Artist Adri Norris making progress on the Five Points Plus exhibit mural.

We Are Colorado

Black History & Heritage

You cannot have a thorough understanding of American history unless you have an understanding of how the Black experience has impacted our country. History Colorado is dedicated to sharing a holistic view of historic events that include the perspectives of all people. This page is dedicated to highlighting the contributions made by people who identify as Black, African-American, or generally part of the African diaspora, as it relates to the history of the West. History Colorado creates a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. 

Exhibitions & Experiences

Events

Black Lives Matter

The past few years have caused an awakening in America. The rise of a race-conscious reckoning in the United States has been fueled by the countless murders of African Americans from Elijah McClain to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Say Their Names. 

The cleverness of racism in the United States facilitates the faceless and namelessness of the lives snuffed out. The Black community has always known the ever-present racial violence that belied the narrative of a post-racial society. History Colorado, awakened like so many Americans to this injustice and decided to do better. History Colorado strives to make history more inclusive by placing marginalized communities at the forefront and actively identifying and combating white supremacy in all of its forms.

Black History & Cultural Heritage Department

The Black History and Cultural Heritage Department of History Colorado is dedicated to exploring the impact African Americans have had on the American West. Too often the contributions of those identified as African Americans have gone unnoticed, underappreciated, or removed from history all together. By creating educational and engaging content, programs, and exhibits that focus on the Black experience in Colorado the Black History and Cultural Heritage Department aims to inspire wonder in our past and work towards a better future. 

Contact the Black History and Cultural Heritage Department for:

  • Research related to Black History in Colorado 
  • Artifact collection & Exhibits
  • Digitization of photographs, records, etc.
  • Oral histories

How should history be told? Rising Colorado voices are pushing museums to rethink their approach →

History Colorado working to share African American stories →

Moving the Five Points mural →

The history of Barney Ford, 200 years later →

How should history be told? Rising Colorado voices are pushing museums to rethink their approach →

Associate Curator of African American History & Cultural Heritage

Dexter Nelson II is the Associate Curator of Black History and Cultural Heritage for History Colorado, formerly known as the Colorado State Historical Society. He is honored to help History Colorado move towards eliminating white supremacy and giving value to stories traditionally ignored or eliminated completely. There is a very real opportunity to both build the current collections representing the various African American experiences in the West as well as to work with both staff and community members to foster equality in all that History Colorado does.

 

Contact:
Email: dexter.nelson@state.co.us

Equity & Engagement Department

The Equity and Engagement Department at History Colorado houses a diverse team where each member focuses on various points of diversity and engagement. For Black communities, the goal of equity and representation are at the forefront. Striving to give a platform for the voices of Black communities to celebrate and educate their histories through co-authorship. The Equity and Engagement department strives to bring awareness and show how community involvement is paramount in creating diverse and holistic storytelling throughout history.

Contact the Equity and Engagement Department for:

  • Five Points photo 4

    Five Points Plus Neighborhood Memory Project

    Five Points Plus: Neighborhood Memory Project is a community-based public memory project where long-time resident families and friends of Denver’s Five Points shared their memories of the neighborhood with each other and History Colorado from fall 2020 to spring 2021. From the voice and perspective of community storytellers, the project explores the history of diversity, music, and self-sufficiency in Five Points, a neighborhood shaped by racism and segregation in the 20th century and that is facing reshaping due to development and displacement.

    Learn more about the Exhibit recently on view at the History Colorado Center →

Dr. Carlotta LaNier at the Bold Women. Change History. opening event at the History Colorado Center
Volunteer Family Day participants making cloth dog toys for dogs in animal shelters
An elderly Black woman, Lucy Walker, is seated in a colorful shawl before a sign which reads Eden Theatrical Workshop (since 1963)
A statuette depicts a man in three stages. The lowest level depicts him crouched in bondage, wearing the chains of a slave. The second level depicts him crouched with a gold pan. The third level at the peak of the plinth shows him standing tall and proud.
Adri Norris, a Black woman, and a man of asian descent dance and celebrate with their fists raised in front of a colorful mural.
A claw-hook hammer of old fashioned design, with a worn wooden handle and a sturdy metal head.
Rise Jones, a community storyteller as part of the Five Points Museum of Memory project, at the opening of the Five Points Plus exhibit at the History Colorado Center.
A pen and ink drawing of James Beckwourth, a Black fur trapper.
Artist Adri Norris making progress on the Five Points Plus exhibit mural.
A group of people stand in front of a farm or small homestead. One is a black man in a business suit. Around him stand several Indigenous (Ute) adults, and near him stand two Ute children.
A Kramerica student volunteers with Family Day participants to make decorative bags for goods to be distributed to people in need. 
An architectural sketch depicting a building.
A Black soldier stands at attention in his parade uniform, with a saber in one hand.

Additional Resources for Black History