Flagg, Brian

This interview covers the following themes:

• Growing up in the Los Angeles area during the 1960s and 1970, a religious experience at 22, and college.

• Interest in the Catholic Worker Movement and social activism in 1970s.

• Move to Tucson in early 1980s and work at Casa Maria, starting in 1984. Flagg’s interest in social justice, not just social service.

• Catholic Worker communities in the 1970s United States.

• Activism with Casa Maria: Protesting Cruise Missiles at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, protesting for the University of Arizona to divest from South Africa. Collaborating with the Primavera Foundation to bring homeless members onto the board of the Southern Arizona Coalition for the Homeless.

• Casa Maria history, homelessness in the 1980s, and the relationship between Casa Maria and the Diocese of Tucson.

• Casa Maria’s role in its South Tucson neighborhood and the shift from protest to neighborhood organization.

• A detailed description of the Southern Arizona Coalition for the Homeless’ response to homeless members and Flagg’s interest in jobs programs.

• The Sanctuary movement in the 1980s, church activism, and the connections between Central America and Tucson.

• Increasing hopelessness in the 1990s and 2000s and trying to advocate for neighborhood issues: public education, crime prevention, public transit fares, preserving community from gentrification.

The interview was recorded at Casa Maria in Tucson, Arizona on July 13th, 2017.