Join us for a community conversation and learn about the rich history of African-Americans in Tucson from panelists Debi Chess, Barbara Lewis, Sadie Shaw, Tani D. Sanchez, and Gloria L. Smith. Topics will include the history of the Dunbar School, the Sugar Hill Neighborhood, local Black women's organizations, Juneteenth celebrations on A Mountain, and Cowtown Keeylocko. Moderated by league member Victor Bowleg with a Q&A following the presentations. Free and open to the public.
There is no registration required. There are two options for participating in the event live. An edited version will also be on our Youtube channel later.
1. Click on this Zoom link on Saturday, April 17th at 10:00am PST to attend the webinar (be sure you are signed into your Zoom account first):
2. Or stream live on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lwvgreatertucson. You will be able to submit questions in the comments of the live video.
Debi Chess
Ms. Debi Chess is Interim Executive Director of The Dunbar Pavilion, and has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit program development, including arts-based economic development and youth development. She is also the Community Impact Fellow and Director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the University of Arizona, in the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Title IX. Ms. Chess was Executive Director of the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, and a founding member of the Tucson Black Film Club. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Wright State University, and her Master’s Degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois. Ms. Chess will join with panelist Ms. Barbara Lewis to discuss the evolution of the Dunbar School (now The Dunbar Pavilion), its lasting impact on the neighborhood and the wider Tucson community, and the merger of the Dunbar and Spring neighborhoods.
Barbara Lewis
Ms. Barbara Lewis has lived in Tucson from the age of 18-months, when the population was only 36,000, and therefore considers herself a native. As a child she attended the segregated Paul Laurence Dunbar School, the only school in Tucson that was constructed in support of racial segregation. Ms. Lewis also attended Tucson High School (1952-1955) and the University of Arizona (1956-1961). She is currently retired and an active member of the Dunbar Coalition of Board of Directors, the Tucson Black Film Club, and the Minority Outreach Program of the Sarver Community Coalition for Heart Health Education. She supports many that she feels are the “good causes,” and believes that Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. (-J.W.Goethe) Ms. Lewis will join with panelist Ms. Debi Chess to discuss how the Dunbar School was transformed into a community treasure: The Dunbar Pavilion, An African American Arts and Culture Center.
Sadie Shaw
Ms. Sadie Shaw is a member of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board, only the second African American in its history. She is an artist, art instructor, community organizer, and activist, with family roots in Tucson’s historic Sugar Hill neighborhood. Ms. Shaw serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of both The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, and the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson. As the President of the Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association, her accomplishments led to being nominated to the City of Tucson’s Public Art and Community Design Committee. Ms. Shaw earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Art and Visual Culture Education from the University of Arizona. She will discuss how her passion for art and community engagement resulted in creating the Sugar Hill Oral History Project, collecting and archiving the histories and original family stories of generations of Sugar Hill residents.
Tani D. Sanchez, Ph.D.
Dr.Tani Sanchez is Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona, and author of Didn’t Come From Nothing: An African American Story of Life. Her primary interests are racial representations in the media, and African American history and culture. Dr. Sanchez was the first president of the Tucson chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, former State President of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, and is a member of the Tucson Black Film Club and the Women’s Progressive and Civic Club. Her professional background include experience as a journalist, radio news host, newspaper editor, and serving in the U.S. Army and the Arizona National Guard. Dr. Sanchez holds a Doctorate Degree in Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies, and a Master’s Degree focused on visual culture and art history. She will present a discussion of the rich cultural history of Black women’s organizations in Tucson.
Gloria L. Smith
Ms. Gloria Smith is an author, historian, former lecturer in the University of Arizona African American Studies program, and founder of the Tucson Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. She was Project Director and writer of the six-part “Tell Us About” film series for Cox Cable Public Television, sponsored by the University of Arizona Black Studies Program and funded by a grant from Cox Cable. As a member of the Arizona Humanities Council Speakers Bureau, Ms. Smith toured the country lecturing on such historical topics as The Buffalo Soldiers of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. She also did extensive scholarly research on the novelist Margaret Campbell, who was the first African American woman in Arizona to publish a book. Ms. Smith previously had her own small business for African American historical tours of Tucson, and will share her unique version of “A Personal Tour of Tucson Black History.”