Not since the impactful civil rights marches of the 1960s have any marches and protests been as focused or massive as those that have engulfed America this fall. The marches have exposed the lingering problems of race and injustice, differentiating how law enforcement and police brutality have negatively affected people of color, especially African Americans males, for far too long. Despite the hope for a “post-racial” era after the election and re-election of President Barack Obama, the gaps in nearly every societal category from education, income and wealth, housing, health and judicial engagement are widening.

That’s not to say we haven’t progressed on the issue of race, equality and equity in America, but it is to say we still have work to do to achieve our more perfect union.

I’m heartened to see the work we’re doing in Denver is paying off in closing gaps in education, health care and housing. I have also moved aggressively to change the culture and increase trust between law enforcement and communities of color.

This is a defining moment for our city and our nation, and we need to analyze things as they are and then envision those things as they ought to be and work toward that change. While change is slow, change is occurring, and our city will prosper and communities of color will emerge from the fog that is the legacy of injustice and breathe the equality that every human being should receive. Let us work together to ensure that happens.