The Solutions-Focused Book Club was created to bring together interested community members from all walks of life to bond over a shared desire to make our community better for all – and be inspired by a shared reading experience!
The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona is proud to partner with the Tucson Tome Gnome and Tucson Spotlight to host these book clubs to bring together the community and spark conversation. We can’t promise we can solve all the world’s (or Southern Arizona’s) problems, but we can connect, learn from each other, and build momentum toward positive change.
Are you a reader who cares about building a vibrant and equitable community in Southern Arizona? If so, this book club is for you!
About the Event
Join us on November 6, 2024, for a special Solutions-Focused Community Book Club meeting where we will discuss The Stonewall Reader edited by New York Public Library.
In addition to our traditional book club discussion, this meeting will also feature a panel discussion with local experts including Paul Valdez, Colette Barajas, and Monica Jones. The panel will be moderated by Vera Minot.
When: November 6, 2024 | 5:30 to 7:30 PM MST
Where: Community Foundation Campus
Book: The Stonewall Reader edited by New York Public Library
Light refreshments will be provided.
About the Book: The Stonewall Reader edited by New York Public Library
June 28, 2019, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, which is considered the most significant event in the gay liberation movement, and the catalyst for the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United States. Drawing from the New York Public Library’s archives, The Stonewall Reader is a collection of first accounts, diaries, periodic literature, and articles from LGBTQ magazines and newspapers that documented both the years leading up to and the years following the riots. Most importantly the anthology spotlights both iconic activists who were pivotal in the movement, such as Sylvia Rivera, co-founder of Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (STAR), as well as forgotten figures like Ernestine Eckstein, one of the few out, African American, lesbian activists in the 1960s. The anthology focuses on the events of 1969, the five years before, and the five years after. Jason Baumann, the NYPL coordinator of humanities and LGBTQ collections, has edited and introduced the volume to coincide with the NYPL exhibition he has curated on the Stonewall uprising and gay liberation movement of 1969.
About the Panel
Vera Minot is the Creative Director for, and part owner of, Southwest Solutions – an award-winning marketing materials company. She is a heart-first professional who’s known for her creativity, aversion to small talk, and appreciation of good vocabulary and clever marketing materials. She studied Linguistics and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona, and after stints in a variety of industries that converged into a unique perspective on business and humans, she joined the team at SWS. She never knew she’d love her industry so much, but every business or organization has a unique brand story to tell, and when she realized promotional products & custom apparel don’t have to be boring (nor do they have to be straight-to-the-trash-swag) she was hooked! In her free time, Vera serves as the President of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce (AKA the Gaymber)- cultivating a safe space for queer folks in business as well as a space of learning for allies, who are tremendously important to the LGBTQIA+ community. She believes Inclusive Business is Good Business, and because she knows the LGBTQIA+ community is a vital part of America as business owners, employers, employees, and consumers, she works tirelessly to support our local LGBTQ+ and allied business community. When she doesn’t have her SWS or Gaymber hats on, you’ll find her being active, tending to too many houseplants, reading, and hanging out with her wife and their cats.
Paul Valdez brings a wealth of experience in higher education to his role as Associate Director. He oversees all operations and management of programs, services, and resources that empower students on their entrepreneurial journeys.
Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Paul cultivated a diverse background in student affairs. His experience spans areas like campus programming, faculty development, residential life, Honors programs, civic engagement, and community-based learning. Most notably, he served as Associate Director of the Bowling Green State University Center for Public Impact (2014-2021). In this role, he led faculty development for community-based learning initiatives, built and managed the nationally recognized BGSU Votes student program, and fostered strong campus partnerships.
A product of a military family, Paul’s childhood was filled with adventure across Arizona, Wyoming, Florida, and Colorado. He eventually landed in Ohio, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Paleontology from Bowling Green State University in 2004. Following a career shift, he went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Indiana University in 2007.
Beyond the University, Paul is actively engaged in the Tucson community. He contributes to the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund as an advisory board member and enjoys staying active as an avid kickball player and hiker.
For over thirty years, as Broker and Owner of Centra Realty, Colette Barajas has been instrumental in promoting and facilitating LGBTQ homeownership in Arizona. She has professionally and expertly aided businesses and individuals in the journey to purchase land and real estate; commercial, income and residential. She is a person who believes strongly in property ownership as one of the cornerstone foundational rights of our country. She has tirelessly worked to see thousands in the LGBTQ community successfully purchase land and real property. She believes property ownership strengthens community and gives people roots to thrive.
Colette owned Colette’s West an iconic Tucson Bar that welcomed all from the LGBTQ community and straight allies. Colette’s bar provided a safe place for a marginalized community to meet friends, network and socialize. The 80’s and 90’s LGBTQ bars were often places where persecuted people could go and feel safe. The LGBTQ community grass roots political movements and activism ideals where born in community bars. Colette’s Bars were often meeting places where pride events were planned, where people debated who was the best candidate to vote for and friendships were started.
Colette has continued her LGBTQ community work into mainstream society by marching in parades, supporting community events, championing LGBTQ charities and organizations all while promoting political candidates who believe in equal rights for LGBTQ people. She is always a proud proponent for LGBTQ rights and continues to tirelessly work towards the goal of LGBTQ equality and acceptance.
Monica Jones is the founder and CEO of The Outlaw Project, an organization based on the principles of intersectionality to prioritize the leadership of people of color, transgender women, gender non-binary people and migrants for sex worker rights. Monica is the recipient of the SPARK! Authentic Life Award in 2015, was honored as one of the Trans 100 in 2015 and received the Diversity Advisory Committee of Phoenix College Award in 2012. She also brought the issue of profiling of black transwomen to national attention after she was arrested under Arizona’s discriminatory “manifesting prostitution” law, which she fought and won. Monica has presented at universities across the United States introducing students of all levels to key issues relating to transgender experience, rights, sex worker rights, workers’ rights, gender justice, the law and social work.