About the African American Advisory Committee (AAAC) of Tempe History Museum

In 2008, Edward Smith worked with the City of Tempe to form the African American Advisory Group (now: Committee) as an advisory committee to Tempe History Museum. Its purpose continues as a way "to create a forum, to collect and preserve the African American history of Tempe, and to promote those stories for the benefit of the community of Tempe." The group's first task was to complete oral histories to document the stories of African Americans in Tempe. The committee worked with museum staff to create a book on Tempe's African American history that was distributed to all Tempe Schools. This information was incorporated into the museum's permanent exhibitions and the AAAC continues to advise staff of elements within the exhibits. 

AAAC meets monthly to plan events for Black History Month and Juneteenth. The group has formed a book club and hosts "Community Chats" which are forums to discuss topics of interest and importance to the African American community of Tempe. 

The committee endeavors to support issues important to the Black community such as keeping harmful substances out of the hands of children. This resolution was passed at the December 2022 meeting in support of a comprehensive ordinance to end the sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products within the City of Tempe. 

If you are interested in visiting or joining the committee, please contact the museum at 480-350-5100 for the current schedule of meetings and events. Members of the committee must live or work in Tempe and be committed to advancing the mission of the committee.

2023 AAAC Committee Members

_{Left to right: Pastor Brenda Valdez, Lisa Groom, Kim Dartez, Ahmad Daniels, Dr. Felicia Durden, Yvonne Rich, JoAn Cooks, Vera Brooks (Founding Member), Robert Brooks (Founding Member), Willie Mae Crosby, Willetta Mitchell.
Not pictured: Michelle Weil, Dr. Johannah Uriri-Glover, Paula Johnson Hutchinson}

African American History in Tempe

African Americans have contributed to the community of Tempe since the early historic settlement period. Pioneer settler Mary Green was in the area around Tempe in the late 19th century. In the 1920s the Tempe Normal School (now ASU) admitted African American students. Yet African Americans were often omitted from early official historical records. They were also noticeably absent from school textbooks and published histories. The story of African American history in Tempe is one of perseverance for freedom and progress.

The African American Experience in Tempe Booklet

In 2013, Tempe History Museum and the African American Advisory Committee published a booklet titled The African American Experience in Tempe (TAAET). It was published with a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council (now called Arizona Humanities).

Hard copies of the booklet are available for purchase in the Tempe History Museum Store, or this accessible pdf of the TAAET booklet is reader-enabled. 

The African American Experience in Tempe Exhibit

A panel exhibit featuring information and images from the TAAET booklet book was created. 

Explore the African American Experience in Tempe exhibit. 

 

Oral Histories

In 1970, members of the Tempe Historical Society began taping interviews with some of the oldest long-time residents of Tempe. This effort to preserve the community's remembered history continues today. Volunteers and interns at the Tempe history Museum have conducted over 300 recorded interviews to date, and most of these have been fully transcribed. The originals are kept in the Tempe History Museum research library and are available for research by appointment.

Gus Edwards

Excerpt: “I have said to ethnic students, Latinos and stuff, when we talk about the changes, “If you really want to see change, you have to take over this university.” And what I meant, I didn’t mean armed resistance or rebellion; I meant study, become presidents, become provosts, become vice presidents. And I suspect in the future, that’s what we will see. We will see a Latino, we’ll see a Native American, who will be president of ASU, that sort of thing. We’re seeing the possibility of an African-American President (of the U.S.), and things move very quickly in the country, and I think that’s a healthy thing for America. And those are the good things that I see.” -Gus Edwards
Read the oral history of playwright and ASU professor, Gus Edwards.

Ken Hollin

Excerpt: “So I went out there to teach because she wanted to throw some diversity out at Saguaro HS, so that’s where I did my teaching. And really, it was fun. And I was teaching a Social Studies type class, and I remember my supervising teacher - he was there for the first class - and then after that he said, okay you’re really on your own ... he never really came back in. So, I did what I wanted to do. And I brought in some books, my own books, that I wanted kids to read to do for book reports. And it was like “Soul on Ice”, “Malcolm X”, all these, you know, Chicago 6 ... 8, whatever it is. All these radical type books, I brought in. And these kids ate it up, did reports on them and stuff.” -Ken Hollin

Read the oral history of ASU Faculty and first African-American Student Body President in the State of Arizona, Ken Hollin.

Gene Grigsby

Excerpt: “[W]e were the first black family to move north of Van Buren Street. Before then, blacks were relegated to places in South Phoenix mainly.” -Gene Grigsby
Read the oral history of inspirational artist and educator from Arizona State University (ASU), Gene Grigsby.

 Walt Richardson

Excerpt: “I think one of my most favorite stories is, there was a drummer who was from Crosby Stills & Nash, who was playing music with Hans Olson, and Hans Olson was playing at Chuy’s in downtown Tempe. And I’m trying to think of his name, I can’t remember it, it might come up to me as I’m telling this story. But anyway, he had a little motorcycle that had a sidecar. And this guy was known for his craziness. 

 

One day he was standing outside, and I said, “Man, that’s a nice bike you got right there; I love the sidecar.” He says, “You want to go for a ride?” And I said, “Yes.” And I got in that thing, and I’m telling you, we were zipping around all the little streets in Tempe—and back at that time, there was a lot of them—we were zipping around these back neighborhoods and little offroad areas and things like this; it was crazy. We got back to the club and I said, “You know what, note to self, I’ll never do anything that crazy.” His name was Dallas Taylor, that’s what it was, Dallas Taylor. But I said, “No, no, no, no more craziness with Dallas.”- Walt Richardson

Read the oral history of beloved local musician, Walt Richardson

View the full image of Walt Richardson at Long Wong's circa 1990 in eMuseum  

African American Advisory Committee Book Club

Please join us next season for the AAAC's 2026-2027 season of Book Club starting in August! We welcome all participants to this book club series that meets once a month to discuss books written by Black authors. 

Find a copy of the book at your local bookstore or library and plan to join us via Zoom. To get the Book Club Zoom link and reminders about sessions, please send an email to museum@tempe.gov to indicate your interest. 

To get the Book Club Zoom link and reminders about sessions, please send an email to museum@tempe.gov to indicate your interest.

Check back in December for details about Black History Month 2027.

Community Chats

When Memory Changes: What to Know, What to Do 

6 p.m.

Wednesday, August 5

Join the African American Advisory Committee for an informative and engaging talk on memory, aging, and caregiving. Understand that memory changes with age and learn what signs to watch for. Dr. Abigail Gómez-Morales will share practical information for caregivers and discuss programs that support caregivers and people living with cognitive decline. 

13th Annual Juneteenth Celebration

11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Saturday, June 20

The African American Advisory Committee presents the 13th Annual Juneteenth Celebration to educate the community and celebrate freedom from enslavement in the United States. The celebration will be held at the Tempe History Museum, 809 E Southern Avenue, Tempe. This free, family-friendly event will include hands-on activities, performances, community resources, story time, Police and Fire vehicles, food trucks and more! 

JoAn Cooks

Myrale JoAn Cooks was born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and graduated from JFK Memorial High School in her hometown. She enrolled in Harris Teachers College in St. Louis for a year. Friends there introduced her to her husband-to-be, Charles E. Cooks.

JoAn earned a bachelor’s degree in clothing and textiles in business from Arizona State University, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University. She also holds a certificate in Visions Career Development from Maricopa Community Colleges.

JoAn worked as an advertising coordinator for the Phoenix-area Cloth World stores and worked as a Store Manager for Uptown Plaza Cloth World. Later, she taught clothing construction at South Mountain Community College. She took a full-time job in the childcare center at Mesa Community College to gain experience working with young children. JoAn built her career at Mesa Community College working in the childcare center, the Student Activities Office, and the Adult Re-Entry Program. She then transitioned to the Academic Advisement Center where she spent the remainder of her career.

For two years, JoAn was secretary of the East Valley NAACP under the leadership of then-president, Rev. Helen Hunter. Additionally, she was vice president of the East Valley’s family support group of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). At Mesa Community College, she was club adviser for the African American Unity Coalition and was honored as the Club Adviser of the Year.

JoAn spent more than 15 years as a pianist at Holy Trinity A.M.E. Church. The church honored her with awards for excellence in lay pastoral work in 2010 and again in 2020.  In 2017, she traveled to Thailand to provide a vacation bible program for children whose parents were attending the East Asia Pacific Conference. The NAACP recognized her for her participation in the 2008 African American Youth Leadership Conference. She was named Woman of the Year at Holy Trinity in 2009.

JoAn is a current board member of the Tempe History Society and has served in various roles in the African American community, including as chairwoman of the museum's African American Advisory Committee. 

Past AAAC Book Club Discussion Recordings

Recordings link to YouTube unless otherwise noted. 

2023

Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, and Little-Known Stories From History by Tricia Martineau Wagner (Oct-Nov 2023)

The African American Experience in Tempe by Jared Smith (Aug-Sep 2023)

9/27 African American Experience ... recording. [Coming Soon]
8/23 African American Experience ... recording. [Run time: 1 h, 2m]

Diva 2.0: 12 Life Lessons From Me For You! by Sheryl Lee Ralph (May 2023)

5/24 Diva 2.0 ... recording [Run time: 59 m]

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (March-April 2023)

3/29 Song of Solomon recording [Run time: 1 h, 4 m]
4/26 Song of Solomon recording [Run time: 44 m]

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama (Jan-Feb 2023)

1/25 The Light We Carry recording [Run time: 1 h, 4 m]
2/22 The Light We Carry recording [Run time: 1h, 8 m]

2022

Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou (Nov-Dec 2022)

11/30 Letter to My Daughter recording [Run time: 52 m]
12/28 Letter to My Daughter recording [Run time: 46 m]

Isn't Her Grace Amazing! The Women Who Changed Gospel Music by Cheryl Wills (Aug-Oct 2022)

8/31 Isn't Her Grace Amazing! ... recording [Run time: 45 m]
9/21 Isn't Her Grace Amazing! ... recording [Run time: 58 m]
10/26 Isn't Her Grace Amazing! ... recording [Unavailable]

Will by Will Smith (May 2022)

5/26 Will recording [Run time: 58 min.]

It's Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan (April 2022)

4/28 It's Not All Downhill From Here recording [Run time: 52 m]

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (March 2022)

3/24 A Raisin in the Sun recording [Run time: 1 h, 3 m]

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Jan-Feb 2022)

1/27 The Underground Railroad recording [Run time: 37 m]
2/24 The Underground Railroad recording [Run time: 46 m]

2021

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Oct-Nov 2021)

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston (Aug-Sep 2021)

Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson (May-June 2021)

A Promised Land (APL) by Barack Obama (Jan-Apr 2021)

2023 Black History Month Events

Tempe History Society Lunch Talks

"Overcoming: Growing Up in the South" by Rosemary James
Wednesday, Feb. 8 

Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his or her goals----Dorothy Height 

What is it like to grow up in the south as a black person? Come along with me as I take you on an abbreviated, firsthand experience of my life in the south during the forties, fifties, and the Civil Rights era.  You will surely leave this talk saying, “It was as if I had been there.” You may even be changed a bit if you open yourself up to what you hear. Watch the recorded talk on Tempe History Society's Facebook. [Run time: 1 hr 41 min]

Pre-2023 Black History Month Events

Did You Know? Presents S.T.E.M.

AAAC's Yvonne Rich highlights African American S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) innovators who pioneered the devices, technologies and treatments that we still use today.

Watch "Did You Know? Presents S.T.E.M." trivia. on the Tempe11 YouTube channel. View the mobile S.T.E.M. exhibit.

2022 Faith in Action Prayer Breakfast

Watch the FB recording of the Feb 2022 FIA event [Run time: 2hr 20min]

2021 Faith in Action Prayer Breakfast

Watch the FB recording of the Feb 2021 FAI event [Run time: 1hr]

Past Community Chats

Recordings and videos link to YouTube unless otherwise noted. 

Presenter Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed., is a transformation facilitator and life coach. He has more than thirty years’ experience in community outreach programs, diversity training and African American History. Ahmad is the founder of Creative Interchange, an organization whose mission is to enhance personal and community social capital through changed philosophies, personal empowerment and self-actualization. 

The Life of Paul Robeson as told by DL White

DL White shares his memorabilia and insight on the legacy and life of the great Paul Robeson. Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American concert artist and stage and film actor who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and political activism.  

On Juneteenth, Valley residents share history of African Americans in Arizona

Historical Trauma's Impact on African Americans

Presented by Ahmad Daniels
Watch "Historical Trauma's Impact ..." recording [Run time: 1h 9min]

What Can White People Do?

The conversation between Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed. and Pastor David Felten is one we all need to be having right now about racial injustice. Daniels and Felten discuss White fragility and the importance of honest, open communication between White people and People of Color (POC). They pose the question White people should be asking themselves “What does it feel like being White?” to help them find humility, humanity, and a willingness to have often difficult and uncomfortable dialogues about race.

Past Juneteenth Events

2022 Juneteenth Celebration
The June 18, 2022 Juneteenth Celebration saw the return of a fully in-person event - the first since 2019. Below is a list of event highlights: