(Tom) This week on Arizona Illustrated, Camp Naco, a historic Buffalo Soldier base near the border, inspires a new generation of architects.

(Molly) Seeing how traditionally it was made, there's a connection to the buildings that we see around us when you really get your hands in there and see the materials they were constructed with.

(Tom) International artist Hanoch Piven teaches collage and compassion in a Tucson workshop.

(Hanoch) Did I create healing?

Probably not, but I created energy that allowed for expression.

(Tom) And how a local story hour got caught in the crosshairs of a political conflict.

(Ms Michelle) It's not ideal for us to constantly face protesters and harassment.

I did try to do a drag story hour with my public library, but it was deemed at us too controversial.

Welcome at last.

(Tom) Hello and welcome to Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

One of the most endangered historic sites in the U.S. is Camp Naco.

It's located between Bisbee and the border with Mexico.

The camp was built for African American Buffalo Soldiers in the early 1900s.

Well now it's inspiring a new generation of architects from all around the country, and we join them to learn more.

[ CAR PASSING BY ] ♪ MELODIC GUITAR ♪ [ CHATTING ] (Milan) My name's Milan Jordan.

I'm director of the HOPE Crew Program for The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

♪ EMOTIONAL VIOLIN ♪ HOPE Crew is an acronym that stands for Hands-On Preservation Experience.

We were born 10 years ago to help repopulate the preservation trades.

We do projects all around the country where we do short two to six week trades experiences.

[ DRONE BUZZING ] The program has evolved over the years to include more documentation training.

So we've been engaging architecture students to help them get a better grip on the preservation trades and to sort of see with the crosshairs between architecture and preservation line.

-So are you taking a break?

[ SHOVELING DIRT ] (Kiana) I'm Kiana Wilcher.

I am currently a fourth year architecture student at Tuskegee University, originally from Columbia, South Carolina.

When I first saw the camp, I didn't realize like how much of it was like still here.

Cuz when you think of like dilapidated buildings, most of my version is wood cuz I'm from like the southeast.

So that's what most of our buildings are made of.

So when those are like in disrepair, they're really, really falling down.

But most of this is still here.

You can still see what it would have looked like.

So it's pretty cool to see like okay they have stuff to work with here.

We can do something with this.

People could still use this.

And it was very obvious when you first see it.

(Eric) Take it and pour the water in there.

This year, I think we need a little bit more to make than adobe.

I do adobe preservation, teaching adobe and line plaster workshop.

♪ UPLIFTING STRINGS ♪ We teach our skills to other people.

So that's why I like doing adobe work.

Cuz then we bring back the past and restore the building back to life.

-I'm gonna smack it on the ground so that I can tap, tap, tap.

-There you go guys.

(Eric) Cuz when they built these buildings, they built them with a lot of hard work.

And they took time and effort.

And for us to come back and restore it, it gives us a great sense of pride to do that.

So we enjoy what we do.

(Milan) Camp Naco came onto our radar last year.

It was one of the 11 most endangered places, which is a national advocacy campaign that the National Trust puts out annually.

We thought that it was a really unique lens on race and place and a really unique site.

One common pitfall of historic sites, which enables them to become very endangered is vacancy.

And so this site has been vacant since the 90s and it saw a very rapid decline since then.

So it's really important to revi to get them used again, loved, maintained by the community.

So that was how we came about the site and we thought the students could he to get it used by the community again.

(Nader) My name is Nader and my last name is Zakersoltani I'm a master's student in architecture in Morgan State University.

I'm from Iran originally and I'm bachelor in architecture and master in restoration and rehabilitation of historic building and sites.

I migrated to United States about three years ago.

And after a while, I decided to update my knowledge about the US architecture and another master in architecture.

In this fellowship, I learned a lot about the history of Southern Arizona, about the Camp Naco, and I found out how it's important, Camp Naco for this area and about the mining and everything in this area.

(Molly) Molly Baker, I am the Hope Crew Manager for The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Our goal is to bring preservation trades and preservation opportunities to a younger and more diverse audience.

There's so much to learn through the methods that these buildings were constructed.

- So they put like multiple reinforcements (Molly) By walking through them and seeing what their uses were, even the building elements, I'm a Mason's daughter and I'm getting to try my hand at adobe for the first time and seeing how traditionally it was made, there's a connection to the buildings that we see around us when you really get your hands in there and see the materials they were constructed with and it ties us to our past in a way, we get to feel a connection to the original builders, to the people that walked this site and (Adia-Simone) Originally I'm fro but I currently reside in West Palm Beach, Florida and I'm attending Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida I think the biggest thing about knowing what the camp was made for, the Buffalo Soldiers, how they resided here and the connection to the U.S.-Mexico border as well, has definitely had an eerie impact I guess you can say on me, actually being on the site is different than just hearing about the site, so it's definitely been an experience and we're definitely learning more history that I didn't even know and now later on when I go back to school I can start sharing that information and also maybe someone in the field that I'm working in will know that information and I can also add on to it.

(R.Brooks) We want to create a generation of ambassadors to be able to go out and tell the story of Camp Naco but also tell the story of the values behind Camp Naco, it's not just about the bricks and mortar, it's about the values of preserving a heritage that has really been underrepresented and this is our opportunity to do that with the next generation.

(Milan) I hope they take away fr of preservation and existing buildings.

There's a billings index that gets published each year and for the first time a year or two ago architects were billing more hours towards existing buildings than they were towards new construction.

So it's important for architectu even if they don't go into preservation, even if they don't call themselves a preservationist, that they understand historic and existing buildings because it's going to be a part of their career regardless.

[MUD SLAPS] (Kiana) After I get my architecture degree I do plan to get a license and then get a master's after that and so mostly what I want to do with my degree is kind of what people are doing here just making spaces that mean something to people that are important for the people that are there and that will last for them.

That's my main goal as an architect is to just build things for people and necessarily just make stuff.

(Adia-Simone) Working with adobe, you know, lime, cactus leaves, it's definitely different for me I'm an outdoor girl at all, It's been enjoyable and fun because of the people that you're also with, it's been diff [ LAUGHTER ] ♪ GUITAR FADES ♪ (Tom) The international artist Hanoch Piven's unique approach to collage turns everyday objects into vibrant, expressive portraits.

He recently held some workshops here in Tucson inspiring people to learn how to treat each other with greater empathy and compassion in an often divided world.

♪ CALM PIANO ♪ (Hanoch) Many times I've heard people saying, you know since I did your workshop, I see faces all the time.

And when I see faces, I'm reminded that I should try more to see things in a different way.

♪ SLOW LO-FI MUSIC ♪ (Anat) First, I recognize his style.

So I was looking, it's like, "Oh, that's Piven.".

You like it immediately because it's playful.

There's something there that plays with you, right?

Be it Barack Obama or Einstein, Freud.

But how did it make it?

It's a game, right?

It calls you to kind of, let's have a dialogue.

(Hanoch) This is, I think, my fourth day in Tucson, and I was very lucky to spend three days here before I started to work.

(Anat) The workshop is very simple, right?

It just gives an introduction.

- We are going to be using art only as the tool through which we communicate.

- Go find your own voice or your own journey to create a portrait.

Kind of the fiesta starts.

(Hanoch) Choose just three objects, okay?

- I got some long directors, a marble.

- I tell them, "Don't worry, you don't have to create or be creative.

Just pick an object that tells something about you.".

And then the person created a metaphor.

So they're already being creative, and then they're really proud.

And then the person that five minutes earlier told me, "I'm not creative,", is really proud of her metaphor or his metaphor.

He said, "No, no, look, look how this object symbolizes something."

At the center of each table, you have objects that represent your strengths, challenges that each one of you have met, and dreams that you have for your community.

First of all, the power of the workshop is that within a minute, it manages to get people that said they're not creative to be engaged in using art to talk about themselves.

Or maybe see if this could help you, maybe write it under the hair there, or something like that.

Art is first and foremost a means of communication.

The caveman that made the cave painting, we're trying to communicate something.

It's a medium that allows us to be together, to collaborate, to laugh together.

So it's in itself a warm medium that brings something else in the human behavior.

Over the years, I've created workshops for families.

Sometimes they might disagree, but within the little board of the art creation, they find ways of getting along.

I've created workshops in which Palestinians and Israelis work together, Jews and Arabs in Israel.

They somehow were friends, and they created something that allowed to represent one narrative and another narrative as well.

This is a way to look at the world in a fresh way, and not to be dependent on what they tell us all the time.

And part of the conflicts are created by manipulation of the masses, by people that are experts in telling us what to think, telling us how to behave, and the media implants constantly.

And the same happens on the other side.

The two societies have been totally polarized.

(Anat) This is such a dark time that maybe these voices almost cannot be heard.

- Did I create healing?

Probably not.

But I created energy that allowed for expressions.

Art was just there, a service for processing and telling what is unmentionable, maybe with words.

- Wait, now from this one?

(Anat) It's difficult times, but he would keep on doing what he's doing, and he could stay in his studio.

It's his choice of going out there and spreading his talent and point of view in peace right, between Palestinians and Israelis.

In a society that the media was very polarizing and people were speaking with lots of anger and hatred towards the other side, I did not hear that hatred there, I heard truth, I heard human truth of a person that is dealing with the worst thing that could have happened to them, because when you see truth, you feel power, and when you are exposed to lies and to manipulation, you feel weakened.

Really, when we make art or when we observe art, we are free, we are free to think for ourselves.

There is no right or wrong.

There is no punishment.

Creating art many times is in itself an act of resistance, I think the big lesson that I learned making art is that life is more important than art, It's that art is a teaching tool for life, because when you're creating art, you fail, you're confused, you are angry with yourself, you are angry with the world, but if you have faith and continue trying, you learn how to become a better person.

(Tom) In Arizona, Drag Story Hou protests, threats, and even violence.

Now, supporters say it began as an inclusive celebration of self-expression and literacy, but it has increasingly become a political battleground.

So next, we explore the roots of the controversy and what it means to the future of LGBTQ+ representation in our state.

♪ MAGICAL MUSIC ♪ So just to give you an idea of kind of one of the stories that we like to read, I have "Welcome" by Sergio Giovine.

"Babette was a puppy who lived with her mommies.

She had lots of toys to play with, She has a comfy place of her own to sleep.

She was given many hugs, kisses, and treats.

Whenever Babette went for a walk, people would stop to say what a cute dog she was.

Oh, what a cute little girl."

I would have been so happy to have this when I was a kid.

"One morning afte breakfast, Babette went to her favorite pillow to take a nap.

When she got there, she discovered a white puppy sleeping on her comfy pillow.

I felt different from everyone else in the second, third, fourth grade.

I knew I wasn't like the other boys.

Didn't know why.

I didn't know why people were making fun of me, but I knew I was different.

And so that's a big reason why I've done Story Hour, to show not just children, but adults, anyone who comes, that you can be anything.

And it's okay to be anything and everything.

We'll always prioritize spaces for children, because it is children's Story Hour.

We understand that adults need those spaces too.

They didn't have the support when they were younger to be themselves, and now they're healing from that.

"We love you both very much.

said her moms."

Look at that!

(Narrator) Storytelling is essential to the human experience.

From fairy tales to mythology, it's been used to pass down messages, ideas, and beliefs.

But it's also been used as a tool to pass down misinformation for personal and political gain.

PolitiFact, an American nonprofit established in 2007, and other journalist organizations, specialize in fact-checking statements by politicians, candidates, and interest groups.

Their work highlights how misinformation is frequently weaponized by both sides of the political spectrum to influence public opinion.

And these include many false claims about the LGBTQ+ communities.

And this is how Drag Story Hour, an organization which started as a way to promote reading comprehension and identity acceptance to kids, became the focus of an ideological divide.

(News anchor) At the Adams Morgan Community Center in Washington, D.C., recently, parents and their tiny tots sat patiently, riveted by a storybook and its reader.

Drag Story Hour was falsely accused of hosting sexually explicit performances in front of children, resulting in real-world consequences like threats and doxxing.

This video posted online by the Right-Wing Group Turning Point USA shows members confronting an Arizona State University professor, David Boyles, a co-founder of Drag Story Hour.

The clip ends with the professor pushing the camera, portraying him as aggressive.

(Speaker 1) You would like to see a different America exist, where little boys are sodomized by people like you, right?

But another angle from police surveillance footage shows a different context.

Following the attack, ASU President Michael Crow condemned Turning Point and further emphasized the need to protect faculty from their watchlists that claim that these professors discriminate against conservative students.

The two members of Turning Point USA later admitted to assaulting the professor and agreed to enter a diversion program, a form of pretrial sentencing to remedy behavior and allowing them to avoid convictions.

The framing and editing of Turning Point's video were intended to elicit an emotional reaction from viewers, and this provoked threats to groups like Arizona Drag Story Hour who had to adapt for safety.

And for this reason, AZPM could not film a Drag Story Hour reading due to concerns that participants would face threats.

It was about five minutes to start to where we were informed of the bomb threat, and at that moment in time, we needed to keep our audience safe.

I needed to keep my people safe.

We had to regroup and we had to look at the different avenues of safety and security, which we've been doing for the last year.

(Freddy) My partner also volunteers with Drag Story Hour, and last year there were a few months there where things were pretty bad.

Things were very heightened as far as the threats and the harassment and things that we were getting.

And there were times that we would have to discuss, okay, well, do we both go to this event?

What if something happens?

(Narrator) Violence against marginalized communities, LGBTQ+, immigrants, and racial minorities is rising with the increase of hate speech, leaving vulnerable communities at even greater risk.

In 2022, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes surged with reports based on sexual orientation rising by nearly 14%, and those based on gender identity seeing a 33% jump.

Just a year earlier, in 2021, about 16% of hate crimes were targeted due to their sexual orientation.

It's not ideal for us to constantly face protesters and harassment.

I did try to do a drag story hour with my public library, but it was deemed as too controversial.

(Freddy) What I don't think they understand is you can try and get rid of all of these things, but the fact of the matter is, trans individuals have been around since the beginning of time.

In 2023, the Trevor Project surveyed LGBTQ+ youth and found that one-third reported poor mental health due to anti-LGBTQ policies.

In 2024, 530 bills were introduced in the US, including 11 in Arizona.

Although the amendment removed that specific call out to drag shows and drag performances and replaced it with the term sexually explicit, the intent of the bill is still primarily to target drag shows and drag performances.

Madam Chair, the intent of the bill is to explicitly target, if you want to use that language, uh, sexually explicit drag shows and drag show performers.

And again, none of us in here wants to regulate drag shows.

(Narrator) While some drag performances may be sexualized, these are isolated and separated from Drag Story Hour, which focuses primarily on readi With some proponents for Drag Story Hour arguing that legislators will try to conflate sexually explicit content with the work storytellers do and lean on vague legislation for their own motives.

(Ms. Michelle) Having to constan legislation that does not allow us to be our authentic self, that is a very tiring activity.

But once we start to oppress, censor and marginalize other communities, it's just going to make it easier to oppress the next vulnerable community.

(Narrator) This discrimination is intensifying.

The United Nations states that misinformation and hate speech can contaminate our information landscape, threatening social progress.

Yet politicians and interest groups continue to use hateful rhetoric and divi gain support, contributing to an environment where real harm follows.

Things like Drag Story Hour and Pride and anything that has to do with that visibility is so important because kids need to see that there are people out there that are like them.

"Babette was all by herself.

She watched Moby playing with her toys and she felt sad."

We are not just surviving, but we are thriving.

And that life is good, despite the stuff that we kind of have to fight against sometimes.

If I stop doing things because I'm scared, those people win.

That's the time to do it.

That's when things are important, is when things are scary.

When people think of drag, they think of illusion.

When I'm out of drag, I look like a pretty normal person, but I do look completely different.

I change the shape of my face.

Like this, it's where there is transformation, and you know, I don't look like myself anymore.

"...and Moby and Babette were safe in the arms of both moms.

Praise Babette, good girl, Babette, good girl."

(Freddy) Teaching kids that it's okay to be different and visibility is good, inclusivity is good, and literacy is good, literacy, that's all like, just read, reading and reading comprehension.

"She walked over, laid down next to Moby, and they napped, cuddled together on their comfy pillow, and Moby sighed, "Welcome at last."

The end.

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(Speaker) The selflessness of veterans like you who answered our nation's call to serve during World War II defines the true character of our greatest generation.

We remain forever indebted to all those who have worn the uniform and have sacrificed beyond measure for our cherished freedoms.

On behalf of a grateful nation, I send you my best wishes to you on this special day.

Sincerely, Joe Biden.

Without people like Bob, we would not have the country that we have.

(Tom) Thank you for joining us here on Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

We will see you again next week.