Photojournalist, columnist and public speaker Robert Azzi will be speaking in Powell, Cody and Billings next week. He will lead a series of community conversations on American history, tolerance and interfaith dialog.

At Northwest College on Monday, Azzi will present “President Jefferson’s Qur’an: Muslims in America from 1619-2019.” The presentation begins at 7 p.m. in Fagerberg Building, Room 70, and Azzi will outline America’s historical engagement with Islam and Muslims from 1619 to 2019.

His presentation tracks the path American Muslims have followed from slavery to Olympic medalists, from cultural icons to terrorists, from millworkers to entrepreneurs and Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

An Arab American Muslim, Azzi writes about issues such as identity, conflict and Islam.

Born in New Hampshire, he’s lived in Beirut, Cairo, Athens, Jeddah and New York. Although he returned to New Hampshire in the late 1980s, he continues to travel to visit and work in the Middle East.

As a photojournalist, his work appeared frequently in such publications as Life, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Fortune and other domestic and international publications.

His career as a photojournalist will be shared with NWC photo students on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Thursday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. in Fagerberg Building, Room 62.

On the evening of Thursday, Sept. 26, he will present “Telling the Stories of The Other: Reclaiming Authentic Voices,” beginning at 7 p.m. at Heart Mountain Interpretive Center.

The talk will explore American history from a new perspective, through the words of the exploited or oppressed. The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and Wyoming Rising are hosting the community conversation.

In his program at Heart Mountain, Azzi will highlight voices  of “the other” throughout American history. For too long, Azzi said, the story of America has been told solely by those in power.

“We ignore the voices of the victims, the exploited, and the colonized,” Azzi said. “We ignore the voices coming from the children of the victims of both our successes and injustices. We ignore the voices that challenge our conventional biases and asymmetries of power. It is time to listen.”

All programs are free and open to the public.

Dr. Nicholas Morris formerly of Powell, a longtime friend of Azzi’s, was instrumental in bringing him to Wyoming to speak. Morris said Azzi’s talks are important in giving voice to groups that have historically been silenced.

“Through his writing, speaking, and photography, Robert Azzi is an undaunted champion of ‘the other’ — those marginalized, disenfranchised, and otherwise treated as unequal,” Morris said.

Azzi is frequently invited to speak to schools, libraries and civic and religious groups; he welcomes invitations to encourage tolerance, understanding and interfaith dialogue.

“People don’t know what they don’t know,” Azzi tells his audience. “I want to open up new perspectives for my readers — especially for those who don’t often agree with me — and expose them to points of view I believe are important and which they might not have previously considered.”

He’s been a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University and has also served terms as a member of the Leadership Council of the Harvard Divinity School and as an adviser to Tufts University’s Fletcher School committee on Islam and Southwest Asia.

He currently lives in Exeter, New Hampshire, where he regularly writes columns for a variety of prominent publications.

Monday’s event at NWC is sponsored by the college’s Office of Intercultural Programs. For more information, contact Intercultural Program Manager Amanda Enriquez at Amanda.Enriquez@nwc.edu or 307-754-6424.

For more information about Heart Mountain Interpretive Center or Azzi’s talk on Sept. 26, call 307-754-8000 or visit www.heartmountain.org.