PRESS CONTACT:
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
303.866.3670 | luke.perkins@state.co.us 

The 2023-24 Rosenberry Lecture Series schedule covers eight different subjects that elicit a sense of wonder about Colorado history, and allows attendees to fit the lecture or lectures of their choice into their schedules. For the 2023-24 season, all Rosenberry lectures will be in-person only on the third Wednesday of each month (September-May). Each lecture has two time slots to choose from - 1 or 7 p.m. - and tickets are currently available for individual lectures or the entire season.

Season ticket packages range from $70 for History Colorado members to $100 for non-members. Tickets to individual lectures are $10 for History Colorado members and $15 for non members, with student and no/low income pricing available.

So join History Colorado in-person to learn about the complexities of Black identity in the Ute Borderlands; the rise and demise of organized crime and the Ku Klux Klan in Denver; as well as the heartbreaking portrait of one woman’s courageous fight for equality. As is tradition, the season is capped off with the prestigious, annual State Historian’s address in May.  

Complete 2023-24 Rosenberry Lecture Series Schedule:
Fabián García’s Chile Pepper and the Botanical Transformation of the Borderlands
Denver, CO | September 20, 2023, 1 & 7 p.m.
The 2023-24 Rosenberry Lecture Series kicks off with a discussion of Fabián García, horticultural pioneer and “Father of New Mexico Chile”, with award-winning author and public historian Dr. Peter A. Kopp. Known for his specialties in agricultural and environmental history, Dr. Kopp will explore the botanical transformation of the Borderlands and his ongoing research into the contributions of Fabián García to agriculture in the American Southwest.

John Taylor & Black Identity in the Ute Borderlands 
Denver, CO | October 18, 2023, 1 & 7 p.m. 
Join Professor Louis Gregory McAllister as he explores the story of John Taylor, a freed black man who enlisted as a Buffalo Soldier following the Civil War and was sent west. McAllister, professor of Ethnic Studies at Northern Arizona University, will discuss the history of how Taylor settled in southwestern Colorado, where he claimed to be “the first white man in the Pine River Valley." Taylor eventually married Kitty Cloud (Ute) and had four children before passing away in 1934.  

The 10th Mountain Division’s Legendary Breakthrough in World War II
Denver, CO | November 15, 2023, 1 & 7 p.m.
Dr. Chris Juergens, Head of Curatorial Services and Anschutz Curator of Military History at History Colorado, explores the storied history of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II. This famed military unit was activated and trained in the Colorado Rockies as America's first mountain and winter warfare troops before deploying to combat in northern Italy in 1945. You will learn about their intense wartime preparation, their harrowing combat experience, and the tremendous legacy they left behind for our state and the world. 

Changing of the Guard: Colorado’s Toppled Civil War Monument 
Denver, CO | January 17, 2024, 1 & 7 p.m.
Monuments transmit stories, knowledge, and values in ways we hope will benefit our descendants. But what happens when generational values shift about who, or what, deserves to be commemorated? Jason Hanson, Chief Creative Officer and Director of Interpretation and Research at History Colorado, shares the behind-the-scenes story of History Colorado’s “On Guard,” a groundbreaking exhibition of Colorado’s toppled Civil War monument, and reflects on the role of monuments in society today. 

Con Men and Klansmen: Denver 100 Years Ago 
Denver, CO | February 21, 2024, 1 & 7 p.m. 
Award-winning journalist Alan Prendergast discusses the archival reporting that went into his book Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan. A narrative nonfiction account of Denver District Attorney Philip Van Cise's battles with organized crime and the KKK in the 1920s, Gangbuster is an epic conflict that still resonates today. A book signing will follow the talk. 

Excess to Extremism: How Colorado’s National Guard Spoiled Denver’s Kitchens
Denver, CO | March 20, 2024, 1 & 7 p.m.
For more than two decades in the early 1900s, conflict raged between unions, major companies, and the state government – eventually culminating in violent attacks by the Colorado National Guard on striking miners. Outraged by attacks on striking workers, the mistreatment of domestic servants, and upper-class women’s defense of their husbands' roles in these massacres, local union leader Jane Street set out on a crusade to punish Denver's elite. Join award-winning author Jane (Janie) Little Botkin for a discussion of how Street fought to change the status quo by unionizing the household staff of Denver.

Exploring An Unearthed History of Denver’s Historic Cemeteries
Denver, CO | April 17, 2024, 1 & 7 p.m. 
Join History Colorado’s Curator of Archives, and lover of cemeteries, Shaun Boyd for an exploration of some of the fascinating stories of Denver’s largest and oldest cemeteries. This lecture is an opportunity to hear the story of how Denver’s first cemetery “migrated” to other places – or did it? – and pick up a ghost story or two just in time for your spring and summer explorations.

State Historian’s Address with Dr. Claire Oberon Garcia - How to Create Good Americans: History, Education, and the Responsibilities of Citizenship
Denver, CO | May 15, 2024, 1 & 7 p.m. 
News headlines regularly remind us that American history has rarely been under more scrutiny than it is today. Yet this intense focus on our past also underscores widespread agreement that it's important to cultivate a knowledge of our shared history at all levels of our education system. From K-12 classrooms and school board meetings to college and university campuses, how we teach history has become a battleground. In her State Historian’s Address, Dr. Claire Oberon Garcia will ask: What do we owe all of our students as we prepare them to become informed and engaged citizens? What is the role of history in society? 

Additional information about the Rosenberry Lecture Series and tickets can be found here.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 143-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

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 10 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. #HistoryColorado