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On the day after Colorado commemorates the 100th anniversary of the largest voting-rights expansion in US history, History Colorado proudly presents Bold Women. Change History. The Summit on Thursday, August 27, 6–7:30 p.m. Registration for this interactive virtual gathering is free and open to the public via h-co.org/BoldWomen. A donation of $20 is suggested for those able to lend their support.

The Summit features bold women who take risks, innovate in ways worth replicating, and demonstrate a powerful spectrum of leadership. In short and energizing talks, they share how they show up, create, disrupt, and transform our communities. Their spheres of influence span areas including activism, artificial intelligence, dance, health care, higher education, law, music, philanthropy, yoga, and youth civic engagement. The evening culminates with a conversation between Dr. Rachel Harding—Associate Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Denver—and Dr. Corrine Sanchez and Elder Kathy Sanchez of Tewa Women United, a New Mexico multicultural organization founded and led by Native women to promote peace and end all forms of violence against Native women, girls, and Mother Earth.

"One hundred years ago, women organized and achieved the largest voting rights expansion in US history despite enormous obstacles. But still, many people were excluded from voting," said Cathey McClain Finlon, chair of the Governor’s Women’s Vote Centennial Commission. "The power of women to shape our future and lead our present continues to be front and center. Our Summit brings forth the voice of these women who lead change in diverse and unique ways. We change history every time we vote."

“We are honored to speak at this transformative moment, as we call forward our collective breath to co-create together our future,” said Dr. Corrine Sanchez. “Our work has revolved around grounding and healing, and centering the voices of the most vulnerable in our communities. The earth is round. In the shape of the earth, any one of us is the center at any time. We invite you to journey with us as we center the collective healing of all peoples for the reconnection of our collective humanity.”

“I want to live by knowing, feeling and moving; being with the fluidity of life. The opportunity of a fresh start every day is powerful,” said Elder Kathy Sanchez. “Each day is an ability to transform challenges and fulfill the prayers and dreams of my ancestors, as they dreamt of creating beloved communities. Knowing our Earth Mother’s innate power and energy, without thoughts of manipulating her harmonic source of life-giving, is reconnecting with our purposefulness as humankind.”

Other presenters scheduled for The Summit include Danielle Barbeau, Ramona Beltran, Merle Chambers, Nicole Hensel, musical duo LVDY (Kathleen Hooper & Aubrey Mable), Michelle Lucero, Dr. Angie Paccione, and Katica Roy.  Video from the Latina Legacy Circle is part of the program, as well, and additional participants will also be announced.

Bold Women. Change History. is the primary public forum of the Women’s Vote Centennial // Colorado 2020, a grassroots initiative led by History Colorado, the governor’s Women’s Vote Centennial Commission, and you. Human rights advocate Carol Anderson, Astronaut Susan Helms, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Dolores Huerta, and former US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power are among previous speakers in the series. Writer Tina Cassidy (August 12) and Smithsonian curator Lisa Kathleen Graddy (September 23) are upcoming presenters. It also includes an exhibition at the Center for Colorado Women’s History in downtown Denver. Bold Women. Change History. is supported by donations submitted via historycolorado.org/bold-women-give.

The Bold Women. Change History. lecture series is made possible through the generous support of: Chambers Fund, Cathey McClain Finlon and Richard Finlon, Peter and Rhondda Grant, Former Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne, The Honorable Wilma J. Webb and The Honorable Wellington E. Webb, with media sponsor 5280 Magazine.

Women’s Equality Day: Forward into Light
Women’s Equality Day 2020—Wednesday, August 26—is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s certification. A virtual lecture from the Center for Colorado Women’s History (August 22), an I Shape History voter-activation toolkit and Womxn’s March Denver #Vote2Vent toolkit, a Women’s History Tour in a Box from History Colorado’s Tours & Treks program, and virtual walking tours from Historic Denver are among the COVID-conscious offerings available to all Coloradans commemorating this historic moment. A car-caravan parade hosted by the Women’s Vote Centennial Commission will travel through downtown Denver, followed by the History Colorado Center and other local landmarks lit up in purple and gold for Forward into Light, a nationwide campaign named in honor of the historic suffrage slogan, “Forward through the Darkness, Forward into Light.” Further details are available here and forthcoming at COwomenscentennial.org.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that serves more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 141-year-old institution that operates Colorado’s oldest museum, nine additional museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, and the State Historical Fund (SHF), which is the nation’s largest preservation program of its kind. The SHF currently administers more than 280 grants worth approximately $24 million in active distributions across the state. More than 70% of its grants are currently allocated in rural areas of Colorado.

History Colorado’s outlets are publishing Black voices and confronting entrenched racism in historic preservation. It has employed artists of color to create new works that will be added to Colorado’s collection, and opened Women Behaving Badly by Black artist Adri Norris on July 23. Within the last year History Colorado has added curators of Latino Heritage and LGBTQ+ History to its staff, and added a full-time position to its Museum of Memory team, which works proactively to incorporate underserved communities and voices into its contemporary collecting initiative and other efforts. Its statement and historical essay on civil unrest have been widely shared by major news outlets. 

History Colorado’s eight museums around the state were among the first cultural institutions in Colorado to reopen to visitors under new safety protocols. The swift return to in-person service in June followed an agile reorganization in response to COVID-19 that catalyzed new avenues for youth education, full-length episodes of its podcasts, a weekly digest with over 28,000 subscribers, and one of the nation’s most comprehensive collecting initiatives: a partnership with dozens of schools, communities, and more than 40 newsrooms called History in the Making. The State Historical Fund successfully distributed more than $1 million in grant dollars to community projects across the state this spring and continues its grant funding on schedule

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and nine other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information.