%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Lucile Berkeley Buchanan http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lucile-berkeley-buchanan <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Lucile Berkeley Buchanan</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3725--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3725.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/lucile-berkeley-buchanan"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Lucile_berkeley_buchanan_0.jpg?itok=kj9HsWxd" width="524" height="654" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/lucile-berkeley-buchanan" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Lucile Berkeley Buchanan</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A renowned educator whose life and teaching inspired generations of Black students, Lucile Berkeley Buchanan was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Colorado-Boulder. After her 1918 graduation, Buchanan taught in public schools across the country until 1949.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-08-09T12:47:40-06:00" title="Tuesday, August 9, 2022 - 12:47" class="datetime">Tue, 08/09/2022 - 12:47</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lucile-berkeley-buchanan" data-a2a-title="Lucile Berkeley Buchanan"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Flucile-berkeley-buchanan&amp;title=Lucile%20Berkeley%20Buchanan"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Lucile Berkeley Buchanan (1884–1989) was a gifted teacher and the first African American to graduate from the State Normal School of Colorado (today, the <strong>University of Northern Colorado</strong> in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/greeley"><strong>Greeley</strong></a>) in 1905. Following graduation, she occasionally worked as a substitute teacher; race-based discrimination prevented her from getting a permanent teaching job. In 1916 she enrolled at the <strong>University of Colorado</strong> in Boulder, and two years later, she became the first Black woman known to have earned a bachelor’s degree there. Determined to become an educator, she took her Colorado teacher training to Arkansas, where she was able to teach in Black schools. She fulfilled her dream of becoming a classroom teacher in Kansas City and Chicago, where she taught in segregated schools.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Lucile Berkeley Buchanan was born in a shed on June 13, 1884, at 120 Platte Street in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, an area locally known as the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte River</strong></a> bottoms. Her parents, James and Sarah Buchanan, were formerly enslaved people from Loudoun County, Virginia, who had arrived with their four children in 1882. Lucile was their first Colorado-born child. Life along the bottoms was rough. The river often flooded, filthy alleys, extreme noise, and dirt from the railroad tracks, and typhoid fever outbreaks were common. Reaching their limits, in 1886, the Buchanans moved to an unfinished property southwest of Denver that Sarah bought for $100 from the circus showman P. T. Barnum.</p> <p>After graduating in June 1901 from Villa Park High School, Lucile enrolled two years later in a teacher-training program at the State Normal School in Greeley. Students there received free tuition if they agreed to teach in public schools after graduation. Lucile had a largely positive experience in Greeley, where she lived with an abolitionist family and was able to participate in the school’s graduation ceremony.</p> <p>When she returned home from Greeley with an associate degree in 1905, Lucile began applying for permanent teaching positions. At every step, her applications were denied. She even applied for a position in Maitland, a coal-mining town in southern Colorado. Her application drew such attention that on July 25, 1905, the <em>Walsenburg World</em> ran an article titled “Colored Teaching Applicant.” Buchanan was rejected. The only positions she could secure were substitute teaching jobs in the few predominantly white schools with Black students.</p> <p>Over the years, Buchanan’s struggle to find a job did not go unnoticed. On June 13, 1908, <strong>Joseph D. D. Rivers</strong>, editor of the<em> Statesman</em>, Denver’s Black newspaper, penned a riveting editorial titled “We Shall Try Again.” It quoted a school board member who had “no objections of Colored teachers in mixed schools but feared the objections of white parents.” <strong>The<em> Rocky Mountain News</em></strong> also ran an article about Buchanan’s dilemma, “One of the Best Colored Girls of the West failed to make a difference.”</p> <h2>Work Outside Colorado</h2> <p>For her part, Buchanan did not dwell on her disappointment. In 1907 she contacted her pastor at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/zion-baptist-church"><strong>Zion Baptist Church</strong></a>, the Reverend John E. Ford, and within days she was offered a full-time teaching position at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock. When her contract expired in 1912, she landed a job at Langston High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she remained until her return to Colorado in 1915 to attend the University of Colorado in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a>, where she started the following year. In 1918 Buchanan earned a degree in German, although she was not allowed to walk on stage to accept it.</p> <p>After completing her bachelor’s degree, Buchanan was hired to teach English at Lincoln High School in Kansas City in 1919. Her last teaching job, where she taught from 1925 to her retirement in 1940, was at the Douglas School in Chicago’s Black Belt, a community that bore some similarities to Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a>.</p> <p>Buchanan focused on teaching her students decision-making and critical thinking skills, which she believed would help them navigate life in a segregated society. When the administration at Lincoln High School rejected her idea to introduce a global studies course, she created an after-school World News Club. In 1925, before she left for Chicago, she also started the first school newspaper at Lincoln High. Inspired by Black newspapers in Denver and Kansas City, <em>The Observer</em> was a four-page publication that sold for five cents a copy. By teaching about the world beyond the United States and empowering them to write about their communities from their own perspectives, Buchanan helped her Black students counteract the idea that they were inferior.</p> <h2>Later Life and Legacy</h2> <p>Lucile Buchanan regularly returned to Colorado, taking summer classes at the <strong>University of Denver</strong> to upgrade her salary. In 1949 she retired to the home her father built in the Barnum neighborhood in the 1890s, which still stands today. She eventually hired a German man named Herman Dick to care for her daily affairs as she aged. Lucile Buchanan died in 1989 at the age of 105. She is buried at Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fairmount-cemetery"><strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong></a>.</p> <p>Buchanan’s lifetime of struggle, achievement, and teaching inspired generations beyond her living years. In Buchanan’s time, it was nearly miraculous for a woman of color to pursue and obtain a college degree, and neither was it easy to instill that same kind of hope and self-worth in a generation of Black students who lived amid daily reminders that they were not considered full or equal citizens.</p> <p>Wherever she taught, Buchanan’s contributions have been lauded. Students at Lincoln High School in Kansas City lamented her departure in 1925, with one even predicting she would soon teach at Harvard. In 1970, in a story covering the 114th anniversary of Langston High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the local newspaper listed Buchanan among six teachers who “left a lasting impression on the community.” In April 2010, CU-Boulder established a scholarship in her name. In 2018 she was honored at the <strong>State Capitol</strong> by State Senator <strong>Rhonda Fields</strong>.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/mclean-polly-e-burgos" hreflang="und">McLean, Polly E. Burgos </a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lucile-berkeley-buchanan" hreflang="en">lucile berkeley buchanan</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/first-black-woman-graduate-university-colorado" hreflang="en">first black woman to graduate university of colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-women-colorado" hreflang="en">black women colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-history-colorado" hreflang="en">black history colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lucile-buchanan" hreflang="en">lucile buchanan</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/university-colorado-history" hreflang="en">university of colorado history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/african-americans-colorado" hreflang="en">african americans colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Polly E. Burgos McLean, <em>Remembering Lucile: A Virginia Family’s Rise from Slavery and a Legacy Forged a Mile High</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2018).</p> <p>Hannah Metzger, “<a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/education/cu-boulder-to-rename-buildings-after-first-black-woman-graduate-advocates-for-underrepresented-students/article_981f6b0c-24a2-51cd-995a-d512a3081818.html">CU Boulder to rename buildings after first Black woman graduate, advocates for underrepresented students</a>,” <em>Colorado Politics</em>, February 17, 2021.</p> <p>University of Colorado-Boulder, “<a href="https://www.colorado.edu/wgst/lucile-berkeley-buchanan-scholarship">The Lucile Berkely Buchanan Scholarship</a>,” College of Arts and Sciences, Women &amp; Gender Studies Department, n.d.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Polly E. Burgos McLean, “<a href="https://coloradosun.com/2019/11/08/remembering-lucile-polly-mclean/">A journey to chronicle the life of the first black female graduate from CU became a wider historical mission</a>,” <em>Colorado Sun</em>, November 8, 2019.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 09 Aug 2022 18:47:40 +0000 yongli 3723 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Preston Porter, Jr. http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/preston-porter-jr <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Preston Porter, Jr.</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-05-18T11:00:02-06:00" title="Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - 11:00" class="datetime">Wed, 05/18/2022 - 11:00</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/preston-porter-jr" data-a2a-title="Preston Porter, Jr."><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fpreston-porter-jr&amp;title=Preston%20Porter%2C%20Jr."></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>On November 16, 1900, a white mob in <strong>Limon</strong> chained Preston Porter, Jr., a fifteen-year-old Black railroad worker, to a vertical steel rail, slung a rope around his neck, and burned him alive. Porter was accused of raping and murdering a local white girl; he had previously confessed to the crime under extreme coercion from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> investigators, who told the young man that his father and brother would likely be lynched if he did not confess instead. No evidence directly connected Porter to the crime.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Porter’s burning occurred amid widespread <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lynching-colorado"><strong>lynching</strong></a> of Black people across the nation, especially in the South. In 1900 alone, more than 100 Black people were murdered by lynch mobs. Colorado had a relatively small Black population compared to southern states. Still, the events that led to Porter’s lynching and the fervor of the mob confirm that anti-Black racism was coursing through Colorado in 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Background</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Founded in 1888 by John Limon, a railroad construction foreman, the town of Limon had by 1900 become a minor rail hub that supported a small community of farmers and ranchers. Itinerant workers were drawn to the town’s railyards, ranches, and fields. Preston Porter, Sr., and his two sons, Arthur and Preston, Jr.—who also went by “John” to avoid confusion with his father—were part of a railroad maintenance crew laboring near Lake Station, a rail stop a couple of miles east of Limon. The Porters were temporary residents, with their permanent home in Lawrence, Kansas.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 8, 1900, a search party found twelve-year-old Louise Frost, the daughter of prominent local rancher R. W. Frost, dying in a ravine of beating and stab wounds. She had also apparently been raped. She had driven a horse and buggy alone that day to the post office to pick up mail, then began the three-mile return trip to her family’s ranch. Upon its return, her father found the buggy empty and organized the search party. The girl died without saying anything.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>“His Guilt Is Still in Doubt”</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The murder provoked instant outrage across Colorado. The <em>Aspen Democrat </em>called it “the most fiendish assault ever perpetrated.” The case immediately drew the attention of Denver investigators and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lincoln-county"><strong>Lincoln County</strong></a> Sheriff John Freeman. A range of suspects was considered and interrogated, many of them selected from Limon’s small nonwhite population. Eventually, authorities homed in on the Porters, who had suspiciously left town after the murder.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 12, after speaking with all three Porters, Freeman announced that he was “absolutely sure” that John Porter was guilty. Freeman’s primary evidence was boot tracks at the crime scene that matched a set of shoes belonging to Porter. The sheriff claimed that when he interviewed Porter, the young man struggled to answer questions and establish his whereabouts at the time of the crime. The sheriff also said a chemist had Porter’s hat and, in his words, “will prove” there was blood on it from the struggle with Frost.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Freeman’s evidence was circumstantial at best. Porter said he had not worn the shoes in question for weeks, and they did not appear to have been worn recently. Porter did have a criminal record back in Lawrence, but authorities there had also found him mentally incompetent—he had suffered a head injury as a child. The slight-framed teenager didn’t have any injuries consistent with a struggle, and the chemist found no blood on Porter’s hat. Unconvinced of the case against him, authorities in Denver refused to turn Porter over to Freeman on November 13.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/article/denver-police-department-1859%E2%80%931933"><strong>Denver Police</strong></a> weren’t the only ones skeptical of Porter’s guilt. On November 16—the day Porter would be lynched—a headline in the <em>Collbran Oracle </em>from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mesa-county"><strong>Mesa County</strong></a> proclaimed the evidence against Porter to be “very conflicting.” The article quoted Denver detectives pointing to the state of Louise Frost’s buggy when it returned empty; the story was that Porter had dragged Louise out of it, but the buggy was in excellent condition with no signs of a struggle. “It is my opinion,” a detective told the paper, “that [Frost] was coaxed away by some one whom she knew, and I believe the guilty party is among those who are crying the loudest for vengeance.” After quoting the detective, the reporter opined, “It would be criminal on the part of authorities to permit Porter to be placed in danger of lynching when his guilt is still in doubt.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>None of this helped the young man, who on November 14 was forced into confessing the crime during a series of intense interrogations in Denver. Still, Denver authorities refused to give him up, acknowledging that Porter may have been “driven crazy by his troubles.” But when police confirmed that Frost’s pocketbook was in a vault at the Limon depot—right where Porter said it would be—the young man was turned over to Freeman. Although he was certain “Porter will never live in Limon county more than 24 hours,” Freeman said he would deliver the young man to the Lincoln County jail in Hugo.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lynching</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Newspapers across Colorado jumped to confirm Porter’s guilt and speculate enthusiastically about a possible lynching. On November 15, Limon-area residents met to decide how to go about the lynching. They agreed that Porter was to be hanged but that there should be “no torture” beforehand. Still in Denver, Preston Porter read the Bible in his cell as Freeman delayed his departure, hoping the mob would “cool down.” At 1:10 pm on November 16, Freeman and Porter boarded a Union Pacific train for Hugo.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The train was not supposed to stop at Limon, but a group of revolver-toting men there halted and boarded the train. Over the protests of Freeman, the men removed Porter and delivered him to a waiting crowd of more than 500 men, women, and children. When the crowd “saw the face and cowering form of the black demon,” as the<em> Aspen Daily Times</em> put it, a rage swept over them. Abandoning their plan to hang Porter, they took him to the place where Frost’s body was found, tied him to a stake, and burned him alive. As the flames neared his body, Porter begged to be shot. Of Porter’s final moments, the <em>Aspen Daily Times</em> wrote, “There was a moment of silence broken only by the hissing and crackling of the fire. Then an indefinable, hideous, awful shriek, such as will ring in the ears of the listeners for many a day.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Newspaper accounts of Porter’s lynching reveled in its brutality while depicting the barbaric incident as one of orderly vengeance. One Associated Press report insisted the crowd was “orderly and deliberate” and “not like a mob.” “No official execution of any enemy to society was ever conducted with better organization,” crowed Trinidad’s <em>Chronicle-News</em>. Before the execution, Governor <strong>Charles Thomas</strong>, who had fought for the Confederacy in the <strong>Civil War</strong>, implicitly endorsed torture (“hanging was too good for Porter”); when asked his opinion after the lynching, Thomas replied, “There is one less negro in the world.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>These reports reflect a cruel indifference toward Black humanity, as the emotional trigger of Frost’s murder led many white Coloradans to ignore facts and act out their deepest prejudices.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Still, some Coloradans spoke out against Porter’s murder. On November 19, 1900, a large group met in Denver to denounce the lynching, adopting a resolution that declared in part, “no such crime can justify recourse to barbaric methods of punishment.” The group did not contest Porter’s guilt, only the manner of his punishment.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Similarly, a widely circulated column written by a “woman in the Denver News” accepted Porter’s guilt but noted that whites who committed such crimes never saw the same punishment. Meanwhile, the lynching began to attract attention and condemnation from the national press, which helped inspire attempts to bring the mob to justice.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 22, in an apparent response to public pressure, Governor Thomas moved to have Sheriff Freeman “arrest the members of the mob who took [Porter] from him.” In a mix of defiance and realism, Freeman refused to arrest anyone involved in the lynching, claiming that a local jury would never convict them. He blamed the lynching on Colorado’s lack of a death penalty.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Authorities never determined who actually killed Louise Frost.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the decades after the atrocity happened, historians and journalists occasionally reminded Coloradans of Porter’s lynching. Most people, however, were generally unaware of it until the second decade of the twenty-first century, when ongoing murder of Black citizens by police conjured memories of high-profile lynchings. Many recent police murders, such as the case of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elijah-mcclain"><strong>Elijah McClain</strong></a> in 2019, reflect the same assumption of Black guilt that killed Porter more than a century earlier.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2018 the Denver City Council issued an official apology for Porter’s lynching. That year a group of some ninety Coloradans, with the support of local and national civil rights organizations, trekked to the site of Porter’s lynching and collected soil for two glass jars. One jar is slated for placement in the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. At the memorial, jars of soil from lynching sites all over the nation are displayed along with narratives of the victims. The second jar of soil is intended for display in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rekindled awareness of the incident inspired the creation of the Colorado Lynching Memorial Project. On November 21, 2020, the project unveiled a historical marker in downtown Denver memorializing Porter’s murder. There is no memorial in Limon, and even though it hosted the group that collected the soil, the Limon Heritage Museum does not mention Porter on its website or in exhibits.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/preston-porter" hreflang="en">preston porter</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jr-0" hreflang="en">jr</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/preston-porter-lynching" hreflang="en">preston porter lynching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/preston-porter-lynched" hreflang="en">preston porter lynched</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-lynching" hreflang="en">colorado lynching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lynching-colorado" hreflang="en">lynching in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/limon" hreflang="en">limon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/limon-history" hreflang="en">limon history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lincoln-county" hreflang="en">lincoln county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lincoln-county-history" hreflang="en">lincoln county history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/racism-colorado" hreflang="en">racism in colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradolynchingmemorial.org/about">About</a>,” Colorado Lynching Memorial, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=SDM19001120-01.2.7&amp;srpos=120&amp;e=-------en-20--101-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Burned at the Stake</a>,” <em>Salida Mail</em>, November 20, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=GTC19001124-01.2.13&amp;srpos=8&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22governor+thomas%22+%22preston+porter%22-------0------">Civilization of Crime</a>,” <em>Georgetown Courier</em>, November 24, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TAD19001110.2.1&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Crime Runs Rampant: The Most Fiendish Assault Ever Perpetrated in This State Was on the Person of Pretty Louise Frost</a>,” <em>Aspen Democrat</em>, November 10, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Equal Justice Initiative, “<a href="https://eji.org/news/historical-marker-in-denver-memorializes-racial-terror-lynching-of-15-year-old-boy/">Historical Marker in Denver Memorializes Racial Terror Lynching of 15-Year-Old Boy</a>,” November 28, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=COO19001116.2.10&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-preston+porter----1900---0------">The Evidence in the Porter Case Is Very Conflicting</a>,” <em>Collbran Oracle</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> </p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=DSL19001110-01.2.2&amp;srpos=4&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Girl Cruelly Murdered</a>,” <em>Daily Sentinel </em>(Grand Junction), November 10, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=LMR19001121-01.2.10&amp;srpos=75&amp;e=16-11-1900-30-11-1900--en-20--61-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22-------0------">Great Denver Mass-Meeting Condemns Burning of Porter</a>,” <em>Lamar Register</em>, November 21, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=THD19001118-01.2.53&amp;srpos=118&amp;e=-------en-20--101-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Horror over Now Repentance: Denver Proposes to Be Shocked at Limon Affair</a>,” <em>Herald Democrat</em>, November 18, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Haley Gray, “<a href="https://www.5280.com/118-years-ago-a-denver-teen-was-publicly-and-brutally-murdered/">118 Years Ago, a Denver Teen Was Publicly and Brutally Murdered</a>,” <em>5280</em>, November 16, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADT19001115.2.1&amp;srpos=31&amp;e=-------en-20--21-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">John Porter Has Confessed</a>,” <em>Aspen Daily Times</em>, November 15, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TDD19001113.2.1&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22+%22lucky+for+porter%22----1900---0------\">Lucky for Porter</a>,” <em>Durango Democrat</em>, November 13, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001116-01.2.3&amp;srpos=53&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Mass Meeting at Limon</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRN19001115-01.2.3&amp;srpos=36&amp;e=-------en-20--21-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Negro May Be Taken to Hugo Tonight</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 15, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001117-01.2.3&amp;srpos=91&amp;e=-------en-20--81-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Not Like a Mob</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 17, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADT19001117.2.1&amp;srpos=88&amp;e=-------en-20--81-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Porter Burned at Stake</a>,” <em>Aspen Daily Times</em>, November 17, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRN19001117-01.2.2&amp;srpos=92&amp;e=-------en-20--81-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Porter Burned at the Stake</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 17, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001116-01.2.2&amp;srpos=52&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Porter on Way to Hugo</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001116-01.2.2&amp;srpos=52&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Porter Still in Denver</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Prendergast, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-lynching-victim-preston-porter-jr-will-be-commemorated-in-limon-november-17-2018-10970108">The Murder of Preston Porter Jr. and Colorado’s Grim History of Lynchings</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, November 6, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Hayley Sanchez, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/08/17/colorado-lynching-site-history-markers-monuments/">In An Era of Tearing Down Monuments, Colorado Lynching Sites May Gain Historical Markers</a>,” <em>CPR</em>, August 17, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=PCB19001130&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-preston+porter----1900---0------">Sheriff Freeman’s Emphatic Answer</a>,” <em>Park County Bulletin</em>, November 30, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADT19001112.2.1&amp;srpos=7&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Sheriff Is Sure John Porter Is the Guilty Party</a>,” <em>Aspen Daily Times</em>, November 12, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRN19001116-01.2.3&amp;srpos=57&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Taken From the Train</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=THD19001116-01.2.2&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22governor+thomas%22+%22preston+porter%22-------0------">They Are Ready With Rope</a>,” <em>Herald Democrat</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001112-01.2.24&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22they+worked+at+limon%22-------0------">They Worked at Limon</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 12, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=THD19001123-01.2.16&amp;srpos=7&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22governor+thomas%22+%22preston+porter%22-------0------">Thomas Indignant</a>,” <em>Herald Democrat</em>, November 23, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TAD19001113&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">To Be Burnt at the Stake</a>,” <em>Aspen Democrat</em>, November 13, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tuskegee University, “<a href="http://archive.tuskegee.edu/repository/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lynchings-Stats-Year-Dates-Causes.pdf">Lynchings: By Year and Race</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=DJT19001116.2.3&amp;srpos=59&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">An Awful Death Awaits the Negro Fiend</a>,” <em>Daily Journal </em>(Telluride), November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Laura Bliss, “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-17/this-map-of-u-s-lynchings-spans-1835-to-1964">A Comprehensive Map of American Lynchings</a>,” <em>Bloomberg, </em>January 17, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.coloradolynchingmemorial.org/">Colorado Lynching Memorial Project</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Leonard, <em>Lynching in Colorado: 1859-1919 </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=NCP19001114.2.23&amp;srpos=20&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Theory of the Limon Murder</a>,” <em>New Castle Nonpareil</em>, November 14, 1900.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 18 May 2022 17:00:02 +0000 yongli 3682 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Elijah McClain http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elijah-mcclain <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Elijah McClain</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-02-08T17:33:10-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 8, 2022 - 17:33" class="datetime">Tue, 02/08/2022 - 17:33</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elijah-mcclain" data-a2a-title="Elijah McClain"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Felijah-mcclain&amp;title=Elijah%20McClain"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Elijah McClain (1996–2019) was a massage therapist in <strong>Aurora</strong> who was walking down the street when approached and killed by Aurora Police and Aurora Fire Rescue officers on August 24, 2019. The death of McClain, a young Black man whom his family described as “exceedingly gentle,” was immediately protested as unnecessary. Prosecutors initially refused to charge the responding officers, but the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 renewed local calls for justice for McClain.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following intervention by the state and immense public pressure, in September 2021, the three police officers and two paramedics involved in McClain’s death were charged with manslaughter. McClain’s death and later events surrounding the case made national news and put a spotlight on the Aurora Police Department, whose violent and racially biased practices were later highlighted by a Colorado Department of Law investigation. The investigation was the first to occur under the state’s Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity law, passed in the wake of the <strong>Floyd protests</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elijah McClain was born in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>’s <strong>Park Hill</strong> neighborhood and had five brothers and sisters. His mother, Sheneen McClain, moved the family from Park Hill to Aurora to get away from gang violence. As a teenager, McClain played the guitar and violin. He also cared a lot about animals, playing music for them at local shelters and becoming a vegetarian. His friends recalled him as an “oddball” who was kind and passionate about life. McClain found his calling in massage therapy by the time he was in his twenties. A fellow massage therapist who became his friend said that McClain “was never into, like, fitting in. He just was who he was.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>On the night of August 24, 2019, McClain left a gas station on East Colfax Avenue and began walking home to his nearby apartment, which he shared with his cousin. Having received a 911 call about a “suspicious person,” Aurora Police officers approached the twenty-three-year-old. The caller said nobody was in danger; McClain was dancing to music and wearing a ski mask but had no weapon. Officers Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema aggressively contacted and restrained McClain for about fifteen minutes. They put him in a chokehold and continued to manhandle him after he was handcuffed. The officers claimed he was resisting arrest, but an audio recording revealed the young man was struggling to breathe (the officers’ body cameras had fallen off during the incident).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At that point, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, paramedics with Aurora Fire Rescue, arrived and injected McClain with a 500-milligram dose of the sedative ketamine—more than one and a half times the appropriate dose for his weight. The drug sent the young man into cardiac arrest. McClain was hospitalized for days until he was taken off life support and died from the altercation on August 30, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Initial Response</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Aurora Police Department did not release audio or video from the McClain incident until October 2019. The department report claimed that the young man “began to resist the officer contact and a struggle then ensued” before he was administered ketamine and taken into custody. On November 8, 2019, the coroner for <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/adams-county"><strong>Adams</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/city-county-broomfield"><strong>Broomfield</strong></a> Counties announced the cause of McClain’s death to be “undetermined.” On November 22, the district attorney for Adams and Broomfield Counties announced that the officers in the McClain case would not be charged, prompting outrage from the family and supporters.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lawsuit and Later Investigations</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>McClain’s case received renewed attention after the massive protests in response to George Floyd’s death in the spring of 2020. More than 800,000 people signed an online petition for justice for McClain in just two days. On June 25, Governor <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jared-polis"><strong>Jared Polis</strong></a> announced a state investigation into the McClain incident. Two days later, hundreds in the Aurora community gathered for a violin vigil to celebrate McClain’s life and call for justice. Interstate 225 was briefly shut down as demonstrators blocked the highway. Later, Aurora Police descended upon the violin vigil in full riot gear, breaking up the peaceful demonstration with pepper spray and baton prods. National and even international press condemned the response, but the Aurora Police Department defended its use of force.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In August 2020, McClain’s family filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Aurora and the officers involved in his death. Theirs was not the first lawsuit to allege misconduct and racial bias by the Aurora Police; the city had already shelled out some $4.6 million to cover previous settlements. The McClain lawsuit compiled a range of disturbing details, including the entire audio transcript of McClain pleading with officers to let him breathe and documented evidence of the Aurora Police’s alleged abuse of people of color.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In February 2021, three Aurora Police officers—Erica Marrero, Jaron Jones, and Kyle Dittrich—were found to have taken mocking photos of themselves in front of a memorial dedicated to McClain, reenacting the chokehold used on the young man before his death. The officers were fired, and the incident served as a scathing reminder to the community of how trivial McClain’s death was to the Aurora Police.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Charges</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In September 2021, after a grand jury investigation, state Attorney General Phil Weiser announced manslaughter charges for the three police officers and two paramedics involved in McClain’s death. That same month, Weiser’s office released the findings of its broader investigation into the Aurora Police Department—an investigation made possible by Colorado’s new <strong>police reform law</strong> passed after the Floyd protests. The report concluded the Aurora Police “culture leads to the frequent use of force, often in excess,” that the department “does not meaningfully review officers’ use of force,” and that Aurora Fire Rescue “had a pattern and practice of using ketamine in violation of the law.” The Aurora Police Department is cooperating with the state’s recommendations in the report. On November 18, 2021, the city of Aurora settled with the McClain family for $15 million.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elijah-mcclain" hreflang="en">elijah mcclain</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elijah-mcclain-story" hreflang="en">elijah mcclain story</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elijah-mcclain-police" hreflang="en">elijah mcclain police</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/aurora-police-department" hreflang="en">aurora police department</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/aurora" hreflang="en">aurora</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/racism" hreflang="en">racism</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/racism-colorado" hreflang="en">racism in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/police-brutality" hreflang="en">police brutality</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Attorney General of the State of Colorado, “<a href="https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/3d/15/0226fdd94a12b23ae6dfdc72389e/pattern-and-pracice-investigation-report-aurora.pdf">Investigation of the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Rescue</a>,” September 15, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Blair Miller, “<a href="https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/aurora-police-violate-laws-use-excessive-force-and-racially-biased-practices-according-to-state-report">Aurora Police Violate Laws, Use Excessive Force and Racially Biased Practices, According to State Report</a>,” <em>Denver Channel</em>, September 15, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033289263/elijah-mcclain-death-officers-paramedics-charged">Officers and Paramedics Are Charged in Elijah McClain’s 2019 Death in Colorado</a>,” <em>NPR </em>via <em>Associated Press</em>, September 1, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Noelle Phillips and Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/01/elijah-mcclain-grand-jury-aurora-police/">Elijah McClain Case: Grand Jury Indicts Police, Paramedics in Death</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, September 1, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/1/police-chief-defends-crackdown-at-elijah-mcclain-violin-vigil">Police Chief Defends Crackdown at Elijah McClain Violin Vigil</a>,” <em>Al Jazeera</em>, July 1, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/elijah-mcclain-two-year-death-anniversary-aurora-injustice-update-12189609">Aurora’s Pathetic Performance in Two Years Since Elijah McClain Death</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, August 30, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/claim-alberto-torres-one-of-at-least-13-people-of-color-abused-by-aurora-cops-since-2003-11026378">Claim: At Least 13 People of Color Abused by Aurora Cops Since 2003</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, January 23, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/elijah-mcclain-police-related-death-to-be-reviewed-by-colorado-governor-11732615">Elijah McClain Update: Polis Asks AG to Investigate Police-Related Death</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, June 25, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/no-criminal-charges-in-elijah-mcclain-aurora-police-death-update-11555397">Lawyer on Elijah McClain: It’s a Capital Crime in Aurora to Be Black, Act Weird</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, November 25, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/denver-and-aurora-protests-update-statue-arson-and-elijah-mcclain-violin-rally-pepper-sprayed-11734765">Protests Update: Statue Fire Arrests, Elijah McClain Violin Rally Sprayed</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, June 29, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/11/18/elijah-mcclain-aurora-settlement/">Aurora Agrees to Pay $15 million to Elijah McClain’s Parents to Settle Lawsuit Over 2019 Death</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, November 18, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/02/09/elijah-mcclain-aurora-police-fired-appeals/">Aurora Police Officers Fired for Photos Taken at Elijah McClain Memorial Site Lose Appeals to Rejoin Department</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, February 9, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/08/11/elijah-mcclain-lawsuit-aurora-colorado-police/">Elijah McClain’s Family Sues Aurora Officers, Paramedics Involved in His Death</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, August 11, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Grant Stringer, “<a href="https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/unlikely-suspect-those-who-knew-elijah-balk-at-aurora-police-account-of-his-death/">Unlikely Suspect: Those Who Knew Elijah Balk at Aurora Police Account of His Death</a>,” <em>Aurora Sentinel</em>, October 27, 2019.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Patty Nieberg, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/08/22/elijah-mcclain-ketamine-police-arrests/">Elijah McClain Case Leads to Scrutiny of Ketamine’s Use During Arrests</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em> via <em>Associated Press</em>, August 22, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>DJ Summers, “<a href="https://kdvr.com/news/colorado-has-some-of-nations-highest-police-shooting-numbers/">Colorado Has Some of Nation’s Highest Police Shooting Numbers</a>,” FOX 31 Denver, May 18, 2021.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 09 Feb 2022 00:33:10 +0000 yongli 3660 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Black Lives Matter http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/black-lives-matter <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Black Lives Matter</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-02-08T17:10:08-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 8, 2022 - 17:10" class="datetime">Tue, 02/08/2022 - 17:10</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/black-lives-matter" data-a2a-title="Black Lives Matter"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fblack-lives-matter&amp;title=Black%20Lives%20Matter"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international civil and human rights movement organized in 2013 by three Black women: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. Formed after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, the movement began as a social media hashtag and galvanized antiracist activity around the globe. BLM’s mission is to “eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>There are more than forty chapters of BLM around the world. In 2015 activists <strong>Amy E. Brown</strong>, Rev. Dr. Dawn Riley Duval, and Dr. Bianca Williams formed Black Lives Matter 5280, a chapter serving <a href="file://users/williamwei/Desktop/CEPhII_Batch23_NJ_SS_11-2-21/coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>. One year later, activist Jon Williams and others founded Black Lives Matter <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/grand-junction"><strong>Grand Junction</strong></a>, the main chapter on Colorado’s <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-slope"><strong>Western Slope</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to organizing street protests against police brutality, BLM 5280 also provides educational initiatives; a Displacement Defense Fund for those who lost housing during the <a href="file://users/williamwei/Desktop/CEPhII_Batch23_NJ_SS_11-2-21/coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/coronavirus-colorado"><strong>COVID-19 pandemic</strong></a>; and other spiritual, medical, and financial assistance to Black communities. BLM Grand Junction, meanwhile, offers a directory of Black-owned businesses on the Western Slope and provides forums for discussions about inequality and privilege.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After several years of antiracist activity that drew intense backlash from local whites, BLM Grand Junction halted most of its work in June 2020. However, the chapter inspired other local groups, such as Right &amp; Wrong (RAW), to continue antiracist work in the community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Origins</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Anti-Black racism has a long history that is tied to the rise of race-based New World slavery, which became a significant social and economic institution in the United States. After the Thirteenth Amendment officially ended slavery, anti-Black racism continued to drive policy and actions that oppressed Black people, including sharecropping; Jim Crow segregation; lynching; terrorism; poll taxes and literacy tests; police brutality; and discrimination in housing, jobs, school funding, and banking. These actions and policies caused intergenerational trauma among Black people and prevented Black families from gathering wealth to pass on to their children, creating the foundation for today’s dramatic gaps in wealth and well-being between Black and white America.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although slavery was never legal in Colorado, anti-Black racism was nonetheless part of the state’s history from the beginning. During the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a>, white prospectors ran a group of Black men off a claim in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/summit-county"><strong>Summit County</strong></a>, calling the place “Nigger Hill” thereafter. In 1900 <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/preston-porter-jr"><strong>Preston Porter, Jr.</strong></a>, a young Black man, was burned alive in front of a cheering crowd in <strong>Limon</strong> (he was accused of murdering a young white girl). In the 1920s, the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ku-klux-klan-colorado"><strong>Ku Klux Klan</strong></a> was effectively in charge of the state and Denver’s government; members burned a cross in the yard of the <strong>Denver NAACP</strong> president. Throughout the twentieth century, racist housing covenants and <strong>residential redlining</strong> excluded Denver’s Black families from the city’s middle- and upper-class communities, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-police-department-1933"><strong>police</strong></a> disproportionately targeted and abused Black people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Denver Police Department’s renewed focus on street gangs in the 1990s targeted Black and Latino neighborhoods, leading to the routine harassment of residents. In the early 2010s, ongoing police killings of Black people and other minorities became a major catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement, which is modeled in part on the nationwide <strong>Civil Rights</strong> demonstrations of the 1960s. By 2016, a year after Black Lives Matter 5280 was founded, Black Coloradans made up around 4 percent of the total population but 18 percent of the jail or prison population. They were more than three times as likely to be arrested than whites.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In Colorado today, 20 percent of Black residents have income below the federal poverty line, compared to 8.9 percent of white residents; the average white household has 16 times the wealth of the average Black household. In Denver, Black people are 2.7 times as likely to be killed by police as white people; nationwide, they are three times as likely. In the context of historical and present-day inequality, and with a nation more aware of racist activities via ubiquitous cameras and social media, Black Lives Matter found plenty of traction in the Centennial State.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Notable Activity</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In April 2015, Freddie Gray, a young Black man in Baltimore, died while in police custody, sparking national debates over policing. On May 21, 2015, BLM 5280 held a community dinner at the Boys and Girls Club in Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/park-hill"><strong>Park Hill</strong></a> neighborhood to officially launch the organization. More than fifty residents attended, creating poster collages of their visions for an equal city and society. Later that year, the group’s first real push for change came when they rallied to have the city’s Stapleton neighborhood renamed; it was originally named for Denver Mayor <strong>Benjamin Stapleton</strong>, a Ku Klux Klan member. The neighborhood was eventually renamed “Central Park” in 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Over the next few years, BLM 5280 worked to get charges dropped against a local Black high schooler who was dragged out of a bathroom for violating dress code (2016), sent a delegation to the Dakota Access Pipeline protest led by Indigenous people (2016), and raised thousands of dollars to bail Black Coloradans out of jail (2018). They also held vigils for Black people killed by police in other places and worked alongside <strong>Denver Homeless Out Loud</strong> to highlight the role of capitalism in Black oppression.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In July 2018, BLM 5280’s Education Squad (composed of local K–12 teachers) launched the Freedom School. This program centers on Black knowledge, people, and principles and is named after the Freedom Schools that Black activists set up throughout the South during the Civil Rights Movement. In June 2020, BLM’s Education Squad successfully campaigned for the Denver School Board to remove police officers from schools.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In late May 2020, after footage began circulating online of a Minneapolis police officer brutally killing George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, BLM 5280 joined other civil rights groups in <strong>massive demonstrations</strong> in Denver. As they did elsewhere, the protests drew thousands to the heart of the city for multiple days, and solidarity protests cropped up all over the state, from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> to <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>, Grand Junction, <strong>Steamboat Springs</strong>, and <strong>Alamosa</strong>. Although the Denver demonstrations were mostly peaceful, police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, and some altercations between protesters and police occurred. Dozens of police officers and hundreds of protesters were injured, and the city’s independent monitor later found that the Denver Police Department used excessive force against protesters. On June 25, 2020, BLM 5280, along with nine individual plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against the city and county of Denver over the police department’s actions. The case was still ongoing in late 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/coronavirus-colorado"><strong>COVID-19</strong></a> pandemic, as Black people and other minorities suffered disproportionately from the disease and its economic effects, BLM 5280 organized a Displacement Defense Fund to help keep minority families in their homes. Families excluded from federal relief payments could apply for funds up to $2,500 to help get them through the pandemic. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/matter" hreflang="en">matter</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-lives-matter-history" hreflang="en">black lives matter history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-lives-matter-colorado" hreflang="en">black lives matter colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/social-justice" hreflang="en">social justice</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/human-rights" hreflang="en">human rights</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/racism" hreflang="en">racism</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/anti-racism" hreflang="en">anti-racism</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-lives-matter-grand-junction" hreflang="en">black lives matter grand junction</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/george-floyd-protests-colorado" hreflang="en">george floyd protests colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/civil-rights-denver" hreflang="en">civil rights denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/blm" hreflang="en">blm</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/blm-5280" hreflang="en">blm 5280</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-lives-matter-5280" hreflang="en">black lives matter 5280</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/history-black-lives-matter" hreflang="en">history of black lives matter</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>5280FreedomSchool.com, “<a href="https://www.5280freedomschool.com/history">History</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Black Lives Matter 5280, “<a href="https://www.blacklivesmatter5280.com/about">About</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Black Lives Matter 5280, “<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRWyksu7rQ7s5aOvAYHsBehsknpjVNz7Q2dVqmwZqISK66_A/viewform?fbclid=IwAR3yAOkpQxiElo-xjEEPg1_0k_J2oa43Um8WKx96Lh-5LywJCis3ijfVpaU">BLM5280 Covid-19 Displacement Defense Fund</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Black Lives Matter 5280, “<a href="https://www.blacklivesmatter5280.com/history">History</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Black Lives Matter 5280, “<a href="https://www.blacklivesmatter5280.com/teams">Squads</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lori Bradford, “<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=BMR19810801-01.2.10&amp;srpos=29&amp;e=-------en-20--21-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-police+black+teenager-------0------\">To Serve and Protect?</a>” <em>Big Mama Rag</em>, August 1, 1981.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Collins, “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/20/coronavirus-blacks-latinos-poor-less-likely-get-1-200-checks/5471086002/">Black, Latino and Poor People Are Less Likely to Get $1,200 Coronavirus Stimulus Checks, New Report Says</a>,” <em>USA Today</em>, July 20, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/CO.html">Colorado Profile</a>,” Prison Policy Initiative, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John Daley, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/09/10/communities-of-color-hit-hard-by-coronavirus-step-in-to-fill-the-gaps-in-the-governments-response/">The Coronavirus Exposed Colorado’s Racial Inequities in Health Care: Community Health Centers Are Trying to Help</a>,” <em>CPR</em>, September 10, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Nathan Deal, “<a href="https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/grand-junction-sees-week-of-protests-in-wake-of-george-floyds-murder/article_30823b72-a815-11ea-be88-ff1602de4b6d.html">Grand Junction Sees Week of Protests in Wake of George Floyd’s Murder</a>,” <em>Grand Junction Daily Sentinel</em>, June 7, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kim Habicht, “<a href="https://www.5280.com/denver-police-departments-history-of-officer-involved-shootings/">Denver Police Department’s History of Officer-Involved Shootings</a>,” <em>5280</em>, June 24, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Russell Haythorn, “<a href="https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/denver/charges-dropped-against-northfield-hs-teenage-girl-who-was-handcuffed-dragged-out-of-bathroom">Charges Dropped on Girl Who Violated Dress Code</a>,” <em>Denver Channel</em>, April 15, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Nathan Heffel, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/denvers-new-black-lives-matter-5280-chapter-envisions-safer-stronger-community/">Denver’s New Black Lives Matter 5280 Chapter Envisions Safer, Stronger Community</a>,” <em>CPR</em>, May 29, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jack Hibbard and Emily Kempa, “<a href="https://clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=17634">Case Profile: Black Lives Matter 5280 v. City and County of Denver</a>,” Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, updated January 2, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kristin Jones, “<a href="https://collective.coloradotrust.org/stories/the-racial-wealth-gap-in-colorado/">The Racial Wealth Gap in Colorado</a>,” Colorado Trust, February 3, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ben Markus and Nathaniel Minor, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2016/12/21/report-colorados-blacks-are-arrested-at-disproportionately-high-rates/">Report: Colorado’s Blacks Are Arrested at Disproportionately High Rates</a>,” <em>CPR</em>, December 21, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Matt Meyer, “<a href="https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/scope-of-black-lives-matter-march-in-grand-junction/video_af5cfdc2-a9c5-11ea-9f47-07bcdaac1253.html">Scope of Black Lives Matter March in Grand Junction</a>,” <em>Grand Junction Daily Sentinel</em>, December 3, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Noelle Phillips, Tiney Ricciardi, Alex Burness, Saja Hindi, and Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/05/28/george-floyd-death-colorado-protest/">Tear Gas, Pepper Balls Used on Denver Crowds in George Floyd Protests Thursday night</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, May 28, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Margaret Redfern, “<a href="https://globalstudentsquare.org/a-small-city-sounds-a-big-message-on-black-lives-matter/">A Small City Sounds a Big Message on Black Lives Matter</a>,” <em>Global Student Square</em>, July 23, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Eric Ruble and Nicole Fierro, “<a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/stapleton-leaders-to-announce-neighborhoods-new-name/">Denver’s Stapleton Neighborhood Renamed to Central Park</a>,” KDVR, August 1, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David Sachs, “<a href="https://denverite.com/2020/06/11/its-official-in-an-attempt-to-short-circuit-systemic-racism-denver-public-schools-will-remove-police-officers-from-schools/?fbclid=IwAR2pqvnMMZZChjKGkXW4OUx_NwFyZ5boiWwRpp0vMTgJFjeujUUAYJiPYSE">It’s Official: In an Attempt to Short-Circuit Systemic Racism, Denver Public Schools Will Remove Police Officers From Schools</a>,” <em>Denverite</em>, June 11, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/12/08/denver-police-protest-independent-monitor-report/">Excessive Force, Poor Communication Marred Denver Police Response to George Floyd Protests, Independent Monitor Finds</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, December 8, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sharon Sullivan, “<a href="https://www.spokeandblossom.com/stories/2020/9/14/right-and-wrong-grand-valley-activists-combat-racism-in-the-wake-of-george-floyds-murder">Right and Wrong: Grand Valley Activists Combat Racism in the Wake of George Floyd’s Murder</a>,” <em>Spoke and Blossom</em>, Fall 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meg Wingerter, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/08/01/covid-health-equity-disparities-colorado/">COVID Spotlighted Colorado’s Health Inequities: Will Efforts to Address Racial Disparities Remain Post-pandemic?</a>” <em>The Denver Post</em>, August 1, 2021.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://www.blacklivesmatter5280.com/">Black Lives Matter 5280</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/BLM">Black Lives Matter Movement</a>,” Howard University Law Library, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui, and Jugal K. Patel, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html">Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History</a>,” <em>New York Times</em>, July 3, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Attorney General, “<a href="https://coag.gov/press-releases/9-15-21/">Colorado Department of Law Finds Pattern and Practice of Racially Biased Policing, Use of Excessive Force by Aurora Police</a>,” September 15, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>George M. Frederickson, <em>Racism: A Short History</em> (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ibram X. Kendi, <em>Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America </em>(New York: Nation Books, 2016).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kwasi Konadu and Bright Gyamfi, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-lives-matter-how-far-has-the-movement-come-165492">Black Lives Matter: How Far Has the Movement Come?</a>” <em>Conversation</em>, September 8, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/">Mapping Police Violence</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Barbara Ransby, <em>Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-First Century</em> (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2018).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elise Schmelzer, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/05/30/denver-george-floyd-protests-year-later/">Thousands Protested George Floyd’s Death in Denver a Year Ago. Has Anything Changed?</a>” <em>The Denver Post</em>, May 30, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Allison Sherry, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2021/07/20/denver-northeast-park-hill-police-crime/">As Crime Rises In Denver, One Historically Black Neighborhood Considers What It Wants From Police</a>,” <em>CPR</em>, July 20, 2021.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>University of Denver, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLH3Lc60fuk">Race and Racism in Denver: Knowing Our History to Inform the Present</a>,” YouTube video, 1:18:28, February 11, 2021.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 09 Feb 2022 00:10:08 +0000 yongli 3659 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Elizabeth Ensley http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elizabeth-ensley <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Elizabeth Ensley</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-06-18T15:56:00-06:00" title="Friday, June 18, 2021 - 15:56" class="datetime">Fri, 06/18/2021 - 15:56</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elizabeth-ensley" data-a2a-title="Elizabeth Ensley"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Felizabeth-ensley&amp;title=Elizabeth%20Ensley"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Elizabeth Piper Ensley (1847–1919) was a political activist and reformer who worked throughout her life for gender and racial equality. The daughter and wife of formerly enslaved people, she came to Colorado in 1887 and soon helped lead the first successful campaign for statewide <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/womens-suffrage-movement"><strong>women’s suffrage</strong></a> in 1893, serving as treasurer of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/non-partisan-equal-suffrage-association"><strong>Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association of Colorado</strong></a>. She continued to work for nationwide voting rights for women and contributed to countless clubs in which women of color built communal resilience in Colorado and across the country in the early twentieth century.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Born on January 19, 1847, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Piper grew up surrounded by abolitionists and formerly enslaved people. Elizabeth’s father, Philip Piper, escaped enslavement in Virginia with his parents and siblings around 1828. In New Bedford, his family helped raise funds for abolitionist organizations and housed people fleeing enslavement. Elizabeth’s mother, Jane, and her mother’s sister, Helen, arrived in New Bedford as young children in more complicated circumstances. In 1834, their father, Patrick Gibson, sent the girls north with their mother, Betsey, to receive an education unavailable to them near the Georgia plantation where he enslaved them and more than 100 other people. Well-known abolitionists Nathan and Mary “Polly” Johnson agreed to take in and educate the girls, who received financial support and gifts from Gibson until his sudden death in 1837. His heir tried various schemes to reenslave Betsey and her daughters, but the New Bedford abolitionist community refused to surrender its new residents. Before leaving the Johnsons’ house in early 1840, Betsey, Jane, and Helen shared the space with several other recently enslaved people, including Frederick and Anna Douglass.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elizabeth Piper attended the West Newton English and Classical School in Newton, Massachusetts, and boarded with its founder and principal, Nathaniel T. Allen, a prominent educator, abolitionist, and philanthropist dedicated to social and educational reform, including racially integrated and mixed-gender schools. Allen also believed in travel as a means of education. In 1869 he brought several pupils, including Piper, to Europe along with his family and friends. For two years, Piper attended European schools and traveled with the Allens. After returning in 1871, she moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and taught at the Ringgold Public School, where she also served as principal before returning to Boston in 1874.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> On the north slope of Beacon Hill, the heart of Boston’s thriving Black community, Piper lived with her mother and stepfather, George W. Lowther, a formerly enslaved North Carolinian turned hairdresser and Massachusetts legislator. For three years, Piper ran the Berkeley Circulating Library. She joined the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union in its inaugural year; the group’s mission included promoting “fellowship among women” and “securing their educational, industrial, and social advancement.” In this spirit she attended art school from 1880 to 1882, during which she also served as a codirector of the Boston Central School Suffrage Club.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Married Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Newell Houston Ensley also started life enslaved. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1852, he called his maternal grandfather “master” for thirteen years. After emancipation, Newell excelled in school, graduating from Nashville Baptist Institute in 1877, Roger Williams University in 1878, and Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts in 1881. He immediately went to work, teaching theology and Latin at Shaw University, a historically Black school in Raleigh, North Carolina. After a year in Raleigh, he returned to Boston, where he married Elizabeth Piper on September 2, 1882. The couple moved to Washington, DC, and taught in the teachers’ school at Howard University. The next summer, the Ensleys returned to Boston, where Elizabeth Ensley gave birth to the couple’s first child, Roger, in August 1883. With a professorship in rhetoric and sciences awaiting Newell Ensley at Alcorn State University, the young family quickly moved again to Lorman, Mississippi. There, and at speaking engagements throughout the country, Newell Ensley delivered speeches in support of “The Rights of Women,” “Temperance,” and “The Rights of the Negro.” Meanwhile, Elizabeth Ensley gave birth to a second child, Charlotte, in 1885.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The family soon faced tragedy. At some point during the next two years in Mississippi, Newell Ensley contracted <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/tuberculosis-colorado"><strong>tuberculosis</strong></a>. Seeking relief, he moved his family to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> in 1887. Elizabeth Ensley gave birth to a third child, Jean, in March 1888. In May, Newell Ensley died. Jean died the next month. Elizabeth Ensley had them interred in what quickly turned into a family plot at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/riverside-cemetery"><strong>Riverside Cemetery</strong></a>. Little information survives to indicate how Elizabeth Ensley managed over the next few years as a single mother of two young children.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Voting Rights</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1890 Ensley became involved in the campaign for women’s suffrage in Colorado. After an earlier statewide referendum for women’s suffrage failed in 1877, the women’s suffrage movement in the state had smoldered for several years. By 1890, however, sparks of enthusiasm from across the country reignited the voting rights campaign in Colorado. In April six women met in Denver to raise money for the Equal Rights Campaign of South Dakota. A month later, Ensley accompanied Louise M. Tyler to the group’s second meeting. A recent transplant from Boston, Tyler carried a letter from <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lucy-stone"><strong>Lucy Stone</strong></a> and the newly formed National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) encouraging Colorado women to establish a local branch. With that mandate, and two new members, the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association began to formally organize. Ensley was the only woman of color in the group.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1893 the organization had only twenty-eight members, but it successfully lobbied the <strong>Colorado General Assembly</strong> to put women’s suffrage back on the ballot. During the referendum campaign, the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association took a new name, the <a name="_Hlk51158008" id="_Hlk51158008">Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association (NPESA), and made Ensley its treasurer. </a>Starting with a balance of just twenty-five dollars, she managed to sustain NPESA’s statewide campaign for women’s suffrage on meager means. On November 7, 1893, Colorado became the first state in the country to enfranchise women by popular referendum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ensley and other Colorado suffragists did not stop there. They sought to take the successful Colorado campaign nationwide. Ensley served as a delegate to the NAWSA national convention in 1894, on the NPESA executive committee for some time thereafter, and as NPESA treasurer again in 1902 and 1906. By then, she was also expanding her civic engagement.<a name="_Hlk40468064" id="_Hlk40468064"></a></p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Civic Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Ensley dedicated much of the rest of her life to organizations that sought to empower Black Americans, particularly Black women. For <em>Woman’s Era</em>, a publication of the National Association of Colored Women, Ensley reported on the 1894 statewide election, the first to include female voters. She noted the “special part the colored women have taken in the election,” including by helping elect <strong>Joseph H. Stuart</strong> of Denver, one of the first Black representatives in the state. In 1902 Ensley helped establish the National Afro-American Council, and in 1904 she founded the <strong>Colorado Association of Colored Women’s Clubs</strong>. She also worked on behalf of the National Lincoln-Douglass Sanatorium and Hospital Association in Denver. As its financial agent, she successfully raised the capital to establish a thirteen-room hospital for Black Denverites. As a member of the hospital’s board of directors, she helped manage it from 1912 until she took over as secretary a few years later.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By the mid-1910s, Ensley was a recognized leader. In 1915 she was elected president of the Women’s League of Denver. In 1918 she helped the Colorado Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs host the National Federation’s convention in Denver by contributing her proven expertise on the finance committee.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elizabeth Piper Ensley died on February 23, 1919, mere months before the US Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment affirming women’s voting rights and sent it to the states for ratification. She is buried in Riverside Cemetery. After a lifetime of standing up for and working on behalf of strangers, Ensley left a legacy of racial integration, gender equity, and community building. In 2020 she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/hayden-stuart" hreflang="und">Hayden, Stuart</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elizabeth-ensley" hreflang="en">Elizabeth Ensley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/womens-suffrage" hreflang="en">Women&#039;s Suffrage</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-non-partisan-equal-suffrage-association" hreflang="en">Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-equal-suffrage-organization" hreflang="en">Colorado Equal Suffrage Organization</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DST19111111-01.2.6">The Alliance Notes and Comments</a>,” <em>Statesman</em> (Denver, CO), November 11, 1911.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Americans Abroad,” <em>New York Daily Herald</em>, May 20, 1871.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DST19120720-01.2.1">Announcement</a>,” <em>Statesman</em> (Denver, CO)<em>,</em> July 20, 1912.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lee Blake, “<a href="https://historicwomensouthcoast.org/amelia-piper/">Amelia Piper</a>,” in <em>Lighting the Way: Historic Women of the Southcoast</em> (New Bedford, MA: New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2018).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>The Boston Directory</em>, nos. 72–74 (Boston: Sampson, Davenport, 1876–78).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Boyds’ Trenton City Directory, 1873,” in<em> U.S. City Directories, 1822–1995 </em>(Provo, UT: <a name="_Hlk49095319" id="_Hlk49095319">Ancestry.com, 2011</a>).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://archive.org/details/illustratedbiogr00unse/page/36"><em>Catalogue of the West Newton English and Classical School, 1854–1893</em></a> (Boston: Rand Avery Supply Co., 1895).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DSR19160617-01.2.31">City News</a>,” <em>Denver Star</em>, June 17, 1916.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DSR19150612-01">Denver Clubs</a>,” <em>Denver Star,</em> June 12, 1915.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/elizabeth-piper-ensley/">Elizabeth Piper Ensley</a>,” Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elizabeth Piper Ensley, “<a href="https://womenwriters.digitalscholarship.emory.edu/content.php?level=div&amp;amp;id=era1_09.15&amp;amp;document=era1">Election Day</a>,” <em>Woman’s Era,</em> December 1894.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elizabeth Piper Ensley, “<a href="https://womenwriters.digitalscholarship.emory.edu/content.php?level=div&amp;amp;id=era1_08.12&amp;amp;document=era1">What Equal Suffrage Has Done for Colorado</a>,” <em>The Woman’s Era</em>, November 1894.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43377352/obituary-for-elizabeth-piper-ensley/">Elizabeth Piper Ensley Dead</a>,” <em>New York Age</em>, March 15, 1919.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89052133/1906-01-12/ed-1/seq-2/">Equal Suffrage Association</a>,” <em>Springfield Herald</em>, January 12, 1906.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DST19070531-01">The Fourth Annual Convention of Colorado Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs</a>,” <em>Statesman</em> (Denver, CO)<em>, </em>May 31, 1907.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kathryn Grover and Carl J. Cruz, “<a href="https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20000227/news/302279999">A Haven for All in Need</a>,” <em>South Coast Today</em> (New Bedford, MA), February 27, 2000.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059522/1887-11-23/ed-1">Hotel Personals</a>,” <em>St. Paul Daily Globe</em>, November 23, 1887.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pamela Marean, “<a href="https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20121215/entertain/212150312">Behind the Mansions</a>,” <em>South Coast Today</em> (New Bedford, MA), December 15, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988</em> (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Earl F. Mulderink III, “<a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/366284">The Whole Town Is Ringing With It: Slave Kidnapping Charges Against Nathan Johnson of New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1839</a>,” <em>New England Quarterly</em> 61, no. 3 (September 1988).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=6895751&amp;amp;fcf">The Nashville Baptist Institute</a>,” <em>Tennessean</em>, May 29, 1877.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DST19110805-01.2.7">The National Lincoln-Douglass Sanatorium and Hospital Association</a>,” <em>Statesman</em> (Denver, CO), August 5, 1911.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>William J. Simmons, <a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/simmons/simmons.html#ill21"><em>Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising</em></a> (Cleveland: George M. Rewell, 1887).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Judith Stanton, “<a href="https://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol11/iss1/6/">Nathaniel T. Allen: Social and Educational Activist</a>,” <em>Bridgewater Review</em> 11, no. 1 (1993).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;amp;d=DSR19180706-01.2.17">State Committees—Woman’s National Convention</a>,” <em>Denver Star</em>, July 6, 1918.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Joseph G. Brown, <a href="https://archive.org/details/historyequalsuf00browgoog/page/n8/mode/2up"><em>The History of Equal Suffrage in Colorado, 1868–1898</em></a> (Denver, CO: News Job Printing, 1898).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jennifer Helton, “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/woman-suffrage-in-the-west.htm">Woman Suffrage in the West</a>,” National Park Service, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sylvia Lambe, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/story/womens-history/2020/02/18/elizabeth-piper-ensley-and-100th-anniversary-19th-amendment">Elizabeth Piper Ensley and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment</a>,” History Colorado, February 18, 2020.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:56:00 +0000 yongli 3571 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Chin Lin Sou http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chin-lin-sou <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chin Lin Sou</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3753--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3753.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/chin-lin-sou"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Chin_Lin_Sou_0.jpg?itok=uDaGCvw8" width="512" height="660" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/chin-lin-sou" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chin Lin Sou</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Arriving in Colorado in the early 1870s, Chin Lin Sou became a successful businessman.&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:54:58-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:54" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:54</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 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class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Not only do historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado, but Chin and his descendants also established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans by defending Chinese workers from prejudice, supporting Chinese-owned businesses, and lifting Chinese residents from the social confines of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-chinatown"><strong>Denver’s Chinatown</strong></a>. Immigrants such as Chin, who successfully built railroads and mined for gold in the face of discriminatory laws and physical violence, reflect a more complete story of the American West than the traditional narrative that centers European and Anglo immigrants.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years except that he received an education (perhaps for the Confucian civil service) and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858, one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco just as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides, clearing rubble, and erecting retention walls. The railroad companies failed to formally record deaths, but engineering reports and newspaper articles suggest that hazardous work conditions from <a href="/article/avalanche"><strong>avalanches</strong></a> and mudslides, lack of safety regulations around explosives, and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid these Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts, who received free food rations and worked fewer hours. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman of Chinese laborers. As an educated foreman who spoke English, Chin was able to escape the fate of many impoverished Chinese laborers who died in obscurity.</p> <p>After the Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain other lines. Chin found work with the <strong>Denver Pacific Railroad</strong> as a foreman overseeing Chinese crews building a feeder line connecting <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants migrated to the nation’s interior to find work in agriculture, logging, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a>. After the Denver Pacific was built, Chin remained in Colorado, where in 1870 he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Black Hawk</strong></a>. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers, drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin also started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims, forcing them to work mines that had been discarded by white-only operations. In turn, Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining, using water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Unlike other Chinese immigrants who turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed them, Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success as a mine manager challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants, whom whites viewed “as a sort of necessary evil” to fulfill cheap labor demands, as the <em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em> put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>In general, white Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society because their language, religious practices, and physical appearance seemed too alien. In untruthful reporting that simply confirmed existing biases among white readers, journalists sensationalized Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens who indulged in prostitution and gambling. Denver’s Chinatown, located in Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lodo-lower-downtown-denver"><strong>lower downtown</strong></a>, was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents, and it gained a notorious reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment, with wealthy whites frequenting opium dens as the drug became fashionable in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes because he stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes, spoke fluent English, dressed in the Western style, and became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers regularly praised him for his intelligence and entrepreneurship while they disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the <em>Fairplay Flume</em> described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind” and two years later labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments reveal that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community as it confronted prejudice and discrimination. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed without evidence that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. To quell growing anger, Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. Newspapers reported that people believed Chin’s account because of “his gentlemanly and dignified deportment” and “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his financial success to assist Colorado’s growing Chinese community. Between 1870 and his death in 1894, he supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and <a href="/article/fairplay"><strong>Fairplay</strong></a>. With his mining associate Edward L. Thayer, Chin also opened supply stores in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gilpin-county"><strong>Gilpin County</strong></a>. In Denver, he participated in the Chee Kong Tong, a Chinese fraternity dedicated to providing financial aid to Chinese-owned businesses and helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Unlike many other Chinese immigrants, Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China, and the couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Nicknamed the “Belle of Chinatown” by the press, Lily grew into a fashionable socialite. Her extravagant 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver amid unsubstantiated, racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>Colorado’s Chinese community became a target as white fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, <strong>a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown</strong>, lynching one man and destroying Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment that led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which suspended Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot but eventually began to shrink because it was heavily male, lacked new immigrants under the immigration ban, and was prohibited by law from interracial marriages. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890, but by the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was originally buried at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/riverside-cemetery"><strong>Riverside Cemetery</strong></a> until his family exhumed his body and returned it to China. Almost a century later in 1977, the Ethnic Minority Council of the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission cosponsored a stained-glass memorial at the <a href="/article/colorado-state-capitol"><strong>State Capitol</strong></a> dedicated to minority leaders. Chin was included in the memorial, but he was depicted in a red Chinese gown rather than his typical suit.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, ascended to his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during <strong>World War II</strong>. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p> <p>Chinese American participation in the war, followed by immigration reform in the 1960s, fostered better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. While this slow reconciliation and new fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child, even though she is a fourth-generation Denverite. Although Colorado’s history of racial discrimination has left behind a whitewashed version of history, the experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/whitmore-michala" hreflang="und">Whitmore, Michala</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chin-lin-sou" hreflang="en">Chin Lin Sou</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chinese" hreflang="en">Chinese</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-city" hreflang="en">Central City</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-hawk" hreflang="en">Black Hawk</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-pacific-railroad" hreflang="en">Central Pacific Railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-pacific-railroad" hreflang="en">denver pacific railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denvers-chinatown" hreflang="en">Denver&#039;s Chinatown</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-riot-1880" hreflang="en">Denver Riot of 1880</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Chinese Labor,” <em>Colorado Springs Gazette </em>and<em> El Paso County News</em>, November 11, 1874.</p> <p>“Chinese New Year Celebration Slated,” <em>Golden Transcript</em>, February 5, 1975.</p> <p>“<a href="https://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/website/">Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project</a>,” Stanford University, n.d.</p> <p>“Denver Loses Chinese Mayor of ‘Hop Alley,’” <em>Courier-Journal</em> (Louisville, CO), December 17, 1939.</p> <p>“<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/colorado-biographies/chin-lin-sou-1836-1894">Chin Lin Sou (1836–1894)</a>,” Genealogy, African American and Western History Resources, Denver Public Library, n.d.</p> <p>“For the Ladies,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, March 1, 1894.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, October 13, 1892.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, August 16, 1894.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fort Collins Standard</em>, June 17, 1874.</p> <p>“Minority Stained Glass Window Dedication Set,” <em>Douglas County News</em>, January 6, 1977.</p> <p>“Pretty Belle of Chinatown Calls to Pay Taxes,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, June 1, 1900.</p> <p>William Wei, “Five Generations in Colorado: An Interview with the Descendants of Chin Lin Sou,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2002).</p> <p>&nbsp;William Wei, “History and Memory: The Story of Denver’s Chinatown,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2002).</p> <p>William Wei, “Problematizing the Chinese Experience in America,” <em>Genealogy</em> 3 (Winter 2017).&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Noah Allyn, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/story/colorado-voices/2019/04/11/rise-and-fall-denvers-chinatown">The Rise and Fall of Denver’s Chinatown</a>,” History Colorado, April 11, 2019.</p> <p>Office of the Historian, “<a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigration">Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts</a>,” Milestones in the History of US Foreign Relations, US Department of State.</p> <p>Tom Rea, “<a href="https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/rock-springs-massacre">The Rock Springs Massacre</a>,” WyoHistory.org, last modified November 8, 2014.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) overcame racial barriers to become a civic leader in Colorado. Chin and his wife were the first Chinese American family in Colorado. He created a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. Chin defended Chinese workers from prejudice. He supported Chinese-owned businesses. Immigrants such as Chin reflect a more complete story of the American West.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroads in the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides and clearing rubble. The railroad companies failed to record deaths. A lack of safety regulations and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman. He oversaw Chinese crews building a line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants moved to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Chin remained in Colorado. In 1870, he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers. He drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. This technique used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Some Chinese immigrants turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success challenged many stereotypes of Chinese immigrants.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society. Whites saw Chinese language, religious practices, and physical appearance as alien. Denver’s Chinatown was located in lower downtown. It was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a reputation for crime.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes. He stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became an American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers praised him for his intelligence. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” The comments show that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success allowed him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partly destroyed Central City. Authorities claimed that Chinese miners had started the fire. Chin defended the miners. People believed Chin because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his success to help Colorado’s Chinese community. He supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, and Denver. Chin opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he took part in the Chee Kong Tong. This was an organization dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese feeling. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration. It also denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. However, the community began to shrink. It was heavily male. Interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Chin was a naturalized citizen with a family. He was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His family exhumed his body and returned it to China.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, took over his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Immigration reform in the 1960s created better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. The experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) overcame racial barriers to become a civic leader in Colorado. Chin and his wife were the first Chinese American family in Colorado. He established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. Chin defended Chinese workers from prejudice. He supported Chinese-owned businesses. Immigrants such as Chin reflect a more complete story of the American West.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides and clearing rubble. The railroad companies failed to record deaths. A lack of safety regulations and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman. He oversaw Chinese crews building a line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants moved to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Chin remained in Colorado. In 1870, he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers. He drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. This technique used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Some Chinese immigrants turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants. Whites viewed them “as a sort of necessary evil,” as the Colorado Springs Gazette put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society. Whites saw Chinese language, religious practices, and physical appearance as alien. Journalists painted Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens. Denver’s Chinatown was located in lower downtown. It was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment. Wealthy whites visited opium dens as the drug became trendy in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes. He stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke fluent English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers praised him for his intelligence. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” Two years later it labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments show that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. People believed Chin’s account because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his success to help Colorado’s growing Chinese community. He supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and Fairplay. Chin opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he took part in the Chee Kong Tong. This was a Chinese fraternity dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob lynched one man and destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration. It also denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. However, the community began to shrink. It was heavily male and interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His family exhumed his body and returned it to China.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, took over his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Immigration reform in the 1960s created better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. The experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado. Chin and his descendants established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. They defended Chinese workers from prejudice, supporting Chinese-owned businesses, and lifted Chinese residents from the social confines of Denver’s Chinatown. Immigrants such as Chin, who successfully built railroads and mined for gold in the face of discriminatory laws and physical violence, reflect a more complete story of the American West than the traditional narrative.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco just as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides, clearing rubble, and erecting retention walls. The railroad companies failed to formally record deaths. Newspaper articles suggest that hazardous work conditions from avalanches and mudslides, lack of safety regulations around explosives, and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid these Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts, who received free food rations and worked fewer hours. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman of Chinese laborers. As an educated foreman who spoke English, Chin was able to escape the fate of many poor Chinese laborers who died in obscurity.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain other lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman overseeing Chinese crews building a feeder line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants migrated to the nation’s interior to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. After the Denver Pacific was built, Chin remained in Colorado, where in 1870 he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers, drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin also started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines that had been discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. They used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Other Chinese immigrants who turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed them. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success as a mine manager challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants. Whites viewed them “as a sort of necessary evil” to fulfill cheap labor demands, as the Colorado Springs Gazette put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society because of their language, religious practices, and physical appearance. Untruthful reporting confirmed existing biases among white readers. Journalists sensationalized Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens who indulged in prostitution and gambling. Denver’s Chinatown, located in Denver’s lower downtown, was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a notorious reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment. Wealthy whites frequented opium dens as the drug became trendy in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes because he stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke fluent English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers regularly praised him for his intelligence and entrepreneurship. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” Two years later it labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments reveal that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed without evidence that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. Newspapers reported that people believed Chin’s account because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his financial success to assist Colorado’s growing Chinese community. Between 1870 and his death in 1894, he supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and Fairplay. With his mining associate Edward L. Thayer, Chin also opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he participated in the Chee Kong Tong. This was a Chinese fraternity dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid unsubstantiated, racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob lynched one man and destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. It began to shrink because it was heavily male and was prohibited by law from interracial marriages. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery until his family exhumed his body and returned it to China. Almost a century later in 1977, the Ethnic Minority Council of the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission cosponsored a stained-glass memorial at the State Capitol dedicated to minority leaders. Chin was included in the memorial. He was depicted in a red Chinese gown rather than his typical suit.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, ascended to his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Chinese American participation in the war, followed by immigration reform in the 1960s, fostered better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. Although Colorado’s history of racial discrimination has left behind a whitewashed version of history, the experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:54:58 +0000 yongli 3545 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Jack Bradley http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jack-bradley <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Jack Bradley</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-08T16:51:14-07:00" title="Monday, February 8, 2021 - 16:51" class="datetime">Mon, 02/08/2021 - 16:51</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jack-bradley" data-a2a-title="Jack Bradley"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fjack-bradley&amp;title=Jack%20Bradley"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Jack Bradley (1919–2000) was a violinist who became one of the first Black members of a major professional orchestra in the United States as well as the first Black member of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-symphony"><strong>Denver Symphony Orchestra</strong></a> when he played with the group from 1946 to 1949. Bradley came up through the Denver Symphony’s youth and community orchestras before earning a spot in the newly professional symphony after serving in <strong>World War II</strong>. Seeing no future for himself as a Black orchestral musician, he left the Denver Symphony in 1949 to teach music at Texas Southern University, a historically Black school in Houston. He demonstrated the ability of Black musicians to play with the top orchestras in the country but also confronted barriers to Black participation in classical music that still exist today.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Jack Carter Bradley was born on March 14, 1919, to Eva and Earl Bradley in Moline, Illinois. His grandparents on both sides of the family had escaped from slavery. Because his two older siblings had died at a young age, his mother’s aunt, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/justina-ford"><strong>Justina Ford</strong></a>, suggested that the family move to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, where she was Colorado’s first Black female doctor, so that she could look after Bradley’s health. The family moved in 1926 and lived for several years with Ford in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a>. Bradley later recalled the community as “the ‘United Nations’ neighborhood,” a diverse area with “Blacks, Japanese, Chinese, Latins, Greeks, Jews, Italians and Anglos.” By the end of the 1920s, his family had moved east to Whittier, where his father opened a barbershop.</p> <p>Bradley showed musical talent early in his life. He started when his mother gave him piano lessons at home. In 1929 she sent him to the Just Kids Orchestra, a Saturday morning group lesson put on by <strong><em>The</em></strong> <strong><em>Denver Post</em></strong> at the Knight Campbell Music Store downtown. There Bradley took quickly to the violin; after a few months, he won a solo playing award and started private lessons. He played in his local school orchestras, earned a spot in Denver’s All City school orchestra, and performed a variety of solos and recitals at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/zion-baptist-church"><strong>Zion Baptist Church</strong></a>, which his family attended. After graduating from <strong>Manual High School</strong>, he enrolled at the <strong>University of Denver</strong> in 1937, where he studied music and played in the university orchestra as well as a student string quartet.</p> <h2>Denver Symphony</h2> <p>Bradley learned to play violin just as new classical music opportunities were emerging in Denver. In the mid-1930s, the decade-old Denver Civic Orchestra expanded to include a youth group, the Denver Junior Symphony, as well as a more professional orchestra, the Denver Symphony. All three were led by conductor <strong>Horace Tureman</strong> and business manager Helen Marie Black.</p> <p>Bradley was a member of the Denver Junior Symphony from its inception in 1935. In 1938 Tureman gave Bradley a viola and taught him to read the alto clef so he could fill a hole in the Denver Civic Orchestra. Bradley continued to play violin for the Junior Symphony and viola for the Civic Orchestra, with occasional appearances in the Denver Symphony as well, until he graduated from the University of Denver in 1941 and was promptly drafted into the army.</p> <p>Bradley served nearly five years in the army, where he remained stateside during World War II as a member and leader of army bands at bases in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Louisiana. Back in Denver in 1946, he auditioned to play violin for the Denver Symphony, which had become fully professional and hired a new conductor, <strong>Saul Caston</strong>. Caston gave him a spot, making Bradley one of the first Black members of a professional symphony orchestra in the United States. (Some Black musicians had performed earlier as soloists.) Bradley played with the orchestra for three years while also giving private lessons and studying composition at the University of Denver, where he earned his master of music degree in 1949. That year, an article in <em>Ebony</em> identified him as the first Black player in any of the twenty-five major American symphony orchestras.</p> <h2>Later Life</h2> <p>In 1949 Bradley left the Denver Symphony. “I could not see much of a future for a Black violinist in the symphony field,” he later wrote. “I had no evidence that there was, for there were no other Blacks in any of the American orchestras.” Even as a few more African Americans were hired by professional orchestras in the late 1940s and 1950s, aspiring Black classical musicians continued to face widespread educational disparities and cultural messages pointing them toward jazz rather than classical music. If they managed to get the proper training and tried to audition for an orchestra, they still encountered segregated musicians’ unions and discriminatory hiring practices.</p> <p>Amid that cultural landscape, Bradley contacted several historically Black schools and took a teaching position in the music department at Texas Southern University in Houston. He taught there for thirty-five years, serving as department chair for the final nineteen years before his retirement in 1984. After <strong>segregation</strong> ended in the 1960s, he played with the Corpus Christi Symphony and Baytown Symphony and served on the boards of the Houston Friends of Music and Houston Youth Symphony.</p> <p>Bradley died of cancer on February 29, 2000. Although articles on the history of American symphony orchestras occasionally mention his role with the Denver Symphony, he tends to be neglected today. His pioneering role with the Denver Symphony is often assigned instead to bassist <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/charles-burrell"><strong>Charles Burrell</strong></a>, who joined the symphony in 1949, just after Bradley left, and had a long career with the organization. Bradley’s neglect is attributable in part to the fate of the Denver Symphony, which experienced decades of turbulence before declaring bankruptcy in 1989. But it also owes something to the ongoing racial disparities in nearly all American orchestras—including the Denver Symphony’s successor, the Colorado Symphony—where even today, despite the rise of blind auditions, less than 2 percent of musicians are Black.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jack-bradley" hreflang="en">Jack Bradley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-civic-orchestra" hreflang="en">Denver Civic Orchestra</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-symphony" hreflang="en">Denver Symphony</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-symphony-orchestra" hreflang="en">Denver Symphony Orchestra</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/dr-justina-ford" hreflang="en">Dr. Justina Ford</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/justina-ford" hreflang="en">justina ford</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-symphony" hreflang="en">Colorado Symphony</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/horace-tureman" hreflang="en">Horace Tureman</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/saul-caston" hreflang="en">Saul Caston</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>James Michael Bailey, “Orpheus on a Roller Coaster: A History of the Denver Symphony Orchestra” (master’s thesis, University of Northern Colorado, 1991).</p> <p>Terry Barnes, “African-Americans Striving to Break Classical Barriers,” <em>Billboard</em>, October 24, 1992.</p> <p>Jack Bradley Papers, BCL ARL21, Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, Denver Public Library.</p> <p>Bob Jackson, “Jack Bradley, Symphony’s 1st Black Musician,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, March 21, 2000.</p> <p>Marilyn Marshall, “What’s Behind the Shortage of Blacks in Symphony Orchestras,” <em>Ebony</em>, September 1985.</p> <p>“Symphony Player,” <em>Ebony</em>, January 1949.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Aaron Flagg, “<a href="https://americanorchestras.org/images/stories/symphony_magazine/summer_2020/Anti-Black-Discrimination-in-American-Orchestras.pdf">Anti-Black Discrimination in American Orchestras</a>,” <em>Symphony</em>, Summer 2020.</p> <p>Alex Ross, “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/21/black-scholars-confront-white-supremacy-in-classical-music">Black Scholars Confront White Supremacy in Classical Music</a>,” <em>New Yorker</em>, September 21, 2020.</p> <p>Anthony Tommasini, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/arts/music/blind-auditions-orchestras-race.html">To Make Orchestras More Diverse, End Blind Auditions</a>,” <em>New York Times</em>, July 16, 2020.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 08 Feb 2021 23:51:14 +0000 yongli 3534 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Charles Burrell http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/charles-burrell <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Charles Burrell</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-08T16:17:20-07:00" title="Monday, February 8, 2021 - 16:17" class="datetime">Mon, 02/08/2021 - 16:17</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/charles-burrell" data-a2a-title="Charles Burrell"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcharles-burrell&amp;title=Charles%20Burrell"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Charles Burrell (1920–) is a classical and jazz musician who first joined the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-symphony"><strong>Denver Symphony</strong></a> in 1949 and played bass with the group for decades before his retirement in 1999. Sometimes called the “Jackie Robinson of classical music,” he was not actually the first Black classical musician in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> (a distinction that goes to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jack-bradley"><strong>Jack Bradley</strong></a>). His life demonstrates the many obstacles to Black participation in classical music—many of which still exist today—yet his talent and determination led him to a long, successful career, including a stint with the San Francisco Symphony in the early 1960s. Also a sterling jazz bassist, Burrell performed at the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rossonian-hotel"><strong>Rossonian Lounge</strong></a> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a> and played gigs with local notables such as <strong>George Morrison</strong> as well as national names such as Ella Fitzgerald, Earl Hines, Billie Holiday, and Fats Waller.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Charles Burrell was born on October 4, 1920, in Toledo, Ohio, as the third of Denverado and Ruben Burrell’s seven children. The family soon moved to Detroit. Burrell’s father was often absent, but his mother, whose father had been a minister at Denver’s <strong>Shorter A.M.E. Church</strong>, emphasized the importance of education for her children. Burrell joined his school’s orchestra in seventh grade, picking the bass because it was the only instrument left.</p> <p>Soon afterward, Burrell heard the San Francisco Symphony playing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 on the radio and declared that he wanted to perform with the orchestra someday, even though no major American orchestras employed Black musicians at the time. Aspiring Black classical musicians faced widespread educational disparities and cultural messages pointing them toward other genres instead of classical music. In fact, when Burrell went on to Cass Technical High School, the Detroit Symphony’s principal bass player agreed to teach him on the condition that he play jazz and blues, not classical.</p> <p>After graduating in 1939, Burrell’s mostly white classmates at Cass Technical—one of the top arts schools in the Midwest—were hired to play in radio orchestras. Because of his skin color, Burrell was not; instead, he played jazz at bars and other local venues. He also played some classical music (Handel’s <em>Messiah</em>) at Detroit’s Ebenezer Church and spent the summer of 1940 studying bass in Boston.</p> <p>After the United States entered <strong>World War II</strong>, Burrell joined the navy. Stationed at the segregated Camp Robert Smalls in the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, Burrell played in the Navy Band and studied bass with a member of the Chicago Symphony. He spent the final year of the war closer to home, at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile near Detroit.</p> <h2>Denver Symphony, 1949–59</h2> <p>After the war, Burrell played jazz in Detroit while attending Wayne State University on the GI Bill. He hoped to become a music teacher. Shortly before his graduation in 1949, however, the head of the Detroit school system told him that he would never hire a Black teacher. Burrell promptly moved to Denver, where his mother’s family lived. Taking a job at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fitzsimons-general-hospital"><strong>Fitzsimons Army Hospital</strong></a>, he happened to meet the Denver Symphony’s principal bassist, John Van Buskirk, on the streetcar. Burrell arranged to take lessons with Van Buskirk, who soon encouraged him to audition for the symphony.</p> <p>The Denver Symphony’s conductor, <strong>Saul Caston</strong>, had a history of hiring Black musicians. In 1946 he had hired the symphony’s first Black musician, violinist Jack Bradley. But Bradley left after three years, discouraged by the ongoing discrimination he saw in American orchestras. When Burrell arrived for an audition later in 1949, Caston talked to him for nearly two hours to gauge his character and his ability to survive in the almost entirely white world of classical music. Only at the very end of the audition did Caston ask him to play a two-octave G scale. Burrell got the job, becoming the Denver Symphony’s second Black musician. He stayed for a full decade. Although he always felt supported by Caston and business manager Helen Marie Black, he sensed that he was merely tolerated by his fellow musicians, from whom he received “a very cool reception” and occasionally heard racist remarks.</p> <p>Because the Denver Symphony had a short season and low pay, Burrell took extra jobs to make ends meet. He worked for the city, helping to clean venues at which he performed, such as <strong>Municipal Auditorium</strong> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/red-rocks-park-and-amphitheatre"><strong>Red Rocks Amphitheatre</strong></a>. He also continued to play jazz, often with local band leader and violinist George Morrison, and he served as house bassist at the Rossonian Lounge in Five Points. In the mid-1950s, he joined Colorado’s first integrated jazz band, the Al Rose Trio, before forming his own group a few years later.</p> <h2>San Francisco Symphony, 1959–65</h2> <p>In the summer of 1959, Burrell got a position with the San Francisco Pops Orchestra. Principal bassist Phil Karp asked him to audition for the regular symphony—his dream job since he started playing music. He got the position and joined the orchestra, where he felt fully accepted for the first time in the classical music world. While in the Bay Area, Burrell became one of the first Black teachers at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He also continued performing jazz on the side, this time in the band of legendary pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines.</p> <h2>Return to Denver</h2> <p>In 1965 an earthquake in San Francisco convinced Burrell to return to Denver, where he quickly rejoined the Denver Symphony. He soon achieved an old goal by earning his teaching certificate from the <strong>University of Denver</strong>. He also married symphony cellist Melanie White. As before, he had to take extra jobs to supplement his symphony pay; this time, he worked as a skycap at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/stapleton-international-airport"><strong>Stapleton Airport</strong></a>. He also was elected to the board of the local musicians’ union, where he helped symphony musicians navigate a series of contentious contract disputes and other financial problems.</p> <p>The Denver Symphony went bankrupt in 1989, when its musicians left the organization to form a new orchestra called the Colorado Symphony. Burrell played with the Colorado Symphony until 1999, when he resigned owing in part to the ongoing discrimination he experienced. After his retirement, he continued to perform jazz with his Charlie Burrell Trio.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>Now 100 years old, Burrell is recognized as a Denver-area musical treasure. In addition to being one of the first Black classical musicians to play with a professional American orchestra, he is at least as well known locally for his role in the Five Points jazz scene. He is believed to be the last surviving musician who played at the famed Rossonian Lounge, and over the years he also mentored Dianne Reeves, a Grammy-winning jazz singer; George Duke, a pianist who played with Frank Zappa; and Purnell Steen, a Denver-area jazz pianist.</p> <p>In 2017 Burrell was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and the Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame. In October 2019, the Colorado Symphony celebrated his ninety-ninth birthday by performing the piece that first inspired him to pursue a career in classical music, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. A year later, a crowd of well-wishers gave Burrell a drive-by birthday parade in the midst of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/coronavirus-colorado"><strong>COVID-19 pandemic</strong></a>.</p> <p>Despite this recognition of Burrell’s achievements, some of the barriers that he faced during his career remain in place for Black classical musicians, particularly the popular identification of classical music with wealthy whites. Even today, more than seventy years after Jack Bradley and Burrell broke the color barrier with the Denver Symphony, only 2 percent of musicians in American orchestras are Black.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/charles-burrell" hreflang="en">Charles Burrell</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/saul-caston" hreflang="en">Saul Caston</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jack-bradley" hreflang="en">Jack Bradley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-symphony" hreflang="en">Denver Symphony</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-symphony-orchestra" hreflang="en">Denver Symphony Orchestra</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-symphony" hreflang="en">Colorado Symphony</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rossonian-hotel" hreflang="en">rossonian hotel</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rossonian-lounge" hreflang="en">rossonian lounge</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/george-morrison-music" hreflang="en">George Morrison (music)</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>James Michael Bailey, “Orpheus on a Roller Coaster: A History of the Denver Symphony Orchestra” (master’s thesis, University of Northern Colorado, 1991).</p> <p>Kevin Beaty, “<a href="https://denverite.com/2020/10/04/charlie-burrell-the-jackie-robinson-of-music-turns-100-years-old/">Charles Burrell, the ‘Jackie Robinson of Music,’ Turns 100 Years Old</a>,” <em>Denverite</em>, October 4, 2020.</p> <p>Charlie Burrell and Mitch Handelsman, <em>The Life of Charlie Burrell: Breaking the Color Barrier in Classical Music</em> (Parker, CO: Books to Believe In, 2015).</p> <p>Ella Harpstead, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/09/29/he-was-told-hed-never-get-a-job-as-a-black-music-teacher-so-he-became-a-renowned-classical-bassist-instead/">Charles Burrell at 100: Told He’d Never Get a Job as a Black Music Teacher, He Became a Pioneering Classical Bassist Instead</a>,” CPR Classical, September 29, 2020.</p> <p>Larry Rothe, <em>Music for a City, Music for the World: 100 Years with the San Francisco Symphony</em> (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2011).</p> <p>Jon Solomon, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/music/charles-burrell-honored-by-colorado-symphony-at-tantalizing-tchaikovsky-11498117">The Colorado Symphony Honors Charles Burrell with Tantalizing Tchaikovsky</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, October 2, 2019.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>“<a href="https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/charles-burrell-39">Charles Burrell</a>,” History Makers, June 21, 2002.</p> <p>Aaron Flagg, “<a href="https://americanorchestras.org/images/stories/symphony_magazine/summer_2020/Anti-Black-Discrimination-in-American-Orchestras.pdf">Anti-Black Discrimination in American Orchestras</a>,” <em>Symphony</em>, Summer 2020.</p> <p>Alex Ross, “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/21/black-scholars-confront-white-supremacy-in-classical-music">Black Scholars Confront White Supremacy in Classical Music</a>,” <em>New Yorker</em>, September 21, 2020.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 08 Feb 2021 23:17:20 +0000 yongli 3532 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Immigration to Denver, 1920–Present http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/immigration-denver-1920-present <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Immigration to Denver, 1920–Present</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-08T15:57:23-07:00" title="Monday, February 8, 2021 - 15:57" class="datetime">Mon, 02/08/2021 - 15:57</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/immigration-denver-1920-present" data-a2a-title="Immigration to Denver, 1920–Present"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fimmigration-denver-1920-present&amp;title=Immigration%20to%20Denver%2C%201920%E2%80%93Present"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Beginning in the 1920s, immigration to Denver underwent several significant changes owing to war, economic depression, and evolving civil rights legislation and related social tensions. Movements of people due to <strong>World War II</strong>, Japanese internment, changing agricultural landscapes, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s–60s, and Denver’s urban renewal campaign starting in the 1960s contributed to a revolution in Denver’s diversity and group relations. Denver’s ethnic diversity grew with new immigrants from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Meanwhile, existing residents built up communities and fought to assert their rights as Denverites and American citizens.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As before, wealthier immigrants from the eastern United States and Europe typically experienced the highest rate of acceptance in Denver as they became prominent business owners and took up seats in local government. Working-class immigrants—especially those from Latin America, Africa, and Asia—often faced discrimination in jobs and housing, even after civil rights legislation made it illegal.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>A New Era</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the 1920s, the city of <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> was home to residents from numerous religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. English, German, Irish, Swedish, Italian, Polish, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-chinatown"><strong>Chinese</strong></a>, Japanese, Greek, and Russian immigrants were just some of the groups that had already moved to the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The start of the 1920s marked an important shift away from Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/early-immigration-denver-1850%E2%80%931920"><strong>early immigration patterns</strong></a> that had begun in the 1850s. After the end of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a> and the Red Scare—a nationwide panic over Communism—the United States passed immigration restrictions that imposed new national origins quotas and effectively ended immigration from Asia. This new nativism was reflected in the revival of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ku-klux-klan-colorado"><strong>Ku Klux Klan</strong></a>, which gained a large following in Denver. Some members of the Klan even gained powerful government positions and tried to force Blacks, Jews, and Catholics out of the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The end of the war also prompted Latino servicemen to move their families from rural centers to Denver, especially the <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/auraria-west-denver">Auraria</a> </strong>neighborhood. Instead of Europeans and Asians, Latinos would become the most populous immigrant group in Denver during the twentieth century.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Auraria: Heart of Latino Culture</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Latinxs who moved to Auraria starting in the 1920s arrived largely via the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sugar-beet-industry"><strong>sugar beet industry</strong></a>, which had started in Colorado around 1900 and soon joined ranching and <a href="/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a> as one of the most prominent industries in the state. The growth of the sugar beet industry demanded a new labor force to work beet fields and sugar factories. American Indian and Mexican laborers from southern Colorado, northern New Mexico, and Mexico became the preferred labor group for sugar beet farmers because they accepted lower wages than whites and were more easily available than Chinese, who had been banned from immigrating in 1882. Companies such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-western-sugar-company"><strong>Great Western Sugar</strong></a> also drew laborers from other marginalized groups in Colorado, including Japanese, Tejano (Texans of Mexican descent), and German Russian.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During the 1920s, many Latinx farmers and World War I veterans began to move their families to Auraria, shifting the neighborhood from Central and Eastern European to Latinx. From the 1920s through the 1960s, the Latinx residents of Auraria created a rich culture. <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/st-cajetan%E2%80%99s-catholic-church"><strong>St. Cajetan’s Catholic Church</strong></a>, at the corner of Lawrence and Ninth Streets, was built in 1926 and represented the heart of Auraria.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By the early 1940s, however, city officials became concerned about the concentration of Latinxs in the neighborhood, as they believed overpopulation and crowding were negatively affecting the lives of residents. This was a controversial issue, given that many Auraria residents liked their neighborhood. They had lived there for years, and despite its lack of resources, Auraria was rich in kinship, tradition, and community. Despite official concerns, the neighborhood continued to thrive until 1965, when it was inundated after the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-flood-1965"><strong>South Platte River flooded</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The flood spurred the city to move ahead with a long-planned urban-renewal and flood-mitigation project that would transform Auraria into a <strong>tri-institutional college campus</strong>. With business in the city growing and a large generation of baby boomers nearing college age, the city saw the need for more higher education opportunities in the Denver metro area. After first banning the construction of new residential housing in Auraria in 1956, city officials argued in the wake of the 1965 flood that three-fourths of the neighborhood was “damaged beyond repair,” when in fact less than half of the area had been affected.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Denver proposed a bond to buy Auraria land and relocate the people who lived there. In response, angry residents established the Auraria Residents’ Organization to fight the initiative. Their efforts failed as powerful institutions lined up to support the measure. Denver archbishop James Casey, for example, urged Catholic voters to approve the bond. Some displaced residents believed the city paid off the church for its support. One granddaughter of a displaced resident claimed, “No one thinks they have a price. But everyone does. Even the church.” Whether or not the allegations were true, the bond passed with 52 percent of the vote.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The city went ahead with the project. Residents were forced to leave, and by 1972 relocations were complete. Many moved just south to <strong>La Alma–Lincoln Park</strong>, which had shifted from working-class European immigrants to Latinx residents in the previous two generations. After the Auraria campus was built, more tensions erupted when Chicano activists claimed that city officials had failed to deliver on promised scholarships to the children of displaced residents and a Hispanic cultural center on campus. Officials claimed they never found documents confirming such promises were made, but in the 1990s the campus began offering Displaced Aurarian Scholarships, which provide displaced residents and their children and grandchildren with eight semesters of tuition and funding at any of the campus’s three schools.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The War Effort and Japanese Internment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Denverites saw the benefits of war industry before, during, and after World War II. <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fitzsimons-general-hospital"><strong>Fitzsimons Army Hospital</strong></a>, which had treated soldiers during World War I, was refurbished and expanded, while <strong>Lowry Air Force Base</strong> (1938) and <strong>Buckley Field</strong> (1942) opened east of town. Just west of Denver, construction on the giant <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-ordnance-plant"><strong>Denver Ordnance Plant</strong></a> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lakewood"><strong>Lakewood</strong></a> started in 1941. These new army bases and hospitals brought roughly four million servicemen and women to Denver during the war. Employment in war industries reached as high as 19,500 in 1943. After the war, many of these soldiers and workers relocated permanently to the Denver area, especially as federal agencies mushroomed in size. The Denver Federal Center, for example, replaced the ordnance plant, eventually adding thousands of new office jobs.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While the war brought army and government personnel to Denver, it also caused an increase in the city’s Japanese population. In early 1942, when Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes on the West Coast, many of them moved to inland states such as Colorado. Denver’s Japanese American population, clustered near the <strong>Tri-State Buddhist Temple</strong> on Lawrence Street, grew from 324 people in 1940 to 2,310 in 1944.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Other Japanese Americans were forced into detention camps because of fears that they would try to sabotage American war efforts. Ten concentration camps were built to incarcerate them, with one—<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/granada-war-relocation-center-amache"><strong>Camp Amache</strong></a>, also known as the Granada War Relocation Center—in Colorado. Located near Granada in the southwest corner of Colorado, Camp Amache was built starting in June 1942. Many of the initial 212 detainees to arrive at the camp first had to help finish building it; in fact, the camp was still under construction when its population peaked at 7,567 people in October 1942.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When Camp Amache detainees were gradually released toward the end of the war, many moved to Denver owing in part to sympathetic Governor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ralph-carr"><strong>Ralph Carr</strong></a> (1939–43), who believed that putting US citizens in concentration camps based on their race violated the Constitution. Hundreds of former Amache prisoners went to work on sugar beet and other farms in Denver, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/adams-county"><strong>Adams</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/jefferson-county"><strong>Jefferson</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/arapahoe-county"><strong>Arapahoe</strong></a> Counties, where they were welcome as agriculture was on the rise after the war, resulting in a huge demand for agricultural laborers. Although Governor Carr’s beliefs were welcoming to Japanese Americans, not all white Americans shared his sentiment, causing continued racial discrimination toward Denver’s Japanese population for years to come.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Most Japanese Americans in Denver, even those who had been US soldiers during World War II, did not enjoy equal rights and protections until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, when Americans became somewhat more aware of the prejudices facing all ethnic minorities, not only Blacks. The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 allowed Asian immigrants to become naturalized US citizens, and the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 lifted discriminatory immigration quotas, opening US borders to significant numbers of new Asian immigrants for the first time in nearly half a century. Over the next fifty years, Asian immigrants were granted large numbers of visas because many of them had acquired advanced educations and technical expertise. This significantly increased Denver’s Asian American population, which more than doubled its share of the city from 1.4 percent in 1970 to 3.4 percent in 2010.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sakura-square"><strong>Sakura Square</strong></a> in downtown Denver functions as a sort of Japanese cultural center, home to several Japanese businesses as well as the Tri-State Buddhist Temple. Developed as a center for Japanese culture during the 1970s, the square has become home to Denver’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which includes celebrations of traditional Japanese practices such as the Japanese tea ceremony and <em>ikebana </em>flower arranging.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Black Denverites and the Five Points Neighborhood</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>During the 1910s and 1920s, a movement known as the Great Migration brought an influx of Black residents from the southern states to Denver. By 1920 about 2.4 percent of Denver’s population was Black, a proportion still much lower than in cities such as New York or Chicago (as well as many southern cities). Compared to many other cities, African Americans in Denver were moderately prosperous and well educated. Still, many of Denver’s Black residents worked as common laborers and were subject to racial prejudice, especially when the Ku Klux Klan emerged as a dominant force in the 1920s.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Many Black Denverites moved into the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a> neighborhood, located near the five-way intersection of Washington Street, Welton Street, East Twenty-Sixth Avenue, and Twenty-Seventh Street. While Five Points had initially been home to European immigrants, a housing boom in the 1920s allowed whites to move to newer, higher-class neighborhoods. Discrimination and restrictive covenants forced Blacks to remain in older, lower-quality housing in Five Points. By 1929 more than 75 percent of the city’s Black residents lived in Five Points. The area’s population skyrocketed during and after World War II, with the neighborhood’s Black population almost doubling to 13,500 in 1950.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During the 1950s, Five Points became known as the “Harlem of the West,” home to several well-known jazz clubs such as the Casino Cabaret and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rossonian-hotel"><strong>Rossonian Lounge</strong></a>. But the neighborhood experienced significant changes in the next few decades. Denver’s Fair Housing Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it possible for African Americans and other groups to move to better housing in neighborhoods where segregation had previously barred them. As a result, the population of Five Points decreased by half between 1950 and 1970. As Black Denverites moved elsewhere, Latinx people soon made up 40 percent of the population in Five Points. Many businesses that had been owned by Blacks (including several popular jazz clubs) shut down, and older buildings were demolished in the name of urban renewal.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>North and East African Immigrants</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As American immigration policy changed in the second half of the twentieth century, Denver became home to several thousand refugees from other countries, most notably countries in North and East Africa and the Middle East. In addition to abolishing discriminatory national-origins quotas, the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965 established a new policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled laborers from other countries. Immigration of refugees further increased when President Jimmy Carter signed the Refugee Act of 1980, which promised to provide effective resettlement of refugees and assistance in helping them to achieve economic self-sufficiency.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado has been the destination of choice for many of these refugees. The US Office of Refugee Resettlement reported that more than 9,500 African refugees and asylum seekers settled in Colorado between 1980 and 2014. The majority of these immigrants came from Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, Iran, and Syria, with smaller numbers from Liberia, Eritrea, and other countries. In fact, while in 2014 Mexico remained the most common country of origin for immigrants in Colorado, Ethiopia placed second.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Many Colorado-bound refugees settled in Denver, while some moved to smaller cities such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-morgan"><strong>Fort Morgan</strong></a>. A variety of local agencies mobilized to help immigrants learn English, start businesses, and obtain counseling and legal services, including the Catholic Charity Center, the Global Refugee Center in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/greeley"><strong>Greeley</strong></a>, and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network in <strong>Westminster</strong>. African immigrants found economic success, owning more than 300 businesses in Denver and employing thousands of people in the city. This economic success has resulted in greater involvement of first- and second-generation African immigrants in Colorado politics. In 2018, for example, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/joe-neguse"><strong>Joe Neguse</strong></a>, the son of Eritrean parents, won election to the US House of Representatives from Colorado’s Second <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-congressional-districts"><strong>Congressional District</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite their general success, some North and East African immigrants have faced discrimination, particularly those who are Muslim. Muslim meatpacking workers in northern Colorado—mostly Somali immigrants—have been fired on multiple occasions for taking prayer breaks, while in 2019 a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-capitol-hill"><strong>Capitol Hill</strong></a> landlord was forced to pay $675,000 for refusing to rent to a Muslim family, claiming the family was not American because of its religion.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>“Natives” and “Transplants”</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to people from other countries, Denver saw an increase in immigrants coming from other parts of the United States in the 2010s. This internal migration has been attributed to Colorado’s tourism industry, the state’s relatively low unemployment rate, and the legalization of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cannabis-marijuana"><strong>marijuana</strong></a> in 2012. The city’s population mushroomed by more than 100,000 people, with more than 60 percent of that growth attributable to newcomers. These immigrants came not only from other states, but also from economically struggling rural areas of Colorado, suggesting that Denver’s economy has been a main draw for many people in recent years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Newcomers to Colorado are commonly referred to as “transplants,” while those born in the state—apparently oblivious to the existence of American Indians and their own immigrant past—sometimes call themselves “natives.” Many of the so-called transplants moving into Denver are young, white, middle-class professionals, a large number of whom do not have children. As more of these transplants moved to Denver, skyrocketing housing prices, worsening traffic, and greater competition for jobs resulted in some tensions between newcomers and the so-called natives who call Denver home. While many residents have embraced or accepted the city’s growth, some have chosen to relocate.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Conclusion</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>From 1920 to the present, Denver has become home to new groups of immigrants from all over the country and the world. Today, Denver continues to celebrate its rich cultural diversity with events such as the Cherry Blossom Festival, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the Denver Greek Festival, the Five Points Jazz Festival, and others. Many historic churches and religious centers such as St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, the Tri-State Buddhist Temple, and <strong>Temple Emanuel</strong> continue to offer services. Despite major changes, formerly ethnic neighborhoods such as Five Points and Auraria still pay homage to previous residents’ cultures and histories with areas such as the Ninth Street Historic Park and the <strong>Black American West Museum</strong>. Denver’s rich cultural heritage is also evident in an ongoing push for equal rights for all citizens, as was seen in the <strong>protests of June and July 2020</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Denver continues to welcome refugees from other countries as well as immigrants from other parts of the United States. While the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/coronavirus-colorado"><strong>COVID-19 pandemic</strong></a> caused a decline in tourism, Denver has still seen its population increase. The city is predicted to continue to grow and welcome newcomers for the foreseeable future, which will add to Denver’s rich diversity and inevitably create new demographic shifts, conflicts, and movement patterns within the city. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kennedy-anna" hreflang="und">Kennedy, Anna</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver" hreflang="en">Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/african-american-history" hreflang="en">african american history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/african-americans-denver" hreflang="en">african americans denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/latino-immigration" hreflang="en">Latino Immigration</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/auraria" hreflang="en">auraria</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/auraria-higher-education-center" hreflang="en">Auraria Higher Education Center</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/refugees" hreflang="en">refugees</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/world-war-ii" hreflang="en">World War II</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-immigration" hreflang="en">Colorado immigration</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/immigration" hreflang="en">immigration</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/neighborhood-history-guide/auraria-neighborhood-history">Auraria Neighborhood History</a>,” Denver Public Library, April 21, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2014/06/02/colorados-african-immigrants-step-up-politically-on-neguse-candidacy/">Colorado’s African Immigrants Step Up Politically on Neguse Candidacy</a>,” <em>The</em> <em>Denver Post,</em> June 2, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2015/12/22/colorados-population-jumped-by-101000-in-12-months/">Colorado’s Population Jumped by 101,000 in 12 Months</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, December 22, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Encyclopedia Staff, “<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points">Five Points</a>,” <em>Colorado Encyclopedia</em>, last modified October 29, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elizabeth Escobedo, “<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado">Terminology: The Latino Experience in Colorado</a>,” <em>Colorado Encyclopedia</em>, last modified December 29, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kathleen Foody, “Denver Landlord Who Refused to Rent to Muslim Men Settles Lawsuit for $675,000,” <em>The Denver Post, </em>May 3, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.lincolnparkneighborhood.org/history/">History</a>,” Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Melyn Johnson, “At Home in Amache: A Japanese-American Relocation Camp in Colorado,” </strong><em>Colorado Heritage </em><strong>(1988).</strong></p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis </em>(Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1990).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jon Murray, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/18/denver-population-growth-census/">Denver’s Population Has Grown by Nearly 20 Percent Since 2010—And It’s Picking Up Again</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, April 18, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2018-09-14/muslim-workers-receive-1-7m-in-settlement-with-cargill-over-prayer-breaks">Muslim Workers Receive $.17M in Settlement with Cargill Over Prayer Breaks</a>,” High Plains Public Radio, September 14, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bernadette Jeanne Pérez, “<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sugar-beet-industry">Sugar Beet Industry</a>,” <em>Colorado Encyclopedia</em>, last modified August 6, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Eric Peterson, “<a href="https://www.confluence-denver.com/features/denver_by_the_data_8_population_011817.aspx">Denver by the Data, Vol. 8: Population and Demographics</a>,” Confluence Denver, January 18, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Prendergast, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/looking-to-aurarias-future-while-studying-the-lessons-of-its-past-5119749">Looking to Auraria’s Future While Studying the Lessons of Its Past</a>,” <em>Westword, </em>February 28, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Prendergast, “<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-flood-1965">South Platte Flood of 1965</a>,” <em>Colorado Encyclopedia</em>, last modified June 5, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/denver-metros-population-is-up-more-than-388000-in-eight-years-11316402">Metro Denver’s Population Is Up More Than 388,000 in Eight Years</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, April 19, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>“</strong><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2016/03/19/somalis-struggle-to-make-new-home-in-colorado/">Somalis Struggle to Make a New Home in Colorado</a><strong>,” <em>The Denver Post, </em>March 19, 2016. </strong></p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Megan Verlee, “</strong><a href="https://www.npr.org/2008/10/01/95254631/fired-muslims-to-sue-over-prayer-break-dispute">Fired Muslims to Sue Over Prayer Break Dispute</a><strong>,” NPR, October 1, 2008.</strong></p>&#13; &#13; <p>William Wei, <em>Asians in Colorado: A History of Persecution and Perseverance in the Centennial State</em> (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2016).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Rocky Mountain PBS, <a href="https://video.rmpbs.org/video/2365030024/" title=" (external link)">“Amache 1-Hour Special,”</a> <em>Colorado Experience</em>, June 20, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rocky Mountain PBS, “<a href="https://video.rmpbs.org/video/auraria-uurrvk/">Auraria</a>,” <em>Colorado Experience</em>, March 18, 2019.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 08 Feb 2021 22:57:23 +0000 yongli 3529 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Early Immigration to Denver, 1850–1920 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/early-immigration-denver-1850-1920 <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Early Immigration to Denver, 1850–1920</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-10-16T10:44:00-06:00" title="Friday, October 16, 2020 - 10:44" class="datetime">Fri, 10/16/2020 - 10:44</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/early-immigration-denver-1850-1920" data-a2a-title="Early Immigration to Denver, 1850–1920"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fearly-immigration-denver-1850-1920&amp;title=Early%20Immigration%20to%20Denver%2C%201850%E2%80%931920"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Since the city was founded in 1858, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> has included residents from a plethora of ethnic backgrounds drawn in by the promises of wealth and freedom often associated with the American West. As the city developed, immigrants from various parts of the United States as well as Europe and Asia flocked to Denver, creating complex cultural identities and ethnic tensions that continue to resonate in the city to this day. This article covers immigration to the city from its origins to about 1920, when the end of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a> and new national laws altered the nature of American immigration.</p> <h2>The First Prospectors and Fortune Seekers</h2> <p>What is now Denver has been a dynamic region full of movement for more than 10,000 years. Various <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/walking-colorado-introduction-origins-section"><strong>prehistoric groups</strong></a> herded giant <a href="/article/bison"><strong>bison</strong></a> into gulches on the plains, camped in the shelter of red rock formations along the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>, and traveled higher into the mountains during the summer. By about 1500 CE, Nuche (<a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a>) bands from the southwest had spread into the central <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a>, while <strong>Apache </strong>from farther north started to move to the central plains, which received an influx of new inhabitants as the Little Ice Age brought milder temperatures and more rain to the region. <strong>Comanche</strong> and <strong>Kiowa</strong> drove out the Apaches in the early 1700s and formed a century-long trading alliance that lasted until another pair of new groups, the <strong>Cheyenne</strong> and <strong>Arapaho</strong>, pushed onto the plains around 1800 after being ousted from their old homelands to the northeast.</p> <p>Despite the long history of Indigenous people making decent lives for themselves in the area, the so-called <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-peak"><strong>Pikes Peak</strong></a> region between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains suffered from a lousy reputation among European Americans before the 1850s. While the area did attract <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trappers</strong></a> as early as 1816, the vast, dry plains and treacherous mountains deterred farmers and other potential immigrants for decades. This began to change in 1850, when Lewis Ralston and several other prospectors bound for California discovered trace amounts of gold in a creek in present-day <a href="/article/arvada"><strong>Arvada</strong></a>. <strong>William Green Russell</strong>, a farmer and prospector from northern Georgia, heard rumors of the Ralston Creek discovery and joined a party of 104 people who arrived at the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte River</strong></a> in June 1858 to search for gold. After a series of failures, Russell discovered small amounts of placer gold—gold that could be panned from streambeds—on Little Dry Creek in 1858.</p> <p>One of the members of Russell’s party, Luke Tierney, documented the find in his journal, which he eventually showed to another experienced prospector, Daniel Chessman Oakes. Oakes gained Tierney’s permission to use his notes on the gold discoveries to write his own guide, <em>History of the Gold Discoveries on the South Platte River</em>, which he published in the winter of 1858–59 and distributed to several Missouri River towns. Oakes’s guide and others like it helped <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>launch a migration</strong></a> of almost 80,000 people into the Pikes Peak region, some traveling in wagons marked “Pikes Peak or Bust.”</p> <h2>Shifting Demographics</h2> <p>Many early immigrants who came to the Pikes Peak region were English, German, and Irish contingents from New York, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. Denver, for example, was founded in late 1858 by <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-larimer-jr"><strong>William Larimer, Jr.</strong></a>, who was born in Pennsylvania and had Scottish ancestors. Like Larimer, most early immigrants to Denver were relatively wealthy already and had been in the United States for years if not generations; more recent immigrants from Europe and Asia usually could not afford the journey before railroads were built. Not only did these first immigrants seek riches, especially in the wake of the economic Panic of 1857, but many of them sought a reprieve from the cramped lifestyle of eastern cities. Some sought refuge from religious intolerance in the east; many Germans who came to Denver were Jews and wanted to practice religion freely. African Americans such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/barney-ford"><strong>Barney Ford</strong></a> were also present in early Denver, though in significantly smaller numbers than in southern states and cities such as New York and Chicago. While some families moved west, most of the early residents in Denver were single men—many of them prospectors, some of them criminals fleeing the law out east. The first Denverites were often rugged, wild, and lawless, spending most of their time in saloons and boardinghouses when they were not panning for gold or working other jobs.</p> <p>In the 1860s, Denver’s demographics shifted when the railroads were being built. The <strong>Union Pacific</strong> Railroad, building west across the Great Plains, hired thousands of Irishmen, and the Central Pacific Railroad, building east from San Francisco, recruited Chinese workers. Later in the decade, the <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande</strong> and other Colorado railroads relied heavily on Italian laborers. In the 1880s, Denver’s immigrant makeup shifted again when <strong>smelters</strong>, railroad shops, and construction companies hired Swedes, Italians, Poles, and other eastern Europeans. The 1890s saw large numbers of Jews from Russia and other parts of eastern Europe settle in Colorado; many were poor and spoke little English. Largely confined to a ghetto along West <strong>Colfax Avenue</strong>, they worked as peddlers, salvagers, junk dealers, and day laborers.</p> <p>In the early 1900s, growing numbers of Japanese, Greek, and Latino immigrants filtered into Denver as the city continued to grow and develop. The new groups came to Denver primarily seeking economic opportunities, and railroads made it possible for them to move quickly and cheaply. The railroad also brought a larger number of families out west, introducing more women into the male-dominated city.</p> <h2>A New Culture</h2> <p>For those who arrived in Denver prior to 1880, it was relatively easy to adjust to fellow immigrants because many of them spoke English and had lived elsewhere in North America prior to arriving in Denver. While ethnic neighborhoods were not as common in Denver as they were in eastern cities, many immigrants found cultural camaraderie in formal and informal social groups. The Irish formed a Fenian Society, Germans established a Turnverein (a health and social club), Swiss joined the Grütli Verein, Scottish formed the Caledonian Society, and English joined the Albion Club.</p> <p>Twenty-five percent of Denver’s population was foreign born in the nineteenth century, and nearly all came from cultures where alcohol played an important role. Saloons such as Turner Hall, the Criterion, Cibola Hall, and the Club House presented not only an economic opportunity for immigrants but also an ethnic haven where they could consume familiar food and drink, speak their native tongues, and read newspapers in their native languages.</p> <p>Many early immigrants in Denver also worshipped together. Because of the lack of denominational churches in the city’s early days, many different ethnic groups were forced to worship together until newer churches were built as the city began to develop. For instance, German Catholics begrudgingly shared <strong>St. Elizabeth’s Church</strong> at Eleventh and Curtis Streets with the city’s Irish Catholics until the Irish built <strong>St. Leo’s Church</strong> at Tenth Street and Colfax Avenue in 1891. Jews constructed synagogues and taverns such as <strong>Temple Emmanuel</strong> and Adolph Goldhammer’s West Side Family Liquor House, where they could worship and congregate together.</p> <p>Some of the city’s later immigrants, particularly the Chinese and Italians, formed more compact ethnic neighborhoods, typically in the poorer areas east of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/larimer-square"><strong>Larimer Street</strong></a> near the South Platte River. Slavs and German Russians concentrated in areas north of downtown. Spanish-speaking immigrants from southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico concentrated in west <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/auraria-west-denver"><strong>Auraria</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a>. While most immigrants slipped easily into the local society and economy, discrimination and ethnic tensions still created problems for some.</p> <h2>Ethnic Tensions</h2> <p>The Chinese were perhaps most severely affected by discrimination in Denver. There and throughout the urban West, discrimination drove them into self-employment, most prominently in restaurants and laundries. European Denverites, fearing competition with Chinese workers, <strong>rioted against the Chinese</strong> on October 31, 1880. Rioters destroyed many of the laundries and homes between Blake and Wazee Streets, the section of the city that had become <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-chinatown"><strong>Denver’s Chinatown</strong></a>. The national opium crisis as well as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act caused anti-Chinese sentiment to remain strong in Denver, and the city saw its Chinese population decline from 1,002 in 1890 to only 212 in 1920.</p> <p>In the early 1900s, Japanese bore the brunt of this “yellow peril” discrimination as much as their Chinese counterparts. In 1902 the Colorado legislature appealed to Congress to prohibit Japanese workers from crossing the Pacific. “It is beginning to seem that bloodshed alone will bring the Chinese and Japanese question to the attention of Congress,” one man warned five years later in Denver. Fearing violence, Japanese leaders in Colorado recommended speaking softly and being safely at home by 11 pm.</p> <p>Until 1916 Germans enjoyed wealth and prestige in Denver society, not to mention significant political influence. This changed status dramatically when Colorado passed statewide <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/prohibition"><strong>prohibition</strong></a> four years before the nation outlawed alcohol. More than 400 saloons closed in Denver, causing many Germans to lose their jobs with major companies such Coors and <strong>Zang</strong>. Germans in Denver also faced widespread discrimination after the United States entered World War I in 1917. German citizens were fired, illegally imprisoned, and physically and verbally abused in the streets.</p> <p>After World War I ended in 1918, the Russian Revolution of 1917 combined with domestic bombings and labor disputes to spur an anti-Communist Red Scare in 1919–20. The city and state passed laws intended to curb anarchy and rebellion, while Denver newspapers railed against potentially nefarious foreigners. Even when the Red Scare passed—with only a handful of Denverites arrested—anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish sentiment plagued the city, culminating in the rise of the <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ku-klux-klan-colorado">Ku Klux Klan in Colorado</a>.</strong></p> <p>With the reemergence of the Klan, prejudice against African Americans also grew after 1920, though this was not new. As early as the 1860s, Frederick and Lewis Douglass, sons of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, successfully opposed Colorado statehood because a proposed state constitution would have denied Blacks the right to vote. While many African Americans in Denver were educated and relatively prosperous compared to other immigrant groups, they faced widespread discrimination and struggled to achieve economic and political power. By the 1920s, Black Denverites were effectively segregated in the Five Points neighborhood, a formerly mixed community of immigrants that became majority Black as ethnic whites moved to outlying neighborhoods and the <strong>Great Migration</strong> brought a wave of new African American residents to the city.</p> <h2>A New Era</h2> <p>The beginning of the 1920s marked another shift in Denver immigration, an era that would diverge from the early immigration patterns that began in the 1850s. The end of World War I and the Red Scare caused a significant decrease in immigrants from Europe and Asia, as did new national origins quotas instituted in the 1920s. Meanwhile, the Ku Klux Klan gained a large following in Denver, with some members of the Klan, such as Mayor Benjamin Stapleton, elected or appointed to government office. These forces combined to push Blacks, Jews, and Catholics to the margins of the city, and out of it if possible.</p> <p>On the other hand, the end of the war prompted Latino servicemen to move their families from rural centers into Denver, where they tended to settle in Auraria. The neighborhood was later demolished and the community dispersed to make way for the Auraria Higher Education Center, but glimpses of the bustling Latino neighborhood that predated today’s college campus are still evident in surviving buildings such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/st-cajetan%E2%80%99s-catholic-church"><strong>St. Cajetan’s Church</strong></a>, built in 1926. Indeed, Latinos would displace Europeans and Asians to become the most populous immigrant group in Denver over the course of the twentieth century, again changing the culture of the city.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kennedy-anna" hreflang="und">Kennedy, Anna</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver" hreflang="en">Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/immigration" hreflang="en">immigration</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/immigrants" hreflang="en">immigrants</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-immigrants" hreflang="en">Colorado immigrants</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ethnic-neighborhoods" hreflang="en">ethnic neighborhoods</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/european-americans" hreflang="en">European Americans</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/catholicism" hreflang="en">Catholicism</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-history" hreflang="en">black history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/latino-history" hreflang="en">latino history</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Democracy Responsible for Sunday’s Bloody Riot,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 2, 1880.</p> <p>Dennis Gallagher, Thomas J. Noel, and James Patrick Walsh, <em>Irish Denver </em>(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012).</p> <p>Jolie Anderson Gallagher, <em>A Wild West History of Frontier Denver: Pioneers, Gunslingers, and Cattle Kings on the Eastern Plains </em>(Charleston, SC: History Press, 2011).</p> <p>Dick Kreck, <em>Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family </em>(Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2009).</p> <p>Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis </em>(Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1990).</p> <p>Thomas J. Noel, <em>The City and the Saloon: Denver 1858–1916 </em>(Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1996).</p> <p>“A Raid Upon Chinese Laborers,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, August 2, 1893.</p> <p>“Will Lead in War on the Opium Evil,” <em>Colorado Transcript</em>, August 25, 1910.</p> <p>Roy T. Wortman, “Denver’s Anti-Chinese Riot, 1880,” <em>Colorado Magazine, </em>42, no. 4 (Fall 1965).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>William Hedges, <em>Pike’s Peak . . . or Busted!: Frontier Reminiscences</em>, ed. Herbert O. Brayer</p> <p>(Evanston, IL: Branding Iron Press, 1954).</p> <p>Sidney B. Morrison, “Letters from Colorado, 1860–1863,” <em>Colorado Magazine</em> 16, no. 3 (May 1939).</p> <p>William Wei, <em>Asians in Colorado: A History of Persecution and Perseverance in the Centennial State </em>(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2016).</p> <p>Elliott West, <em>The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado</em> (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 16 Oct 2020 16:44:00 +0000 yongli 3438 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Chipeta http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chipeta <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chipeta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3225--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3225.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/chipeta"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Chipeta-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=VjvLQIJP" width="600" height="938" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/chipeta" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chipeta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Chipeta was the wife of late nineteenth-century Ute leader Ouray. She aided her husband's diplomatic efforts to maintain peace between the United States and the Utes, which ultimately resulted in the Utes' removal from their ancestral homelands.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-01-16T15:32:57-07:00" title="Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 15:32" class="datetime">Thu, 01/16/2020 - 15:32</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chipeta" data-a2a-title="Chipeta"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fchipeta&amp;title=Chipeta"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Chipeta (1843–1924) was a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/northern-ute-people-uintah-and-ouray-reservation"><strong>Ute</strong></a> woman known for her intelligence, judgment, empathy, bravery, and quiet strength, all of which made her the only woman of her time allowed on the Ute council. She was also the wife of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ouray"><strong>Ouray</strong></a>, whom the United States recognized as the de facto Ute leader in the late nineteenth century. This meant that, like her husband, she was caught in the middle of two colliding worlds. As an influential indigenous person during the period when Colorado was incorporated into the United States, her commitment to peace helped shape the state, even as it resulted in the removal of her people from their ancestral homelands.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Little is known about Chipeta’s life before age fifteen. Oral history indicates that when Chipeta was a toddler, a Ute band found her as the sole survivor of a neighboring camp that had been attacked. The identity of her own camp is debated; oral traditions say she was <strong>Jicarilla Apache</strong>. After being found, she was adopted by a Ute leader and raised in the Utes’ ancestral homelands in the <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a> and adjacent high <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>plains</strong></a>, learning traditional Ute female duties including beading, leatherwork, and cooking.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When she was fifteen years old, Chipeta began caring for her sister, Black Mare. When her sister died in 1859, Chipeta began raising her nephew and also took on domestic duties caring for Black Mare’s widower, Ouray. Twenty-six-year-old Ouray was a respected hunter and leader among the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) Utes. He soon found that Chipeta was not only capable as a mother but also a good friend and confidant. They were soon married and began their life together in 1859, when Chipeta was sixteen.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After the end of the <strong>Mexican-American War</strong> in 1848, the land the Utes had called home for generations—what is now Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-slope"><strong>Western Slope</strong></a>, as well as much of present-day Utah—had become the nominal property of the United States. By 1858–59 the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a> was bringing thousands of immigrants from the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains. They began to compete with the Utes for land and resources. The invasion of  their homeland by settlement-minded newcomers meant that the traditional ways of the Ute people faced drastic change.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Role in Diplomacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1863 Ouray, representing the Tabeguache Utes, was one of the few Ute leaders to attend <a href="/article/conejos-treaty"><strong>treaty negotiations</strong></a> with the US government in Washington, DC. Thereafter, the United States viewed Ouray as the representative of all Utes in Colorado, even though he represented only one band. From this difficult position, Ouray and Chipeta tried to maintain peace between the many different Ute peoples and the US government by negotiating treaties. Chipeta accompanied Ouray when he made rounds to tell all the Ute men about new treaty provisions. She talked to the women and helped convince them of the treaty’s benefits. At the time, few women anywhere in North America had as much of a voice in political affairs as Chipeta.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ouray’s political views were unpopular with Utes who did not appreciate his willingness to compromise with the US government as well as with those who became jealous of the material possessions he acquired from his diplomatic status. Despite other Ute leaders’ skepticism of Ouray, they retained great respect for Chipeta. Her close ties with other Ute bands proved invaluable for Ouray. Once, Chipeta even saved her husband’s life by pointing out a would-be assassin in the brush. Ouray promptly dispatched the Ute man with an arrow through the neck.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After <a href="/article/ute-treaty-1868"><strong>1868</strong></a> most of Colorado’s Northern Ute bands lived on a vast reservation on the <a href="/article/western-slope"><strong>Western Slope</strong></a>. They reported to various <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/indian-agencies-and-agents"><strong>Indian agencies</strong></a> to collect annuities—payments in cash or supplies as outlined in treaties. Yet even within this framework, Ouray and Chipeta found it increasingly difficult to maintain peace. First, in 1871 Congress ceased to recognize indigenous people as belonging to sovereign nations, instead declaring them all to be wards of the government. Although the government had often failed to live up to its end of treaties before 1871, the end of native sovereignty officially removed the impetus for equal terms in future agreements. Thus when miners illegally entered the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-mountains"><strong>San Juan Mountains</strong></a> in 1872, violating the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ute-treaty-1868"><strong>Treaty of 1868</strong></a>, Ouray and Chipeta had little recourse. Ouray tried in vain to keep hold of the land but eventually agreed to sell it via the 1873 <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/brunot-agreement"><strong>Brunot Agreement</strong></a>, which angered many Utes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Then, on the heels of Ouray’s cession of the San Juans, the <a href="/article/meeker-incident"><strong>Meeker Incident</strong></a> exacerbated tensions between Utes and whites. In 1878 <a href="/article/nathaniel-meeker"><strong>Nathan Meeker</strong></a> was appointed Indian agent of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/white-river-ute-indian-agency"><strong>White River Indian Agency</strong></a>, near present-day <a href="/article/meeker-0"><strong>Meeker</strong></a>. An ambitious man, Meeker attempted to force the Utes to abandon their traditional way of life, which involved deliberate seasonal migrations from the mountains to the plains, and instead become settled Christian farmers. This resulted in a series of conflicts that came to a head in September 1879. The Ute leader Johnson, husband of Ouray’s sister, assaulted Meeker, who requested federal troops for protection. When the troops crossed onto the Ute reservation, Utes at the agency revolted, killing Meeker and ten others. They also took Meeker’s family and several others hostage for twenty-three days.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After US agents negotiated the captives’ release, the hostages were taken to Ouray and Chipeta’s home, where Chipeta cared for them. When the women and children returned to the East Coast, they recounted their experiences with Chipeta and Ouray. One hostage, Flora Ellen Price, gushed that “Mrs. Ouray wept for our hardships and her motherly face, dusky but beautiful, with sweetness and compassion, was wet with tears. We left her crying.” These stories spread and endeared Chipeta to the society attempting to take her homeland, but they ultimately did nothing to stop the spread of Euro-American immigrants. In the years after the Meeker Incident, the US government forced the Tabeguache and most of the other Colorado Ute bands onto a reservation in eastern Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ouray’s Death</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1880 Chipeta again traveled with Ouray to Washington. The media portrayed the visit as a celebratory event and referred to Chipeta as “Queen of the Utes,” but the visit was a time of great sadness and anxiety for her. Ouray’s health was declining, and the Utes would soon be moved to the Utah reservation. All the hard work she and her husband had done to keep their sacred lands had failed, and Ouray seemed to be losing all the fight he had left. He died in Colorado in August 1880, before his tribe was forced to move to Utah. Chipeta mourned the loss of her husband by cutting her hair short, and she kept it cut short for the rest of her life. In September 1881, the US government forcibly marched the Utes to Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Stories differ as to how Chipeta spent the remaining forty-four years of her life, but all agree that she retained the bravery and quiet strength for which she had long been known. In 1887, for example, when all the men were away from camp, Chipeta and a group of Ute women were accosted by a group of Euro-American men. The Euro-American men made lewd comments and gestures. Although the Ute women had not been physically harmed, they were upset and scared. When they attempted to leave the camp, the Euro-American men returned and chased them. Chipeta helped the women escape and then quietly returned to watch as the men burned the entire camp. This was not an uncommon occurrence on the Ute Reservation; women faced a special kind of torment because of their ethnicity and gender. Chipeta continued to be denigrated by white culture after she remarried a man named Accumooquats, whom white newspaper articles gave the derogatory moniker “Toomuchagut.” Chipeta handled this mistreatment with her trademark quiet grace.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Utes’ oral tradition records that Chipeta continued to be an influential woman on the reservation. She spent the remainder of her life living with family, especially her little brother, who became a sheepherder. Some stories maintain that she continued to take care of orphaned children and even took in girls to teach them leatherworking and beading skills. She maintained some of her friendships with whites, but most of her life was focused on being with her people and helping Ute children. In 1916 Chipeta gave her final interview through an interpreter, and her words carried the weight of her sadness. She told the reporter, “I desire nothing. What is good enough for my people is good enough for me. I expect to die soon.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite all Chipeta and Ouray’s efforts, they could not protect the Utes from the painful consequences of forcible relocation. The relocation’s deleterious effects on the Utes’ culture and subsistence as well as on their spiritual beliefs and customs hung heavy on Chipeta’s heart until she died on August 17, 1924. Less than a year after her death, on May 24, 1925, Chipeta was reburied near the house she had shared with Ouray near <strong>Montrose</strong>, Colorado. This has since become a memorial site built in 1939, a public park, and the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ute-indian-museum"><strong>Ute Indian Museum</strong></a>, which opened in 1956 and is dedicated to preserving and transmitting the history of Colorado’s Ute people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Chipeta is remembered as a woman who worked tirelessly for her people, even as she took part in political events that separated them from their ancestral homeland. The love she had for her people, for Ouray, for her children, and for peace continually fed the quiet strength that sustained her in the face of drastic change and repeated injustice.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/moreland-stevi" hreflang="und">Moreland, Stevi</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chipeta" hreflang="en">Chipeta</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chief-ouray" hreflang="en">Chief Ouray</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/tabeguache-ute" hreflang="en">Tabeguache Ute</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ute-indian-museum" hreflang="en">ute indian museum</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-statutes-at-large/about-this-collection/41st-congress/session-3/c41s3ch120.pdf">An Act making Appropriations for the current and contingent Expenses of the Indian Department…</a>” (Indian Appropriations Act) 41st Congress, Sess. III, Ch. 119–20, March 3, 1871.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Gail Beaton, <em>Colorado Women: A History</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cynthia S. Becker and P. David Smith,<em> Chipeta, Queen of the Utes; A Biography</em> (Montrose, CO: Western Reflections, 2003).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sally Crum, <em>People of the Red Earth: American Indians of Colorado</em> (Santa Fe, NM: Ancient City Press, 1996).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Sloan Daniels<em>, The Ute Indians of Southern Colorado </em>(Lake City, CO: Western Reflections, 2008).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>J. Donald Hughes, <em>American Indians in Colorado</em> (Boulder, CO: Pruett, 1987).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Susan Lyman-Whitney, <em>Worth Their Salt: Notable but Often Unnoted Women of Utah</em>, ed. Colleen Whitley (Salt Lake City: Utah State University Press, 1996).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel and Duane A. Smith, <em>Colorado: The Highest State</em> (Denver: University Press of Colorado, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel, “<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/chipeta-queen-utes-and-wife-ouray">Chipeta: ‘Queen of the Utes’ and Wife of Ouray</a>,” Denver Public Library, June 26, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Katherine M. B. Osbourn, <em>Southern Ute Women; Autonomy and Assimilation on the Reservation, 1887–1934</em> (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Phyllis J. Perry, <em>Bold Women in Colorado History</em> (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press, 2012).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Gayle C. Shirley, <em>More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Colorado Women </em>(Helena, MT: Morris Books, 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeanne Varnell, <em>Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame</em> (Boulder, CO: Johnson, 1999).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Cynthia S. Becker, “<a href="https://chipeta.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/ouray-and-chipeta-meet-u-s-presidents/">Ouray and Chipeta Meet U.S. Presidents</a>,” Chipeta: Ute Peacemaker (blog post), updated January 21, 2013.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Virtual Library, “<a href="https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/digital-colorado/colorado-histories/beginnings/chipeta-admired-and-respected-indian-leader/">Chipeta: Admired and Respected Indian Leader</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, “<a href="https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/chipeta/">Chipeta</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Peter Decker, “<em>The Utes Must Go!”: American Expansion and the Removal of a People </em>(Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2004).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Museums of the San Luis Valley, “<a href="https://www.museumtrail.org/chipeta">Chipeta – Wife of Ute Chief Ouray</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Utah State Board of Education, “<a href="https://www.uen.org/indianed/teacherresources/leaders/ouray.shtml">Chief Ouray and His Wife Chipeta</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Richard K. Young, <em>The Ute People of Colorado in the Twentieth Century </em>(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-teacher-resources--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-teacher-resources.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-teacher-resources.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-teacher-resources field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-teacher-resources"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS7%20Chipeta.docx">Chipeta  Teacher Resource Set (Word)</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS7%20Chipeta.pdf">Chipeta Teacher Resource Set (PDF)</a></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Chipeta (1843–1924) was a <strong>Ute</strong> woman known for her intelligence, bravery, and quiet strength. These traits made her the only woman of her time allowed on the Ute council. She was also the wife of <strong>Ouray</strong>.  The United States recognized Ouray as the Ute leader in the late nineteenth century. Like her husband, Chipeta was caught in the middle of two worlds. Her commitment to peace helped shape the state. However, it also resulted in the removal of her people from their homelands.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Little is known about Chipeta’s life before age fifteen. Oral history indicates that when Chipeta was a toddler, a Ute band found her. She was the sole survivor of a neighboring camp that had been attacked. The identity of her own camp is debated. It is thought she was <strong>Jicarilla Apache</strong>. After being found, she was adopted by a Ute leader. Chipeta was raised in the Utes’ homelands in the <strong>Rocky Mountains</strong>. She learned traditional Ute female duties including beading and leatherwork.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When she was fifteen years old, Chipeta began caring for her sister, Black Mare. When Black Mare died in 1859, Chipeta began raising her nephew. She also took on caring for Black Mare’s widower, Ouray. Twenty-six-year-old Ouray was a respected hunter and leader among the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) Utes. He found that Chipeta was not only capable as a mother but also a good friend and confidant. They were married in 1859, when Chipeta was sixteen.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1848, the land the Utes had called home for generations became the property of the United States. By 1858–59 the <strong>Colorado Gold Ru</strong>sh brought thousands of immigrants from the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains. They began to compete with the Utes for land and resources. The invasion of their homeland meant that the traditional ways of the Ute people would change.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Role in Diplomacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1863 Ouray, representing the Tabeguache Utes, was one of the few Ute leaders to attend <strong>treaty negotiations</strong> with the US government in Washington, DC. The United States viewed Ouray as the representative of all Utes in Colorado. However, he only represented one band. Ouray and Chipeta tried to maintain peace between the different Ute peoples and the US government by negotiating treaties. Chipeta went with Ouray when he traveled to tell Ute men about new treaty provisions. She talked to the women and helped convince them of the treaty’s benefits. At the time, few women in North America had as much of a voice in political affairs as Chipeta.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ouray’s political views were unpopular with Utes who did not appreciate his willingness to compromise with the US government. Some Utes were also jealous of the possessions he received as part of his diplomatic status. Despite other Ute leaders’ skepticism of Ouray, they had great respect for Chipeta. Her close ties with other Ute bands proved valuable to Ouray. Once, Chipeta saved her husband’s life by pointing out a would-be assassin in the brush. Ouray dispatched the Ute man with an arrow through the neck.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After <strong>1868</strong> most of Colorado’s Northern Ute bands lived on a reservation on the <strong>Western Slope</strong>. They reported to various <strong>Indian agencies</strong> to collect payments in cash or supplies as outlined in treaties. However, Ouray and Chipeta found it difficult to maintain peace. In 1871 Congress stopped recognizing indigenous people as belonging to sovereign nations. Congress declared them all wards of the government. The end of native sovereignty removed the impetus for equal terms in future agreements. Miners illegally entered the <strong>San Juan Mountains</strong> in 1872. This violated the <strong>Treaty of 1868</strong>. However, Ouray and Chipeta had little recourse. Ouray tried to keep hold of the land. Finally, he agreed to sell it via the 1873 Brunot Agreement. This angered many Utes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Meeker Incident further increased tensions between Utes and whites. In 1878 <strong>Nathan Meeker</strong> became Indian agent of the <strong>White River Indian Agency</strong>, near present-day <strong>Meeker</strong>. Meeker attempted to force the Utes to abandon their traditional way of life. He wanted the Utes to become Christian farmers. Things came to a head in September 1879. The Ute leader Johnson assaulted Meeker. Meeker requested federal troops for protection. When the troops crossed onto the Ute reservation, Utes revolted. The Utes killed Meeker and ten others. They also took Meeker’s family and several others hostage for twenty-three days.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US agents negotiated the captives’ release. Afterwards, the hostages were taken to Ouray and Chipeta’s home. Chipeta cared for them. When the women and children returned to the East Coast, they talked about their experiences. One hostage, Flora Ellen Price, said that “Mrs. Ouray wept for our hardships and her motherly face, dusky but beautiful, with sweetness and compassion, was wet with tears. We left her crying.” These stories spread. Ultimately, the stories did nothing to stop the spread of Euro-American immigrants. After the Meeker Incident, the US government forced most of the Colorado Ute bands onto a reservation in eastern Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ouray’s Death</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1880 Chipeta again traveled with Ouray to Washington. The media portrayed the visit as a celebratory event. They referred to Chipeta as “Queen of the Utes.” However, the visit was a time of great sadness and anxiety for Chipeta. Ouray’s health was failing. The Utes would soon be moved to the Utah reservation. All the hard work she and her husband had done to keep their lands had failed. Ouray seemed to be losing all the fight he had left. He died in Colorado in August 1880, before his tribe was forced to move to Utah. Chipeta mourned the loss of her husband by cutting her hair short. She kept it cut short for the rest of her life. In September 1881, the US government forcibly marched the Utes to Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Stories differ as to how Chipeta spent the remaining forty-four years of her life. All agree that she kept the bravery and quiet strength she was known for. In 1887, Chipeta and a group of Ute women were accosted by a group of Euro-American men. The Ute women were upset and scared. The women attempted to leave the camp. However, the Euro-American men chased them. Chipeta helped the women escape. She returned to watch as the men burned the entire camp. This was not an uncommon occurrence on the Ute Reservation. Women faced torment because of their ethnicity and gender.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Chipeta continued to be an influential woman. She spent the remainder of her life living with family. Some stories say that she took care of orphaned children. She took in girls to teach them traditional crafting skills. Chipeta maintained some of her friendships with whites. However, most of her life was focused on helping Ute children. In 1916 Chipeta gave her final interview. She told the reporter, “I desire nothing. What is good enough for my people is good enough for me. I expect to die soon.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Chipeta and Ouray could not protect the Utes from forced relocation. The relocation hung heavy on Chipeta’s heart until she died on August 17, 1924. On May 24, 1925, Chipeta was reburied near the house she had shared with Ouray. This has since become the <strong>Ute Indian Museum</strong>. The museum opened in 1956 and is dedicated to preserving the history of Colorado’s Ute people.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Chipeta (1843–1924) was a <strong>Ute</strong> woman known for her intelligence, empathy, bravery, and quiet strength. These traits made her the only woman of her time allowed on the Ute council. She was also the wife of <strong>Ouray</strong>, whom the United States recognized as the Ute leader in the late nineteenth century. Like her husband, she was caught in the middle of two worlds. As an influential indigenous person, her commitment to peace helped shape the state. However, it also resulted in the removal of her people from their homelands.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Little is known about Chipeta’s life before age fifteen. Oral history indicates that when Chipeta was a toddler, a Ute band found her. She was the sole survivor of a neighboring camp that had been attacked. The identity of her own camp is debated. Oral traditions say she was <strong>Jicarilla Apache</strong>. After being found, she was adopted by a Ute leader. Chipeta was raised in the Utes’ homelands in the <strong>Rocky Mountains</strong>. She learned traditional Ute female duties including beading, leatherwork, and cooking.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When she was fifteen years old, Chipeta began caring for her sister, Black Mare. When her sister died in 1859, Chipeta began raising her nephew. She also took on domestic duties caring for Black Mare’s widower, Ouray. Twenty-six-year-old Ouray was a respected hunter and leader among the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) Utes. He found that Chipeta was not only capable as a mother but also a good friend and confidant. They were married in 1859, when Chipeta was sixteen.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After the end of the <strong>Mexican-American War</strong> in 1848, the land the Utes had called home for generations had become the property of the United States. By 1858–59 the <strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong> was bringing thousands of immigrants from the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains. They began to compete with the Utes for land and resources. The invasion of  their homeland meant that the traditional ways of the Ute people would change.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Role in Diplomacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1863 Ouray, representing the Tabeguache Utes, was one of the few Ute leaders to attend <strong>treaty negotiations</strong> with the US government in Washington, DC. The United States viewed Ouray as the representative of all Utes in Colorado. However, he only represented one band. Ouray and Chipeta tried to maintain peace between the different Ute peoples and the US government by negotiating treaties. Chipeta went with Ouray when traveled to tell all the Ute men about new treaty provisions. She talked to the women and helped convince them of the treaty’s benefits. At the time, few women in North America had as much of a voice in political affairs as Chipeta.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ouray’s political views were unpopular with Utes who did not appreciate his willingness to compromise with the US government. Some Utes were also jealous of the possessions he received as part of his diplomatic status. Despite other Ute leaders’ skepticism of Ouray, they had great respect for Chipeta. Her close ties with other Ute bands proved valuable to Ouray. Once, Chipeta saved her husband’s life by pointing out a would-be assassin in the brush. Ouray dispatched the Ute man with an arrow through the neck.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After <strong>1868</strong> most of Colorado’s Northern Ute bands lived on a reservation on the <strong>Western Slope</strong>. They reported to various <strong>Indian agencies</strong> to collect payments in cash or supplies as outlined in treaties. However, Ouray and Chipeta found it difficult to maintain peace. In 1871 Congress stopped recognizing indigenous people as belonging to sovereign nations. Congress declared them all wards of the government. The end of native sovereignty removed the impetus for equal terms in future agreements. When miners illegally entered the <strong>San Juan Mountains</strong> in 1872, violating the <strong>Treaty of 1868</strong>, Ouray and Chipeta had little recourse. Ouray tried to keep hold of the land. Eventually, he agreed to sell it via the 1873 <strong>Brunot Agreement</strong>. This angered many Utes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After Ouray’s cession of the San Juans, the <strong>Meeker Incident</strong> increased tensions between Utes and whites. In 1878 <strong>Nathan Meeker</strong> became Indian agent of the <strong>White River Indian Agency</strong>, near present-day <strong>Meeker</strong>. Meeker attempted to force the Utes to abandon their traditional way of life, which involved seasonal migrations from the mountains to the plains. Instead, Meeker wanted the Utes to become settled Christian farmers. This resulted in a series of conflicts that came to a head in September 1879. The Ute leader Johnson assaulted Meeker. Meeker requested federal troops for protection. When the troops crossed onto the Ute reservation, Utes at the agency revolted. The Utes killed Meeker and ten others. They also took Meeker’s family and several others hostage for twenty-three days.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US agents negotiated the captives’ release. Afterwards, the hostages were taken to Ouray and Chipeta’s home. Chipeta cared for them. When the women and children returned to the East Coast, they recounted their experiences. One hostage, Flora Ellen Price, gushed that “Mrs. Ouray wept for our hardships and her motherly face, dusky but beautiful, with sweetness and compassion, was wet with tears. We left her crying.” These stories spread. Ultimately, the stories did nothing to stop the spread of Euro-American immigrants. After the Meeker Incident, the US government forced the Tabeguache and most of the other Colorado Ute bands onto a reservation in eastern Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ouray’s Death</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1880 Chipeta again traveled with Ouray to Washington. The media portrayed the visit as a celebratory event. They referred to Chipeta as “Queen of the Utes.” However, the visit was a time of great sadness and anxiety for Chipeta. Ouray’s health was declining, and the Utes would soon be moved to the Utah reservation. All the hard work she and her husband had done to keep their sacred lands had failed. Ouray seemed to be losing all the fight he had left. He died in Colorado in August 1880, before his tribe was forced to move to Utah. Chipeta mourned the loss of her husband by cutting her hair short. She kept it cut short for the rest of her life. In September 1881, the US government forcibly marched the Utes to Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Stories differ as to how Chipeta spent the remaining forty-four years of her life. All agree that she retained the bravery and quiet strength she was known for. In 1887, when all the men were away from camp, Chipeta and a group of Ute women were accosted by a group of Euro-American men. The Euro-American men made lewd comments and gestures. Although the Ute women had not been physically harmed, they were upset and scared. When the women attempted to leave the camp, the Euro-American men returned and chased them. Chipeta helped the women escape. She returned to watch as the men burned the entire camp. This was not an uncommon occurrence on the Ute Reservation. Women faced torment because of their ethnicity and gender.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Utes’ oral tradition records that Chipeta continued to be an influential woman. She spent the remainder of her life living with family, especially her little brother. Some stories maintain that she continued to take care of orphaned children. She took in girls to teach them leatherworking and beading skills. Chipeta maintained some of her friendships with whites. However, most of her life was focused on helping Ute children. In 1916 Chipeta gave her final interview through an interpreter. She told the reporter, “I desire nothing. What is good enough for my people is good enough for me. I expect to die soon.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite all Chipeta and Ouray’s efforts, they could not protect the Utes from forced relocation. The relocation hung heavy on Chipeta’s heart until she died on August 17, 1924. Less than a year after her death, on May 24, 1925, Chipeta was reburied near the house she had shared with Ouray near <strong>Montrose</strong>, Colorado. This has since become a memorial site, a public park, and the <strong>Ute Indian Museum</strong>. The museum opened in 1956 and is dedicated to preserving the history of Colorado’s Ute people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Chipeta is remembered as a woman who worked tirelessly for her people, even as she took part in political events that separated them from their ancestral homeland. The love she had for her people, for Ouray, for her children, and for peace fed the quiet strength that sustained her in the face of drastic change and repeated injustice.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Chipeta (1843–1924) was a <strong>Ute</strong> woman known for her intelligence, judgment, empathy, bravery, and quiet strength. These traits made her the only woman of her time allowed on the Ute council. She was also the wife of <strong>Ouray</strong>, whom the United States recognized as the de facto Ute leader in the late nineteenth century. Like her husband, she was caught in the middle of two colliding worlds. As an influential indigenous person, her commitment to peace helped shape the state. However, it also resulted in the removal of her people from their ancestral homelands.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Little is known about Chipeta’s life before age fifteen. Oral history indicates that when Chipeta was a toddler, a Ute band found her. She was the sole survivor of a neighboring camp that had been attacked. The identity of her own camp is debated. Oral traditions say she was <strong>Jicarilla Apache</strong>. After being found, she was adopted by a Ute leader. Chipeta was raised in the Utes’ homelands in the <strong>Rocky Mountains</strong>. She learned traditional Ute female duties including beading, leatherwork, and cooking.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When she was fifteen years old, Chipeta began caring for her sister, Black Mare. When her sister died in 1859, Chipeta began raising her nephew. She also took on domestic duties caring for Black Mare’s widower, Ouray. Twenty-six-year-old Ouray was a  respected hunter and leader among the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) Utes. He soon found that Chipeta was not only capable as a mother but also a good friend and confidant. They were married in 1859, when Chipeta was sixteen.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After the end of the <strong>Mexican-American War</strong> in 1848, the land the Utes had called home for generations—what is now Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and <strong>Western Slope</strong>, as well as much of present-day Utah—had become the nominal property of the United States. By 1858–59 the <strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong> was bringing thousands of immigrants from the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains. They began to compete with the Utes for land and resources. The invasion of  their homeland by settlement-minded newcomers meant that the traditional ways of the Ute people faced drastic change.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Role in Diplomacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1863 Ouray, representing the Tabeguache Utes, was one of the few Ute leaders to attend <strong>treaty negotiations</strong> with the US government in Washington, DC. Thereafter, the United States viewed Ouray as the representative of all Utes in Colorado, even though he represented only one band. From this difficult position, Ouray and Chipeta tried to maintain peace between the many different Ute peoples and the US government by negotiating treaties. Chipeta accompanied Ouray when he made rounds to tell all the Ute men about new treaty provisions. She talked to the women and helped convince them of the treaty’s benefits. At the time, few women anywhere in North America had as much of a voice in political affairs as Chipeta.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ouray’s political views were unpopular with Utes who did not appreciate his willingness to compromise with the US government as well as with those who became jealous of the material possessions he acquired from his diplomatic status. Despite other Ute leaders’ skepticism of Ouray, they retained great respect for Chipeta. Her close ties with other Ute bands proved invaluable for Ouray. Once, Chipeta even saved her husband’s life by pointing out a would-be assassin in the brush. Ouray dispatched the Ute man with an arrow through the neck.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After <strong>1868</strong> most of Colorado’s Northern Ute bands lived on a reservation on the <strong>Western Slope</strong>. They reported to various <strong>Indian agencies</strong> to collect annuities—payments in cash or supplies as outlined in treaties. Yet even within this framework, Ouray and Chipeta found it difficult to maintain peace. First, in 1871 Congress ceased to recognize indigenous people as belonging to sovereign nations, instead declaring them all to be wards of the government. Although the government had often failed to live up to its end of treaties before 1871, the end of native sovereignty removed the impetus for equal terms in future agreements. Thus when miners illegally entered the <strong>San Juan Mountains</strong> in 1872, violating the <strong>Treaty of </strong>1868, Ouray and Chipeta had little recourse. Ouray tried in vain to keep hold of the land. He agreed to sell it via the 1873 <strong>Brunot Agreement</strong>, which angered many Utes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Then, on the heels of Ouray’s cession of the San Juans, the <strong>Meeker Incident</strong> exacerbated tensions between Utes and whites. In 1878 <strong>Nathan Meeker</strong> was appointed Indian agent of the <strong>White River Indian Agency</strong>, near present-day <strong>Meeker</strong>. An ambitious man, Meeker attempted to force the Utes to abandon their traditional way of life, which involved deliberate seasonal migrations from the mountains to the plains, and instead become settled Christian farmers. This resulted in a series of conflicts that came to a head in September 1879. The Ute leader Johnson, husband of Ouray’s sister, assaulted Meeker, who requested federal troops for protection. When the troops crossed onto the Ute reservation, Utes at the agency revolted, killing Meeker and ten others. They also took Meeker’s family and several others hostage for twenty-three days.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After US agents negotiated the captives’ release, the hostages were taken to Ouray and Chipeta’s home, where Chipeta cared for them. When the women and children returned to the East Coast, they recounted their experiences with Chipeta and Ouray. One hostage, Flora Ellen Price, gushed that “Mrs. Ouray wept for our hardships and her motherly face, dusky but beautiful, with sweetness and compassion, was wet with tears. We left her crying.” These stories spread and endeared Chipeta to the society attempting to take her homeland. Ultimately, they did nothing to stop the spread of Euro-American immigrants. In the years after the Meeker Incident, the US government forced the Tabeguache and most of the other Colorado Ute bands onto a reservation in eastern Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Ouray’s Death</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1880 Chipeta again traveled with Ouray to Washington. The media portrayed the visit as a celebratory event and referred to Chipeta as “Queen of the Utes,” but the visit was a time of great sadness and anxiety for her. Ouray’s health was declining, and the Utes would soon be moved to the Utah reservation. All the hard work she and her husband had done to keep their sacred lands had failed. Ouray seemed to be losing all the fight he had left. He died in Colorado in August 1880, before his tribe was forced to move to Utah. Chipeta mourned the loss of her husband by cutting her hair short, and she kept it cut short for the rest of her life. In September 1881, the US government forcibly marched the Utes to Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Stories differ as to how Chipeta spent the remaining forty-four years of her life, but all agree that she retained the bravery and quiet strength for which she had long been known. In 1887, for example, when all the men were away from camp, Chipeta and a group of Ute women were accosted by a group of Euro-American men. The Euro-American men made lewd comments and gestures. Although the Ute women had not been physically harmed, they were upset and scared. When they attempted to leave the camp, the Euro-American men returned and chased them. Chipeta helped the women escape and then quietly returned to watch as the men burned the entire camp. This was not an uncommon occurrence on the Ute Reservation. Women faced a special kind of torment because of their ethnicity and gender. Chipeta continued to be denigrated by white culture after she remarried a man named Accumooquats, whom white newspaper articles gave the derogatory moniker “Toomuchagut.” Chipeta handled this mistreatment with her trademark quiet grace.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Utes’ oral tradition records that Chipeta continued to be an influential woman on the reservation. She spent the remainder of her life living with family, especially her little brother, who became a sheepherder. Some stories maintain that she continued to take care of orphaned children and even took in girls to teach them leatherworking and beading skills. She maintained some of her friendships with whites, but most of her life was focused on being with her people and helping Ute children. In 1916 Chipeta gave her final interview through an interpreter, and her words carried the weight of her sadness. She told the reporter, “I desire nothing. What is good enough for my people is good enough for me. I expect to die soon.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite all Chipeta and Ouray’s efforts, they could not protect the Utes from the painful consequences of forcible relocation. The relocation’s deleterious effects on the Utes’ culture and subsistence as well as on their spiritual beliefs and customs hung heavy on Chipeta’s heart until she died on August 17, 1924. Less than a year after her death, on May 24, 1925, Chipeta was reburied near the house she had shared with Ouray near Montrose, Colorado. This has since become a memorial site built in 1939, a public park, and the <strong>Ute Indian Museum</strong>, which opened in 1956 and is dedicated to preserving and transmitting the history of Colorado’s Ute people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Chipeta is remembered as a woman who worked tirelessly for her people, even as she took part in political events that separated them from their ancestral homeland. The love she had for her people, for Ouray, for her children, and for peace continually fed the quiet strength that sustained her in the face of drastic change and repeated injustice.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 16 Jan 2020 22:32:57 +0000 yongli 3140 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Clara Brown http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/clara-brown <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Clara Brown</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3226--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3226.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/clara-brown"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Clara-Brown-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=Vx0komlt" width="600" height="867" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/clara-brown" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Clara Brown</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item">Clara Brown was likely the first African American woman to come to Colorado. Born a slave in Virginia, Brown was freed in Kentucky and headed west during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859. She acquired mining properties in Gilpin County and used her wealth to become a philanthropist who helped former slaves rebuild their lives in Colorado.</div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2019-08-20T14:48:48-06:00" title="Tuesday, August 20, 2019 - 14:48" class="datetime">Tue, 08/20/2019 - 14:48</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/clara-brown" data-a2a-title="Clara Brown"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fclara-brown&amp;title=Clara%20Brown"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Clara Brown (c. 1803–85) was an ex-slave who became a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and humanitarian in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Central City</strong></a>. She is said to be the first African American woman to have traveled West during the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a>. While in Central City, she established <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gilpin-county"><strong>Gilpin County</strong></a>’s first laundry as well as <strong>Colorado’s first Protestant church</strong>. She opened her home to freed slaves and hosted church services, which earned her the nickname “Aunt” Clara. Brown was inducted into the <strong>Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame</strong> in 1989. In 2012 a hill in Gilpin County formerly named “Negro Hill” was renamed “Clara Brown Hill” in honor of Brown’s contributions to the county’s history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara Brown was born into slavery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, around 1803. She is presumed to have been separated from her father but remained with her mother for her entire childhood. Clara and her mother were later moved to Kentucky to work on a tobacco farm with their Virginian owners. By the age of eighteen, Clara was married to a fellow slave named Richard, and they had four children—Richard Jr., Margaret, and twins Paulina Ann and Eliza Jane. However, Brown was soon separated from her family; Paulina Ann drowned at a young age, and her husband and the rest of her children were sold after their owner passed.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Beginnings</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859, at fifty-six years of age, Clara was freed by her owner, George Brown, according to Kentucky state law. Clara’s first and foremost objective was to be reunited with her family, but she eventually found out about their tragic fates. Her husband, Richard, and daughter Margaret had died in slavery, and her son, Richard Jr., had been sold so many times that he was no longer traceable. This left Brown to search for her youngest daughter, Eliza Jane.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859 Clara served as a midwife and cook for a wagon train headed West, eventually bringing her to Denver. She soon relocated herself to Central City, where she established the first laundry in Gilpin County. During her stay, Clara accumulated a large sum of savings and eventually acquired housing and mining properties worth around $10,000 (roughly $1,000,000 today) in both Denver and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a>. From then on, Clara earned herself the nickname “Aunt” Clara for providing shelter and food for the local townspeople as well as help establish Colorado’s first Protestant church.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Long Journey’s End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara eventually earned enough money to finally start searching for her family. Clara began her search as an official representative for <strong>Frederick Pitkin</strong>, a Republican governor of Colorado, helping former slaves establish themselves as freedmen and women. Her search first began in Kentucky, and she soon learned of her family’s mostly unfortunate fate. However, she was successful in helping freed slaves reestablish themselves in Colorado. Then, in 1882 Clara located her daughter Eliza Jane in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That same year, Clara returned to Denver with her granddaughter. She was voted into the <strong>Society of Colorado Pioneers</strong> in 1884. Clara Brown died on October 23, 1885. Her legacy lives on in the <strong>City Opera House</strong>, the state<strong> <a href="/article/colorado-state-capitol">capitol building</a></strong>, and in Central City, where she has a hill named in honor of her and the rest of Colorado’s black pioneers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Adapted from “</strong><a href="https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/clara-brown/"><strong>Clara Brown</strong></a><strong>,” Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, n.d.</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/clara-brown" hreflang="en">Clara Brown</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gilpin-county" hreflang="en">Gilpin County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-gold-rush" hreflang="en">Colorado Gold Rush</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/african-americans" hreflang="en">African Americans</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-history" hreflang="en">black history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/aunt-clara" hreflang="en">aunt clara</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/philanthropy" hreflang="en">philanthropy</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-city" hreflang="en">Central City</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/boulder" hreflang="en">boulder</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver" hreflang="en">Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/frederick-pitkin" hreflang="en">frederick pitkin</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Patricia Calhoun, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/gilpin-countys-negro-hill-is-renamed-aunt-clara-brown-hill-finally-5116639">Gilpin County’s Negro Hill Is Renamed Aunt Clara Brown Hill. Finally</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, May 16, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tricia Martineau Wagner, “<a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/brown-clara-1803-1885/">Clara Brown (1803–1885)</a>,” The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Shanti Zaid, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/Kids_Students/Bios/Aunt_Clara_Brown.pdf">Aunt Clara Brown</a>,” History Colorado, n.d.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Roger Baker, <em>Clara: An Ex-Slave in Gold Rush Colorado </em>(Black Hawk, CO: Black Hawk Publishing, 2003).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Patricia Calhoun, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/gilpin-county-manager-roger-baker-on-why-colorado-remembers-clara-brown-8655786">Gilpin County Manager Roger Baker on Why Colorado Remembers Clara Brown</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, January 4, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cathy Luchetti, <em>Women of the West</em> (New York: W.W. Norton, 2001).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-teacher-resources--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-teacher-resources.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-teacher-resources.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-teacher-resources field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-teacher-resources"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS6%20Clara%20Brown.docx">Clara Brown Teacher Resource Set (Word)</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS6%20Clara%20Brown.pdf">Clara Brown Teacher Resource Set (PDF)</a></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Clara Brown (c. 1803–85) was an ex-slave. She became a business owner in <strong>Denver </strong>and <strong>Central City</strong>. She is said to be the first African American woman to travel West during the <strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong>. Brown established <strong>Gilpin County</strong>’s first laundry as well as <strong>Colorado’s first Protestant church</strong>. She opened her home to freed slaves and hosted church services. This earned her the nickname “Aunt” Clara. Brown was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1989.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara Brown was born into slavery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, around 1803. She is thought to have been separated from her father. Brown remained with her mother for her entire childhood. Clara and her mother were later moved to Kentucky to work on a tobacco farm. By the age of eighteen, Clara was married to a fellow slave named Richard. They had four children—Richard Jr., Margaret, and twins Paulina Ann and Eliza Jane. Clara was separated from her family. Paulina Ann drowned at a young age. Her husband and the rest of her children were sold after their owner passed.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Beginnings</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859, at age fifty-six, Clara was freed. She served as a midwife and cook for a wagon train headed West. The job brought her to Denver. She moved to Central City and established the first laundry in Gilpin County. Clara saved money. She used it to buy housing and mining properties worth around $10,000 (roughly $1,000,000 today) in Denver and <strong>Boulder</strong>. She earned the nickname “Aunt” Clara after providing shelter and food for the local townspeople. Clara also helped establish Colorado’s first Protestant church.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Long Journey’s End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara finally earned enough money to start looking for her family. Her search began in Kentucky. However, her husband, Richard, and daughter Margaret had died in slavery. Her son, Richard Jr., had been sold so many times that he was no longer traceable. This left Brown to search for her youngest daughter, Eliza Jane.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As Clara looked, she helped freed slaves reestablish themselves in Colorado. In 1882 Clara found her daughter Eliza Jane in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Clara came back to Denver with her granddaughter.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara Brown was voted into the <strong>Society of Colorado Pioneers</strong> in 1884. She died on October 23, 1885. A hill in Central City is named in honor of her.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Clara Brown (c. 1803–85) was an ex-slave who became a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and humanitarian in <strong>Denver</strong> and <strong>Central City</strong>. She is said to be the first African American woman to have traveled West during the <strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong>. While in Central City, she established <strong>Gilpin County</strong>’s first laundry as well as <strong>Colorado’s first Protestant church</strong>. She opened her home to freed slaves and hosted church services, which earned her the nickname “Aunt” Clara. Brown was inducted into the <strong>Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame</strong> in 1989. In 2012 a hill in Gilpin County was renamed “Clara Brown Hill” in honor of Brown.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara Brown was born into slavery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, around 1803. She is presumed to have been separated from her father. Clara remained with her mother for her entire childhood. Clara and her mother were later moved to Kentucky to work on a tobacco farm with their Virginian owners. By the age of eighteen, Clara was married to a fellow slave named Richard. They had four children—Richard Jr., Margaret, and twins Paulina Ann and Eliza Jane. However, Brown was soon separated from her family. Paulina Ann drowned at a young age. Her husband and the rest of her children were sold after their owner passed.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Beginnings</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859, at fifty-six years of age, Clara was freed by her owner, George Brown. Clara’s first objective was to be reunited with her family. She eventually found out about their tragic fates. Her husband, Richard, and daughter Margaret had died in slavery. Clara's son, Richard Jr., had been sold so many times that he was no longer traceable. This left Brown to search for her youngest daughter, Eliza Jane.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859 Clara served as a midwife and cook for a wagon train headed West. The job eventually brought her to Denver. She soon relocated to Central City. She established the first laundry in Gilpin County. During her stay, Clara accumulated a large savings. She acquired housing and mining properties worth around $10,000 (roughly $1,000,000 today) in both Denver and <strong>Boulder</strong>. From then on, Clara earned herself the nickname “Aunt” Clara for providing shelter and food for the local townspeople as well as help establish Colorado’s first Protestant church.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Long Journey’s End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara eventually earned enough money to finally start searching for her family. Clara began her search as an official representative for <strong>Frederick Pitkin</strong>, a Republican governor of Colorado, helping former slaves establish themselves as freedmen and women. Her search first began in Kentucky, and she soon learned of her family’s mostly unfortunate fate. However, she was successful in helping freed slaves reestablish themselves in Colorado. Then, in 1882 Clara located her daughter Eliza Jane in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That same year, Clara returned to Denver with her granddaughter. She was voted into the <strong>Society of Colorado Pioneers</strong> in 1884. Clara Brown died on October 23, 1885. Her legacy lives on in the <strong>City Opera House</strong>, <strong>Denver’s capitol</strong> <strong>building</strong>, and in Central City, where she has a hill named in honor of her and the rest of Colorado’s black pioneers.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Clara Brown (c. 1803–85) was an ex-slave who became a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and humanitarian in <strong>Denver</strong> and <strong>Central City</strong>. She is said to be the first African American woman to have traveled West during the <strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong>. While in Central City, she established <strong>Gilpin County</strong>’s first laundry as well as <strong>Colorado’s first Protestant church</strong>. She opened her home to freed slaves and hosted church services, which earned her the nickname “Aunt” Clara. Brown was inducted into the <strong>Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame</strong> in 1989. In 2012 a hill in Gilpin County formerly named “Negro Hill” was renamed “Clara Brown Hill” in honor of Brown’s contributions to the county’s history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara Brown was born into slavery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, around 1803. She is presumed to have been separated from her father but remained with her mother for her entire childhood. Clara and her mother were later moved to Kentucky to work on a tobacco farm with their Virginian owners. By the age of eighteen, Clara was married to a fellow slave named Richard, and they had four children—Richard Jr., Margaret, and twins Paulina Ann and Eliza Jane. However, Brown was soon separated from her family; Paulina Ann drowned at a young age, and her husband and the rest of her children were sold after their owner passed.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Beginnings</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859, at fifty-six years of age, Clara was freed by her owner, George Brown, according to Kentucky state law. Clara’s first and foremost objective was to be reunited with her family, but she eventually found out about their tragic fates. Her husband, Richard, and daughter Margaret had died in slavery, and her son, Richard Jr., had been sold so many times that he was no longer traceable. This left Brown to search for her youngest daughter, Eliza Jane.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1859 Clara served as a midwife and cook for a wagon train headed West, eventually bringing her to Denver. She soon relocated herself to Central City, where she established the first laundry in Gilpin County. During her stay, Clara accumulated a large sum of savings and eventually acquired housing and mining properties worth around $10,000 (roughly $1,000,000 today) in both Denver and <strong>Boulder</strong>. From then on, Clara earned herself the nickname “Aunt” Clara for providing shelter and food for the local townspeople as well as help establish Colorado’s first Protestant church.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Long Journey’s End</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Clara eventually earned enough money to finally start searching for her family. Clara began her search as an official representative for <strong>Frederick Pitkin</strong>, a Republican governor of Colorado, helping former slaves establish themselves as freedmen and women. Her search first began in Kentucky, and she soon learned of her family’s mostly unfortunate fate. However, she was successful in helping freed slaves reestablish themselves in Colorado. Then, in 1882 Clara located her daughter Eliza Jane in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That same year, Clara returned to Denver with her granddaughter. She was voted into the <strong>Society of Colorado Pioneers</strong> in 1884. Clara Brown died on October 23, 1885. Her legacy lives on in the <strong>City Opera House</strong>, <strong>Denver’s capitol building</strong>, and in Central City, where she has a hill named in honor of her and the rest of Colorado’s black pioneers.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 20 Aug 2019 20:48:48 +0000 yongli 3069 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Garveyism in Colorado http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/garveyism-colorado <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Garveyism in Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2018-06-19T13:12:39-06:00" title="Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 13:12" class="datetime">Tue, 06/19/2018 - 13:12</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/garveyism-colorado" data-a2a-title="Garveyism in Colorado"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fgarveyism-colorado&amp;title=Garveyism%20in%20Colorado"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Marcus M. Garvey (1887–1940) was president of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), an organization that offered hope to millions of African people in the United States and worldwide. In the early twentieth century, Garvey had large followings in <strong><a href="/article/denver">Denver</a></strong> and <strong><a href="/article/colorado-springs">Colorado Springs</a></strong>. Although Garvey himself spent little time in Colorado, his organization inspired hundreds of black Coloradans to be proud of their history and build strong communities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The rise of Garveyism in the United States, Africa, and other regions of the African Diaspora was due largely to mass mobilization efforts to unite Africans across the world. In the United States, African American men had fought for democracy in <strong><a href="/article/colorado-world-war-i">World War I</a></strong>. However, when they returned home to Jim Crow laws, they were forced to live in segregated areas in Denver and other American cities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thundering, spellbinding, persuasive, and inspiring, Marcus Garvey’s voice was also pragmatic in positioning the African predicament on the same continuum as other global liberation movements. Garvey’s political outlook had many sides: one was to give America to the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ku-klux-klan-colorado"><strong>Ku Klux Klan</strong></a> and avoid whites, and a second was to encourage Negroes globally to live and build institutions either in Africa or other locations of the African Diaspora. Garvey was the first to communicate this message to a large population of African American Coloradans who felt proud of their race for the first time. He also encouraged them to continue their self-help education, as Booker T. Washington had instructed them years before, in his efforts to build up a Black Nation and live as a community within a community. Under Garvey’s leadership, the UNIA-ACL had over 800 branches across five continents, with a reputed membership of 6 million.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although the African American population in the Rocky Mountain region was relatively small, Garveyism attracted a following in Denver and Colorado Springs during the early 1920s. In Denver, the African American population represented the region’s largest concentration of individuals and families who embraced Garvey’s prophetic message to establish a common belief in black pride, economic development, and nationhood. In Colorado Springs, the local chapter of the UNIA-ACL was headquartered at the People’s Church. The two Colorado divisions of the UNIA-ACL had served as a collective response to the KKK’s terrorist threats as Garvey was embarking upon organizational tours in the region in 1922 and 1924. While on bond as a result of a miscarriage of justice, Garvey rallied black Coloradans to fight for a free and redeemed Africa, and to demand their citizenship and economic rights in the United States. Despite his mounting troubles, Garvey proclaimed in Colorado in October 1924 that “I was in jail last August. I am ready to go back to jail or hell for the principles of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.” Some men, he argued, make a big noise about jail. In an FBI report, Garvey was quoted as saying, “Now you tell the whole world that Marcus Garvey does not care a damn about jail, when it comes to the emancipation of 400,000,000 Negroes.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Local and regional activists of the two Colorado divisions requested assistance and support from Garvey. He, along with his wife Amy Jacques, his personal secretary, and two other UNIA officials, arrived in Colorado Springs on May 23, 1922, to deliver a rousing public address. After leaving Colorado Springs, Garvey traveled to Denver, where he delivered two addresses on behalf of the Denver Division of the UNIA-ACL. However, when the couple returned in 1924, both spoke before the two Colorado Divisions. Garvey spoke in Denver at Fern Hall on October 5, 1924, while Amy Jacques delivered a speech in Colorado Springs at People’s Methodist Episcopal Church on the evening of October 13, 1924.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Immediately after leaving Colorado Spring on October 14, 1924, Garvey traveled to Detroit, where he continued to garner support from members of the second largest UNIA-ACL chapter in US history. Garvey was soon notified to return to New York, where he was arrested, imprisoned, and expected to serve a five-year prison term in the Atlanta Federal Prison. After serving only two years, Garvey’s sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge. However, because Garvey was not a US citizen and convicted on a felony, federal law required his immediate deportation. Upon his release in November 1927, Garvey was deported, leaving New Orleans for Jamaica.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/stephens-ronald-j" hreflang="und">Stephens, Ronald J.</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/marcus-garvey" hreflang="en">marcus garvey</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/garveyism" hreflang="en">garveyism</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/african-americans-colorado" hreflang="en">african americans colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/garveyism-colorado" hreflang="en">garveyism colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard and David McComb, <em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State</em>, 3rd Ed. (Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1994).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em>, 1920-25.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>Colorado Statesman</em>, 1920-30.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Amy Jacques Garvey, ed., <em>The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. Or, Africa for the Africans</em> (Lexington, KY: Brawtley Press, 1923, 2014).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert A. Hill, ed., <em>The Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers</em>, Vol. 4 (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1921-22).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John Stakes Holly, <em>The Invisible Peoples of the Pikes Peak Region: An Afro-American Chronicle</em> (Colorado Springs, CO: Friends of the Pikes Peak Library and Friends of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, 1990).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/marcus-garvey">Marcus Garvey: Federal Bureau of Investigation File</a> (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1979).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tony Martin, <em>Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association</em> (Dover, MA: The Majority Press, 1986).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Laura M. Mauck, <em>Images of America, Five Points Neighborhood of Denver</em> (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2001).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ronald J. Stephens, “The Influence of Marcus Mosiah and Amy Jacques Garvey: On the Rise of Garveyism in Colorado,” in <em>Enduring Legacies: Ethnic Histories and Cultures of Colorado, </em>eds. Arturo Aldama, Elisa Facio, Daryl Maeda, and Reiland Rabaka (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>The Negro World</em>, 1920-1933.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ula Yvette Taylor, <em>The Veiled Garvey: The Life and Times of Amy Jacques Garvey</em> (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Theodore G. Vincent, <em>Black Power and the Garvey Movement</em> (Berkeley, CA: Ramparts Press, 1971).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Amnifu R. Harvey, “<a href="https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&amp;amp;httpsredir=1&amp;amp;article=2112&amp;amp;context=jssw">A Black Community Development Model: The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League 1917–1940</a>,” <em>The Journal of Sociology &amp; Social Welfare </em>21, no. 1 (1994).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-XjloOKl60">Marcus Garvey – Mini Biography</a>,” YouTube video, 4:04, uploaded by Biography, December 12, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20787">Universal Negro Improvement Association, Records 1918–59 (New York Public Library).</a></p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 19 Jun 2018 19:12:39 +0000 yongli 2938 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Elvin R. Caldwell http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elvin-r-caldwell <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Elvin R. Caldwell</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-05-02T10:38:47-06:00" title="Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - 10:38" class="datetime">Tue, 05/02/2017 - 10:38</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elvin-r-caldwell" data-a2a-title="Elvin R. Caldwell"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Felvin-r-caldwell&amp;title=Elvin%20R.%20Caldwell"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Elvin R. Caldwell Sr. (1919–2004) was one of the most significant African American policymakers in Colorado history. An accountant and businessman, Caldwell joined many community organizations before beginning his political career in 1950 in the Colorado House of Representatives. He later served on the <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> City Council. In both positions Caldwell worked to eliminate the routine injustices suffered by Colorado’s African American community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin Caldwell was born in Denver on April 11, 1919, to Wilba and Inez Caldwell. He grew up in Denver’s historic <a href="/article/five-points"><strong>Five Points</strong></a> neighborhood, the most prosperous black community in the West. Affluent African Americans began moving into the area in the early 1900s, and by 1911, upper-middle-class whites started moving out of the area to newer neighborhoods with modern technology such as indoor plumbing. By the time Elvin was born, Five Points was predominately a black community. At the local YMCA’s Colored Men’s Department, Elvin socialized with other boys, played billiards, read, exercised, and received help finding an apprenticeship. Five Points offered some opportunities for African Americans, but discrimination and exclusion from the true upper classes persisted, leading Wilba and Inez to protest inequality. This had a profound effect on Elvin’s determination to end inequality for minorities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell graduated from Eastside High School in 1937, excelling in track. He received a track scholarship to attend the <strong>University of Colorado</strong> and then the <strong>University of Denver</strong> for two years. In 1941 he married Frank “Frankie” Harriette Webb, a teacher. Their marriage lasted sixty years, and they had four children: Elvin Jr., John, Kenneth, and Frances. During <strong>World War II</strong>, Elvin Caldwell Sr. served as a chief statistician and the assistant superintendent for production at the <strong>Remington Arms Company</strong>, which manufactured .30-caliber ammunition, employed 19,500 workers, and produced 6.5 million rounds a day at the height of the war. After World War II, the <a href="/article/denver-ordnance-plant"><strong>Denver Ordnance Plant</strong></a> ceased operations and became a surplus plant employing only 600. Many blacks now found themselves unemployed while returning black servicemen faced discrimination. No longer content to live as second-class citizens, many engaged in demonstrations and sit-ins during the 1950s. For Elvin Caldwell Sr., the civil rights movement brought opportunities in the political arena. Where others participated in grassroots activism, Caldwell took his belief that all Americans are citizens who deserve full rights to the state legislature.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politician and Organizer</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1950, at the age of thirty-one, Caldwell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served in the state legislature from 1950 to 1955 and as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1952. When he was elected to the Denver City Council in 1955, Caldwell became the first African American to serve on a city council seat west of the Mississippi. He served on the council for twenty-eight years (seven terms), with five spent as president of the council.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1958, the Colorado Urban Renewal Law was passed, and shortly thereafter the <strong>Denver Urban Renewal Authority</strong> (DURA) was created to eliminate slum housing with assistance from federal grants. Slum conditions came about in part because of the white exodus into the suburbs and discriminatory lending and housing policies by banks and homebuilders. For instance, the mortgages covered by the 1944 GI Bill were for new houses built in all-white neighborhoods, which meant that African Americans could not apply for them. Banks could legally discriminate by maintaining that home loans in black neighborhoods were not a good investment. It was not until 1968 that discriminatory lending practices became illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. At this time, Caldwell’s leadership brought about funding for the Skyline Urban Renewal Project and the Denver General Hospital facility, both of which benefited Denver’s black neighborhoods.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell fought and won against institutionalized discrimination in employment in Denver. Until the 1970s, nonwhites were barred from serving as judges or being promoted within the police force and could only serve in the one African American fire station. Caldwell proactively contested this unjust practice. Under Caldwell’s leadership, Colorado implemented its first Fair Employment Practices Act. On the city council, Caldwell also fought to end discrimination against minorities at the State Home for Dependent Children, Clayton College, and the Park Hill Golf Course. In 1980 Caldwell received his last political appointment when Denver mayor <strong>William H. McNichols Jr.</strong> named him manager of safety. Caldwell was the first black member of a Denver mayoral cabinet.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell also took leadership roles in community organizations. He served as a board member for the Glenarm Branch of the YMCA, the Boy Scouts of America, and PAL of Denver, where he implemented programs to help youth. He also served on the board of directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Opportunities Industrialization Center, the Denver Improvement Association, the Five Points Businessmen’s Association, and the Colorado Municipal League. Under both McNichols and Mayor <strong>Federico Peña</strong>, Caldwell was a member of the Commission on Community Relations, which addressed issues of race, ethnicity, and cultural diversity. He helped to create funding for the <strong>Denver Center of Performing Arts</strong> through tax initiatives. An accomplished businessman, Caldwell was one of the founders of the Equity Savings and Loan Association, the International Opportunity Life Insurance Company, and the Black Municipal League. He helped the poor and elderly as part of the Urban League, Senior Support Services, and as a member of the Shorter Community AME Church. These diverse organizations and institutions had a long-standing tradition of establishing African American self-help initiatives that emphasized economic opportunity, instilled morals, and encouraged racial solidarity in the black community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Honors and Legacies</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin R. Caldwell died on April 30, 2004, at the age of eighty-five. Before passing he was honored several times, beginning in 1990, when the Denver City Council created the Elvin R. Caldwell Community Service Plaza. On April 26, 2003, the creation of the <strong>Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library</strong> honored Caldwell’s many years of public service in conjunction with <strong>Omar Blair</strong>’s work to desegregate schools.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell is remembered not only for working tirelessly to eradicate Jim Crow laws and dismantle institutionalized discrimination but for displaying patience with a US legal system that denied him and all minorities the rights entitled to all American citizens. This earned him the ire of more militant black advocacy groups; he once received threats from the <strong>Black Panthers</strong>. But Caldwell did not let any opposition, even from his own community, stop him. His faith and understanding that change does not come quickly kept him focused on his vision of a better America. He once said, “On life’s journey, it is better if you can resolve things in a calm, sensible manner . . . It may take longer, but you can usually get more done.” Throughout his life, he recognized the importance of family and community. Elvin R. Caldwell served as both a politician and a community leader, dedicating his life to obtaining equality for minorities.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/pirolo-monica" hreflang="und">Pirolo, Monica</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elvin-r-caldwell" hreflang="en">elvin r. caldwell</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-history-colorado" hreflang="en">black history colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/discrimination" hreflang="en">discrimination</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/racism" hreflang="en">racism</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-center-performing-arts-0" hreflang="en">denver center of performing arts</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-general-hospital" hreflang="en">denver general hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/skyline-urban-renewal" hreflang="en">skyline urban renewal</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/blair-caldwell-african-american-library" hreflang="en">blair-caldwell african american library</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>American Folklife Center, “<a href="https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/american-folklife-center/about-this-research-center/?coll_id=1027">Elvin R. Caldwell Papers</a>,” The Civil Rights History Project, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Denver Public Library, “<a href="http://eadsrv.denverlibrary.org/sdx/pl/doc-tdm.xsp?id=ARL1_d0e33&amp;fmt=text&amp;base=fa">Finding Aid: Elvin R. Caldwell Papers</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Diana DeGette, “<a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2004-05-06/pdf/CREC-2004-05-06-pt1-PgE768.pdf">Tribute to Elvin R. Caldwell, Sr.</a>,” 150 Cong. Rec. E768 (May 6, 2004).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Moya Hansen, “<a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/denvers-five-points/">Denver’s Five Points</a>,” BlackPast.org, 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ronald J. Stephens, La Wanna M. Larson, and the Black American West Museum, <em>African Americans of Denver</em> (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2008).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/exhibit/blair-caldwell-african-american-research-library-western-legacies-tour">Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library</a></p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Elvin R. Caldwell Sr. (1919–2004) was one of the most important African American lawmakers in Colorado history. Caldwell began his political career in 1950 in the Colorado House of Representatives. He later served on the <strong>Denver</strong> City Council. Caldwell worked to eliminate injustices suffered by Colorado’s African American community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin Caldwell was born in Denver on April 11, 1919, to Wilba and Inez Caldwell. He grew up in Denver’s <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood. It was the most prosperous black community in the West. Wealthy African Americans began moving into the area in the early 1900s. By 1911, whites started moving out of the area. The whites went to newer neighborhoods with modern technology such as indoor plumbing. By the time Elvin was born, Five Points was mostly a black community. At the local YMCA’s Colored Men’s Department, Elvin met with other boys. They played billiards, read, and exercised. Five Points offered some opportunities for African Americans. However, discrimination persisted, leading Wilba and Inez to protest the disparity. This made Elvin determined to end inequality.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell graduated from Eastside High School in 1937. He excelled in track. Caldwell received a track scholarship to attend college. In 1941 he married Frank “Frankie” Harriette Webb. Their marriage lasted sixty years. They had four children. During <strong>World War II</strong>, Caldwell served as the assistant superintendent for production at the <strong>Remington Arms Company</strong>. The company made .30-caliber ammunition. It employed 19,500 workers. The company produced 6.5 million rounds a day at the height of the war. After World War II, the <strong>Denver Ordnance Plant</strong> ceased operations. It became a surplus plant employing only 600. Many blacks found themselves unemployed. Returning black servicemen faced discrimination. Many engaged in protests and sit-ins during the 1950s.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politician and Organizer</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1950, at the age of thirty-one, Caldwell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served in the state legislature from 1950 to 1955. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1952. Caldwell was elected to the Denver City Council in 1955. This made him the first African American to serve on a city council seat west of the Mississippi. He served on the council for twenty-eight years (seven terms). He spent five terms as president of the council.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1958, the Colorado Urban Renewal Law was passed. Shortly after, the <strong>Denver Urban Renewal Authority </strong>(DURA) was created. Its goal was to eliminate slum housing. Slum conditions were caused in part by white exodus into the suburbs. Discriminatory lending and housing policies by banks and home builders also contributed. For instance, mortgages covered by the 1944 GI Bill were for new houses built in all-white areas. This meant that African Americans could not apply for them. Banks could legally discriminate by saying that home loans in black neighborhoods were not a good investment. In1968 these lending practices became illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. At this time, Caldwell’s leadership brought about funding for the Skyline Urban Renewal Project and the Denver General Hospital facility. Both helped Denver’s black communities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell fought against employment discrimination in Denver. Until the 1970s, nonwhites could not serve as judges. They also could not be promoted within the police force. Nonwhites could only serve in the one African American fire station. Under Caldwell’s leadership, Colorado created its first Fair Employment Practices Act. Caldwell also fought to end discrimination at Clayton College and the Park Hill Golf Course. In 1980 Caldwell received his last political appointment. Denver mayor <strong>William H. McNichols Jr. </strong>named him manager of safety. Caldwell was the first black member of a Denver mayoral cabinet.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell took leadership roles in community groups. He served as a board member for the Glenarm Branch of the YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America. He put programs in place to help youth. Caldwell was a member of the Commission on Community Relations. The commission addressed issues of race and cultural diversity. He helped to create funding for the <strong>Denver Center of Performing Arts</strong>. Caldwell was one of the founders of the Equity Savings and Loan Association and the Black Municipal League. He helped the poor and elderly as part of the Urban League.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Honors and Legacies</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin R. Caldwell died on April 30, 2004, at the age of eighty-five. In 1990, the Denver City Council created the Elvin R. Caldwell Community Service Plaza.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell is remembered for working to get rid of Jim Crow laws. He was also patient with a US legal system that denied minorities their rights. This made more militant black advocacy groups angry. He once received threats from the <strong>Black Panthers</strong>. Caldwell did not let anything stop him. His stayed focused on his vision of a better America. He said, “On life’s journey, it is better if you can resolve things in a calm, sensible manner . . . It may take longer, but you can usually get more done.” Elvin R. Caldwell served as both a politician and a community leader. He dedicated his life to equality.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Elvin R. Caldwell Sr. (1919–2004) was one of the most important African American policymakers in Colorado history. Caldwell began his political career in 1950 in the Colorado House of Representatives. He later served on the <strong>Denver</strong> City Council. Caldwell worked to eliminate injustices suffered by Colorado’s African American community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin Caldwell was born in Denver on April 11, 1919, to Wilba and Inez Caldwell. He grew up in Denver’s historic <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood. It was the most prosperous black community in the West. Wealthy African Americans began moving into the area in the early 1900s. By 1911, whites started moving out of the area. The whites went to newer neighborhoods with modern technology such as indoor plumbing. By the time Elvin was born, Five Points was mostly a black community. At the local YMCA’s Colored Men’s Department, Elvin socialized with other boys. They played billiards, read, and exercised. Five Points offered some opportunities for African Americans. However, discrimination persisted, leading Wilba and Inez to protest the disparity. This made Elvin determined to end inequality.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell graduated from Eastside High School in 1937. He excelled in track. Caldwell received a track scholarship to attend the <strong>University of Colorado</strong> and then the <strong>University of Denver</strong>. In 1941 he married Frank “Frankie” Harriette Webb. Their marriage lasted sixty years. They had four children. During <strong>World War II</strong>, Caldwell served as the assistant superintendent for production at the <strong>Remington Arms Company</strong>. The company made .30-caliber ammunition. It employed 19,500 workers, and produced 6.5 million rounds a day at the height of the war. After World War II, the <strong>Denver Ordnance Plant</strong> ceased operations. It became a surplus plant employing only 600. Many blacks found themselves unemployed. Returning black servicemen faced discrimination. Many engaged in protests and sit-ins during the 1950s. For Elvin Caldwell Sr., the civil rights movement brought political opportunity.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politician and Organizer</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1950, at the age of thirty-one, Caldwell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served in the state legislature from 1950 to 1955. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1952. Caldwell was elected to the Denver City Council in 1955. This made him the first African American to serve on a city council seat west of the Mississippi. He served on the council for twenty-eight years (seven terms). He spent five terms as president of the council.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1958, the Colorado Urban Renewal Law was passed. Shortly after, the <strong>Denver Urban Renewal Authority </strong>(DURA) was created to eliminate slum housing. Slum conditions were caused in part by white exodus into the suburbs. Discriminatory lending and housing policies by banks and home builders also contributed. For instance, mortgages covered by the 1944 GI Bill were for new houses built in all-white areas. This meant that African Americans could not apply for them. Banks could legally discriminate by maintaining that home loans in black neighborhoods were not a good investment. In1968 discriminatory lending practices became illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. At this time, Caldwell’s leadership brought about funding for the Skyline Urban Renewal Project and the Denver General Hospital facility. Both benefited Denver’s black communities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell fought against employment discrimination in Denver. Until the 1970s, nonwhites could not serve as judges or be promoted within the police force. They could only serve in the one African American fire station. Under Caldwell’s leadership, Colorado implemented its first Fair Employment Practices Act. Caldwell also fought to end discrimination against minorities at Clayton College and the Park Hill Golf Course. In 1980 Caldwell received his last political appointment. Denver mayor <strong>William H. McNichols Jr. </strong>named him manager of safety. Caldwell was the first black member of a Denver mayoral cabinet.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell also took leadership roles in community groups. He served as a board member for the Glenarm Branch of the YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America. He implemented programs to help youth. Caldwell was a member of the Commission on Community Relations. The commission addressed issues of race and cultural diversity. He helped to create funding for the <strong>Denver Center of Performing Arts</strong> through tax initiatives. Caldwell was one of the founders of the Equity Savings and Loan Association and the Black Municipal League. He helped the poor and elderly as part of the Urban League.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Honors and Legacies</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin R. Caldwell died on April 30, 2004, at the age of eighty-five. In 1990, the Denver City Council created the Elvin R. Caldwell Community Service Plaza.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell is remembered for working to eradicate Jim Crow laws. He was also patient with a US legal system that denied minorities their rights. This earned him the ire of more militant black advocacy groups. He once received threats from the <strong>Black Panthers</strong>. Caldwell did not let anything stop him. His stayed focused on his vision of a better America. He once said, “On life’s journey, it is better if you can resolve things in a calm, sensible manner . . . It may take longer, but you can usually get more done.” Throughout his life, he recognized the importance of family and community. Elvin R. Caldwell served as both a politician and a community leader. He dedicated his life to equality.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Elvin R. Caldwell Sr. (1919–2004) was one of the most significant African American policymakers in Colorado history. An accountant and businessman, Caldwell joined many community organizations before beginning his political career in 1950 in the Colorado House of Representatives. He later served on the <strong>Denver</strong> City Council. Caldwell worked to eliminate injustices suffered by Colorado’s African American community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin Caldwell was born in Denver on April 11, 1919, to Wilba and Inez Caldwell. He grew up in Denver’s historic <strong>Five Points</strong> neighborhood. It was the most prosperous black community in the West. Affluent African Americans began moving into the area in the early 1900s. By 1911, whites started moving out of the area. The whites went to newer neighborhoods with modern technology such as indoor plumbing. By the time Elvin was born, Five Points was mostly a black community. At the local YMCA’s Colored Men’s Department, Elvin socialized with other boys. They played billiards, read, and exercised. Five Points offered some opportunities for African Americans. However, discrimination persisted, leading Wilba and Inez to protest inequality. This made Elvin determined to end inequality.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell graduated from Eastside High School in 1937. He excelled in track. Caldwell received a track scholarship to attend the <strong>University of Colorado</strong> and then the <strong>University of Denver</strong>. In 1941 he married Frank “Frankie” Harriette Webb. Their marriage lasted sixty years, and they had four children. During <strong>World War II</strong>, Caldwell served as the assistant superintendent for production at the <strong>Remington Arms Company</strong>. The company made .30-caliber ammunition. It employed 19,500 workers, and produced 6.5 million rounds a day at the height of the war. After World War II, the <strong>Denver Ordnance Plant</strong> ceased operations. It became a surplus plant employing only 600. Many blacks found themselves unemployed. Returning black servicemen faced discrimination. No longer content to live as second-class citizens, many engaged in demonstrations and sit-ins during the 1950s. For Elvin Caldwell Sr., the civil rights movement brought opportunities in the political arena. Caldwell took his belief that all Americans are citizens who deserve full rights to the state legislature.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politician and Organizer</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1950, at the age of thirty-one, Caldwell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served in the state legislature from 1950 to 1955 and as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1952. He was elected to the Denver City Council in 1955. This made him the first African American to serve on a city council seat west of the Mississippi. He served on the council for twenty-eight years (seven terms), with five spent as president of the council.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1958, the Colorado Urban Renewal Law was passed. Shortly thereafter the <strong>Denver Urban Renewal Authority </strong>(DURA) was created to eliminate slum housing with assistance from federal grants. Slum conditions came about in part because of the white exodus into the suburbs and discriminatory lending and housing policies by banks and homebuilders. For instance, the mortgages covered by the 1944 GI Bill were for new houses built in all-white neighborhoods. This meant that African Americans could not apply for them. Banks could legally discriminate by maintaining that home loans in black neighborhoods were not a good investment. It was not until 1968 that discriminatory lending practices became illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. At this time, Caldwell’s leadership brought about funding for the Skyline Urban Renewal Project and the Denver General Hospital facility, both of which benefited Denver’s black neighborhoods.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell fought and won against institutionalized discrimination in employment in Denver. Until the 1970s, nonwhites were barred from serving as judges or being promoted within the police force. They could only serve in the one African American fire station. Caldwell fought this unjust practice. Under Caldwell’s leadership, Colorado implemented its first Fair Employment Practices Act. On the city council, Caldwell also fought to end discrimination against minorities at the State Home for Dependent Children, Clayton College, and the Park Hill Golf Course. In 1980 Caldwell received his last political appointment when Denver mayor <strong>William H. McNichols Jr.</strong> named him manager of safety. Caldwell was the first black member of a Denver mayoral cabinet.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell also took leadership roles in community organizations. He served as a board member for the Glenarm Branch of the YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America where he implemented programs to help youth. Under Mayor <strong>Federico Peña</strong>, Caldwell was a member of the Commission on Community Relations, which addressed issues of race, ethnicity, and cultural diversity. He helped to create funding for the <strong>Denver Center of Performing Arts </strong>through tax initiatives. An accomplished businessman, Caldwell was one of the founders of the Equity Savings and Loan Association and the Black Municipal League. He helped the poor and elderly as part of the Urban League, Senior Support Services, and as a member of the Shorter Community AME Church. These institutions had a long-standing tradition of establishing African American self-help initiatives that emphasized economic opportunity, instilled morals, and encouraged racial solidarity in the black community.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Honors and Legacies</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Elvin R. Caldwell died on April 30, 2004, at the age of eighty-five. Before passing he was honored several times. In 1990, when the Denver City Council created the Elvin R. Caldwell Community Service Plaza. On April 26, 2003, the creation of the <strong>Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library</strong> honored Caldwell’s many years of public service in conjunction with <strong>Omar Blair</strong>’s work to desegregate schools.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Caldwell is remembered not only for working to eradicate Jim Crow laws but for displaying patience with a US legal system that denied minorities the rights entitled to all American citizens. This earned him the ire of more militant black advocacy groups. He once received threats from the <strong>Black Panthers</strong>. But Caldwell did not let any opposition stop him. His faith and understanding that change does not come quickly kept him focused on his vision of a better America. He once said, “On life’s journey, it is better if you can resolve things in a calm, sensible manner . . . It may take longer, but you can usually get more done.” Throughout his life, he recognized the importance of family and community. Elvin R. Caldwell served as both a politician and a community leader, dedicating his life to equality.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 02 May 2017 16:38:47 +0000 yongli 2519 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Terminology: The Latino Experience in Colorado http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Terminology: The Latino Experience in Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-04-27T16:15:27-06:00" title="Thursday, April 27, 2017 - 16:15" class="datetime">Thu, 04/27/2017 - 16:15</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado" data-a2a-title="Terminology: The Latino Experience in Colorado"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fterminology-latino-experience-colorado&amp;title=Terminology%3A%20The%20Latino%20Experience%20in%20Colorado"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>There is no shortage of labels used to identify members of the population that share a Spanish language heritage and/or whose ancestry is from one or more Spanish-speaking or Latin American countries. These many labels include but are not limited to “Chicana/os,” “Mexican Americans,” “Latina/os,” Hispanics, “la raza,” and “Latin Americans,” and even more regional labels such as “Tejano,” “Nuevomexicano,” “Hispano,” and “Californio.” These many labels attest to the inherent heterogeneity and diversity of a community that shares no monolithic identity and represents a broad spectrum of backgrounds and beliefs across lines of race, class, culture, region, citizenship, religion, and ideology.</p> <h2>Hispanic and Latina/o</h2> <p>Often media, government, and the larger community use the terms <em>Hispanic</em> and <em>Latina/o</em> interchangeably to refer to the Spanish-speaking or Latin American–origin population in the United States. These generic labels, however, can be viewed as problematic in their lack of acknowledgment of unique cultural differences. The term <em>Hispanic</em> was developed by the federal government in the 1970s in order to broadly categorize peoples with Spanish-language heritage, including Iberians. Some argue that that this identifier, with its emphasis on Spain, is too closely associated with Spanish colonization and overlooks the Indian and African ancestries of many of the people it is meant to describe.</p> <p>As an alternative, the term <em>Latina/o</em> generally refers to all persons with Latin American origins or descended from Latin Americans, including Brazil. This would <em>not</em> include individuals with Spanish national origins living outside the Western Hemisphere. Although using umbrella terms like <em>Hispanic</em> and <em>Latina/o</em> can be advantageous in acknowledging common experiences among Spanish-speaking or Latin American–origin people in the United States, as well as facilitating access to government resources, individuals from these populations often favor being referred to by their country of origin or by a more specific regional identifier in the United States.</p> <h2>Hispano</h2> <p>This is often the case in Colorado, where people of Mexican ancestry have occupied the land since the seventeenth century. Early members of communities in what was northern New Mexico and is now southern Colorado were subjects first of Spain and later of Mexico, after it gained independence in 1821. After the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/treaty-guadalupe-hidalgo"><strong>Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo</strong></a> ceded more than a third of Mexico’s territory to the United States, including all or parts of Colorado, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The treaty guaranteed—in word, if not in deed—full citizenship rights as American citizens to those Mexicans who remained in this ceded land.</p> <p>Thus, many with multigenerational histories in what is now Colorado did not cross a border but had a border cross them. Historically, they referred to themselves as <em>Hispanos</em>. This regional identifier is commonplace and holds resonance even today. Historians typically attribute the origin of the term to those early descendants in southern Colorado and New Mexico who used <em>Hispano</em> and <em>Spanish American</em> to differentiate individuals and families who claimed they had “pure” Spanish ancestry from those with more mixed, or mestizo, backgrounds, including newer Mexican immigrants and indigenous and black peoples. Present-day scholars, however, typically recognize Hispano culture and identity as more of a reflection of racial and cultural hybridity, particularly the mixing of Spanish colonial and indigenous cultures in southern Colorado.</p> <h2>Chicana/o</h2> <p>Usage of the term <em>Chicana/o</em> is no less ambiguous. Some use the term to refer to individuals of Mexican descent born in the United States. But in most cases, <em>Chicana/o</em> is used to refer to the time frame of the 1960s and 1970s civil rights movement, specifically in reference to the cultural and political proclamations of the Chicano movement and others who claimed pride in their indigenous Mexican ancestry. Those who adopted the label wished to highlight a political and social consciousness that rejected historical claims to whiteness and instead demanded recognition of indigenous origins and influences in the creation of a distinct brown identity. As such, they distinguished themselves from earlier generations of <em>Mexican Americans</em>—another label applied to American-born people of Mexican descent—who were thought to be assimilationist in perspective. The eventual recognition and adoption of more inclusionary language, including use of the terms <em>Chicana/o</em> and <em>Latina/o</em> as a way to signify representation of both men’s and women’s experiences, emerged out of this larger movement.</p> <h2>Encyclopedia Usage</h2> <p>Keeping in mind the varied and imprecise nature of labels and categories pertinent to the Spanish-speaking or Latin American–origin population in the United States, the <em>Colorado Encyclopedia</em> strives not only to refer to individuals and groups in ways that they wish to be ethnically identified but to provide the background necessary to understand the contested nature of labels that carry different meanings, depending on the historical context. In this encyclopedia, you will notice that the term <em>Latino</em> is used as an umbrella category to represent people of mixed ethnicities—including Spanish, indigenous, African, and Asian heritage—who share some commonalities, which can include ancestors who speak Spanish and/or common histories as populations living with legacies of Spanish and US imperialism. The term <em>Latina/os</em> is used to include men and women of Latino descent, while <em>Latina</em> is used when speaking specifically of women.</p> <p>Of course, given that lumping together millions of people into a single ethnic category makes no allowances for varied racial, class, linguistic, and gender experiences or unique places of origin, customs, and histories, authors in this volume will take care to provide such details when speaking of specific individuals and their communities.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/escobedo-elizabeth" hreflang="und">Escobedo, Elizabeth</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/latino" hreflang="en">latino</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/latina" hreflang="en">latina</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hispano" hreflang="en">hispano</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hispanic" hreflang="en">hispanic</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/latinos-colorado" hreflang="en">latinos in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chicano" hreflang="en">chicano</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/corky-gonzales" hreflang="en">corky gonzales</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/crusada-para-la-justicia" hreflang="en">crusada para la justicia</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> Thu, 27 Apr 2017 22:15:27 +0000 yongli 2500 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org