women suffragists march at the back of parades or banned including them completely! It was more than a year after the passing of the 19th Amendment that African American women were allowed to vote or run for political office in the state of New York while other states passed laws that prevented African American women from voting. There was still a battle for Asian and Indigenous women who were not allowed to vote until 1924 (Native women) or 1950 (Asian women) due to federal citizenship laws.
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First African American woman commentator for the NBA All-Star Game
Former Chicago Sky WNBA Player Candace Parker is the first African American woman commentator for the NBA All-Star Game. Parker helped lead her hometown team, Chicago Sky, to the WNBA title in 2021. But as free agent this year, she signed with the Las Vegas Aces.
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Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT) Award Winner
Viola Davis is now an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award) winner! She won a Grammy for the audiobook of her memoir “Finding Me” a salute to her life. Viola won an Emmy for her role in “How to Get Away with Murder,” an Oscar for “Fences,” and two Tony awards for “King Hedley III” and “Fences.”
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Join our team of volunteers!
Join the effort to preserve African American history and culture in Southern Arizona. AAMSAZ welcomes volunteers with diverse skillsets. No matter what your abilities are, we are committed to finding meaningful ways for you to contribute. Please contact us at AAMuseumofSouthernAZ@gmail.com to learn how you can volunteer and for more information on volunteer training sessions.
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We love hearing from you!
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Gifts in any amount are always welcomed. Please use our easy and secure online giving site.
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Do you have a legacy story or an oral history to share? How about an African American or Black collection that you want to donate to AAMSAZ? Let's connect. Please email us and let us know at AAMuseumofSouthernAZ@gmail.com.
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Email us to join the AAMSAZ newsletter email list.
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