Being Black in the Valley

By Matthew C. Whitaker, Ph.D.

"Inspiring, Achieving and Celebrating Inclusion"

Phoenix, Arizona, is the 5th largest city, and Maricopa is the 5th most populous county, in the United States.  Although Black people account for only five percent of the Phoenix Metropolitan area, and seven percent of the Maricopa County population, their Arizona story is dynamic, and characterized by five hundred years of struggle against White supremacy, social isolation, disproportionate arrest and incarceration, political oppression, state sanctioned violence, and economic exploitation and suppression.

It is a harrowing story of resilience, protest, and progress in the face of overwhelming odds.  You will not want to miss this timely assessment of the Black past and present in the Valley of the Sun. Watch “The Work Is Not Done: Being Black in the Valley,” which aired at 7:00PM on Thursday, July 16, 2020.