LOCATION 
History Colorado Center | 1200 Broadway, Denver | In-Person 
Lectures are on the third Wednesday of every month (September - May) at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm.  
 
TICKETS 
Individual Tickets: $15 non-members | $10 members | $5 student, no/low income
Season Package (includes all 8 lectures): $100 non-members | $70 members 

History Colorado Members receive a discount and early access starting July 22, 2024. Become a member today!

Based on participant feedback and the technical difficulties involved, only in-person lectures will be offered this year. Lectures will not be recorded, to preserve the intellectual property of our guest speakers. Complimentary cookies and beverages will be offered at each event! 

Tickets go on sale to the general public on July 29, 2024. 

Want to attend the whole series? For a limited time, you can save by purchasing the Rosenberry Lecture Series Package:

1:00 PM Series Package

7:00 PM Series Package

For questions and assistance, email Rebecca.Chickadel@state.co.us.

Select speakers will offer to sign their books after their lecture! Get yours ahead of time on the History Colorado Bookshop→

Why Indigenous Crime Fiction Matters

September 18 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person 

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Join award-winning novelist and professor of Native American Studies and Political Science David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Sicangu Lakota Nation) for a discussion on how Indigenous crime fiction is uniquely suited to tackle complex topics such as colonization and sovereignty. Weiden will examine how the genre can inform non-Native readers about the little-known inequities on reservations and in urban areas while also examining systemic issues that affect Native citizens in the American political system. 

A book signing will follow the talk.

About the Speaker

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, is the author of Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The novel won the Electa Quinney Award from the Association for the Study of American Indian Literature. The book was also the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur, High Plains, Tillie Olsen, CrimeFest (UK), Crime Fiction Lover (UK) Awards, and was longlisted for the Hammett Prize, Shamus Award, Colorado Book Award, Reading the West Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award. The novel was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, an Indie Next pick, the main selection of the Book of the Month Club, and named the Best Book of the Year by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian, and other magazines. The novel is included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels ever.

He teaches in the low-residency Pan-European MFA program at Cedar Crest College and at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts, his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a MacDowell Fellow, Ucross Fellow, Sewanee Fellow, Tin House Scholar, Ragdale Foundation resident, Vermont Studio Center Fellow, VONA alumnus, and received the 2018 PEN/America Writing for Justice Fellowship.  He’s a national Board member for the Mystery Writers of America, an active member of the International Thriller Writers, Western Writers of America, and a member of the Dramatists Guild and Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers.  He’s a professor of Native American Studies and Political Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver, and he lives in Colorado with his family.

His last name, Weiden, is pronounced “Why-den.” Heska Wanbli is pronounced “Heh-ska Wahn-blee.”  His nation, the Sicangu Lakota, is pronounced: “See-chon-goo Lah-coat-ah.”

Democracy’s Mountain: Longs Peak and the Unfulfilled Promises of America’s National Parks

October 16 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person

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Professor of History Emerita at Colorado State University, Ruth Alexander, will discuss her newest book, Democracy’s Mountain: Longs Peak and the Unfulfilled Promises of America’s National Parks. Through her engaging lecture, Alexander will explore how Longs Peak's history of climbing and park management conveys a track record of promises kept and promises broken and tells a larger story about the National Parks and our national democracy – specifically concerning the segregation of African Americans and the displacement of Native Americans.

A book signing will follow the talk.

About the Speaker

Ruth M. Alexander is a Professor of History Emerita at CSU. She specializes in women's history, race, society, politics in the United States, American environmental history, and national parks. Alexander has researched Rocky Mountain National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and Scotts Bluff National Monument. She is the author of The 'Girl Problem': Female Sexual Delinquency in New York 1900-1930 and co-editor of Major Problems in American Women's History: Documents and Essays. Her articles, essays, and book chapters have appeared in the Journal of American History, the Journal of Women's History, American Quarterly, Small Worlds: Childhood and Adolescence in America 1850-1950, and Sexual Borderlands. 

That’s Why They Saved the Bricks: A History of Villa Italia Mall

November 20 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person

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Exhibition developer and historian Jeremy Morton will take an in-depth look at the history of Villa Italia Mall and explore how it was much more than just a place to shop in the communities of Lakewood and West Denver. In this engaging and entertaining lecture, Morton will discuss the unique history of Villa Italia and how malls became integral to the social fabric of American cities. Morton will also engage with larger themes related to mall culture and nostalgia while showing how communal gathering places can play a significant role in shaping our personal identities.

About the Speaker

Jeremy Morton develops exhibitions at the History Colorado Center. He was previously History Colorado’s Public Engagement Manager and, before that, Education Coordinator for Community Museums. Morton, a Denver native and a 90s kid, grew up frequenting the Villa Italia Mall. He graduated from the University of Colorado Denver with a bachelor of arts in history and a master of arts in curriculum and instruction. 

Hilos Culturales: Cultural Threads of the San Luis Valley

January 15  | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person

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Professor Enrique Lamadrid will discuss the centuries-old Indio-Hispano musical traditions of the San Luis Valley as highlighted in the book “Hilos Culturales: Cultural Threads of the San Luis Valley.”

A book signing will follow the talk.

About the Speaker

Enrique R. Lamadrid is a distinguished UNM professor and emeritus of Spanish. His research interests include ethnopoetics, folklore and music, Chicano Literature, bioregionalism, and cultural cartography. Lamadrid edits the award-winning Querencias Series at UNM Press. Querencia is a popular term in the Spanish-speaking world used to express love of place and people. This series promotes a transnational, humanistic, and creative vision of the U.S.‐Mexico borderlands based on all aspects of expressive culture, both material and intangible. 

In 2019, he was awarded the Premio Nacional "Enrique Anderson Imbert" de la Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española in recognition of his advocacy for the Spanish language and traditions of Nuevo México. In 2019, he also received the John D. Robb Award for Excellence in Music of the Southwest for his dedication to music education and scholarship. Lamadrid was awarded the prestigious Chicago Folklore Prize for his 2003 ethnography Hermanitos Comanchitos: Indo-Hispano Rituals of Captivity and Redemption and the American Folklore Society's Américo Paredes Prize for his cultural activism and curatorial projects. He worked on exhibits with the Museum of New Mexico and the Smithsonian and is a longtime collaborator and fellow of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 

An avid river runner, Professor Lamadrid is known for cooking a savory campfire paella.

Hattie McDaniel: A Reflective Life

February 19 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person

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Did you know actress, singer-songwriter, and Colorado Women's Hall of Famer Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar for her role in 1939’s Gone with the Wind? A trailblazer in every sense of the word, McDaniel left an undeniable legacy through her work, including receiving two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and being credited as the first Black artist to sing on radio. Join McDaniel’s great-grandnephew, filmmaker Kevin John Goff, as he discusses new scholarship and personal family stories that shed light on her historic Oscar win and bring a fresh perspective to a history many know, but not many know well.

A book signing will follow the talk.

About the Speaker

Kevin John Goff is a filmmaker, speaker, and entrepreneur. His interests include cinema, music, architecture, writing, and cultivating the most effective measures to broaden our humanitarian spirit. Hattie McDaniel’s great-grandnephew, actor/producer Kevin John Goff, is currently working on a book on Ms. McDaniel. The book Hattie McDaniel: A Reflective Life will be released in 2024. The book will share photos of Ms. McDaniel and other relatives who lived away from Hollywood, as well as some of her quotes and other surprising information

National Florist Workers Strike! Kitayama vs NFWOM

March 19 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person

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Join Dr. Priscilla Falcon, professor emeritus of the University of Northern Colorado, for a discussion of her gripping book, STRIKE: National Florist Workers vs. Kitayama, which chronicles the story of the 1968 strike against a Brighton-based carnation greenhouse for better wages and working conditions. Led by Guadalupe “Lupe” Briseno – and several other Chicana women – this strike lasted over 200 days and highlights the vital role Chicana women played in the fight for labor justice.

A book signing will follow the talk.

About the Speaker

Dr. Priscilla Falcon traces her family roots to Northern New Mexico, originating in the village of Abiquiu in northern New Mexico. Her ancestors founded the settlement of Los Valdezes on the banks of the Rio Grande River in the San Luis Valley, where she grew up. 

Dr. Priscilla Falcon completed her M.A.(1985) and PhD(1993) at the Josef Korbel School of International Relations at the University of Denver. Her academic research studies included travel to Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Turkey. Dr. Falcon was a faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado for 29 years, where she also served as Director of the Colorado Oral History and Migratory Labor Project. Her book, Mexican Foreign Policy 1934-1992, was published in 2022. Dr. Falcon retired in 2023 and is currently an Emeritus faculty member of the Department of Chicana/o and Latinx Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. She continues to hold membership in several local and regional professional organizations. Dr. Falcon’s second book, STRIKE: National Florist Workers vs Kitayama was published in February of 2024, and she is currently engaged in researching the sugar beet industry in Northern Colorado.

Reckoning with Historical Place Names

Wednesday, April 16 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person

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Across the United States, the names of geographical features are being reevaluated in light of additional perspectives on the challenging history embedded in those names.

Join Stacy Coleman, Tribal Liaison for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, for an exploration of the transparent, community-driven research that goes into renaming efforts across the Centennial State. This discussion on this fascinating and complicated topic will give you a deeper understanding of how geography and place names shape communities, as well as the challenges faced when reckoning with historical wrongdoings that are etched in the cartography of our nation.

About the Speaker

Stacy Coleman is the Assistant Director for Tribal Affairs at Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources. Prior to her current role with DNR, for the past 15 years, Stacy worked for the United States Department of Justice concurrently serving as Senior Counsel, Tribal Issues Coordinator, and the Law Clerk Program Coordinator (Denver Office) for the Environmental Enforcement Section (EES). Stacy has significant experience as a civil litigator specializing in complex environmental matters and working with federal and state agencies and tribal nations on a variety of enforcement matters arising from violations of federal environmental statutes.

As a Colorado state agency, DNR interacts with Tribes on a government-to-government basis, coordinates with the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, and works to engage the American Indian/Alaska Native population throughout the state on issues related to natural resources.

As DNR’s Assistant Director for Tribal Affairs, and in collaboration with the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs, Stacy will work across all DNR Divisions to support and build partnerships with Tribes and Native communities that are respectful and consistent with government-to-government relationships. This includes the facilitation of meaningful engagement and collaborative problem-solving with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Tribe, as well as other Historic Tribes of Colorado, in a manner that respects tribal sovereignty, recognizes the importance of co-stewardship and cultural resources management.

Stacy holds a B.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies with Colorado State University and completed a joint J.D./Environmental Law & Policy Program with Northeastern University School of Law and Vermont Law School

“Coming to America, Becoming an American” 
State Historian’s Address with Dr. William Wei

Wednesday, May 21 | 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm | In-Person 

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During the annual State Historian's Address, Dr. William Wei, Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, will explore the contentious issues of immigration and identity in America through the personal lens of his family story. Through this lecture, Dr. Wei will raise the question of "who is an American" and discuss the importance of our national immigration policy on both our state and national identities, as well as its implications on the economy of the Centennial State.

About the Speaker

Dr. William Wei is a history professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the online Colorado Encyclopedia and has held various national and international fellowships. His work focuses primarily on modern China, with research interests in Asian Americans. His book, Asians in Colorado: A History of Persecution and Perseverance in the Centennial State, was a finalist for the 2017 Colorado Authors’ League Award for General Nonfiction. He was a lead advisor on History Colorado's Zoom In exhibition in 2016–2017 and is the author of the exhibition’s companion book, Becoming Colorado: The Centennial State in 100 Objects.  He received the Asian American Hero of Colorado Award from the Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network in 2022.