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This live, virtual event is proudly presented by History Colorado’s acclaimed election-year speaker series, This Is What Democracy Looks Like. More information and tickets ($5–15) are available via h-co.org/lectures and the event page at h-co.org/AnthonyGrimes.

What does a truly democratic America look like? Can these borders ever become a home for black people, and poor people, and the disenfranchised? How will we know when this has happened—and what happens if it is deemed impossible? A filmed talk by Grimes will open the presentation, followed by live conversation and Q&A about the collective struggle to stretch American democracy in years past, this year, and for the future. Sit back and relax or sit up and lean in—this upbeat, unusual occasion won't contribute to your zoom fatigue. Participants will exit the experience energized and equipped for the year ahead.

Anthony Grimes has a “unique calling” according to political activist and author Dr. Cornel West: “linking the life of the mind to the struggle for justice.” A lynchpin in Denver’s movement for Black lives and the founder of the Denver Freedom Riders, Grimes is a charismatic storyteller and filmmaker with an activist's background and an artist's insight. He approaches storytelling through a lens of empathy—merging the best of the human mind and heart—and grounds his work in the Black freedom movement tradition to “Redeem the soul of America.” Grimes has been instrumental in forming movements that shape culture in a variety of arenas, building grassroots networks with thousands of people.

About the Speaker Series
Part of an ambitious election-year initiative, History Colorado’s 2020–2021 speaker series aims to be as multi-dimensional, provocative, and participatory as democracy itself. Former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton and Garrett Reppenhaggen—a third-generation American veteran, and the executive director of Veterans For Peace—join Grimes among upcoming presenters through June of 2021. Tickets ($5–15) and complete details are available at h-co.org/lectures.      

The This Is What Democracy Looks Like Speaker Series is supported by:
Walter S. Rosenberry III Charitable Trust  | Abarca Family Foundation | Richard and Mary Lyn Ballantine | Peter and Rhondda Grant | George and Mary Sissel | Donors to the Executive Director's Innovation Fund | Donors to the Women’s Vote Centennial

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 History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is the nation’s largest preservation program of its kind. The SHF currently administers more than 280 grants across Colorado, of which more that 70% are allocated in rural areas.

History Colorado’s outlets are publishing Black voices and confronting entrenched racism in historic preservation. 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. The History Colorado Center is the nation’s first state history museum to display a monument toppled this summer with new, inclusive interpretation. History Colorado now shares anti-racist grounding virtues in all of its job postings, and asks all applicants to describe how these principles have shown up in their previous work and how they would contribute to these virtues in a position at History Colorado.

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, and a weekly digest with over 25,000 subscribers. Amid another round of museum closures due to surging Covid-19 cases, it ramped up safe, affordable child care and remote-learning support for families experiencing school disruptions.

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.