Photo of a midcentury home in Denver. The one-story building is made of red brick with white trim and windows which make up partial sections of exterior walls of the home. The windows are free of visible interior window coverings, and a few minimal pieces of furniture can be seen indoors. The home is landscaped using low-lying green shrubbery, laid brick walkways, and a large concrete pad in front of the home. The front door is large and white, with only a lock, knob, and mail slot decorate the door.

The John R. Henderson Collection: Colorado’s First Licensed Black Architect

Photo closeup of a small yellow-green beetle with blackish mottled markings on its back and head. Its eyes are small and black, and it has a black spot of the same size on the top center of its head. Its antennae are black, as are the bottom sections of its legs. It is crawling along a tamarisk branch which is the same yellow-green color as the beetle.

All Abuzz About Beneficial Bugs

The best way to stop a bad bug is with a good one.

Illustration of a middle-aged African American man, wearing a suit and resting his chin in his right hand. He is looking into the distance thoughtfully. In the background is an image of an American flag, waving.

"Be True to What You Said on Paper"

the disCOurse is a place for people to share their lived experiences and their perspectives on the past with an eye toward informing our present.  Here, a medical sociologist and social scientist argue that to truly arrive at equity in America will require a sincere reckoning with founding mythologies of white superiority.

Photo of the town of Creede in the year 1918. The image is taken from atop a hill overlooking the town, so trees and brush frame the view of the town in the distance. Two main streets through town are evident, and low buildings of small to mid-sized are arranged through the town. No vehicles appear to be seen, and the town is too far away to see people walking around..

Creede and World War I—A Knitter’s Tale

Line of Soldiers 1940s

Doing Our Part

Though many miles away from shipyards, aviation plants, and tank production facilities, Coloradans played an outsized role in the World War II conflict, and in bringing the troops back home. 

Photo of Kristin Chiesi, completing a condition report on Blinky the Clown's Jacket before taking it into History Colorado's collection. Kristin is seen here, standing in front of a mannequin on which Blinky's iconic red plaid jacket, black bowler hat, and white gloves are positioned. Kristin is wearing blue latex gloves and holds a clipboard. Because of COVID, she is also wearing a face mask.

Bringing Back Blinky

Museum Collecting in the Time of COVID-19

David Ocelotl Garcia - Freedom Of Worship

“Is America Possible?”

An anthropologist, educator, and Chicano/a murals scholar looks at artist David O. Garcia's dynamically colorful reimagining of Norman Rockwell's 1940s-era Freedom of Worship.

Women of the Women's Army Corps

The Women of the WAC

Simple cues can trigger powerful memories. It could be the trace smell of baked bread, the muted touch of a wool blanket, seeing the intricate details on a Christmas ornament, tasting a scrumptious dish or hearing the first, chiming notes of a melody. For these four women, a flood of memories started with just three letters: W.A.C.

Kindergarten students at Bessemer School working in their school garden, 1902. Adults behind the class include teachers Miss Carrie Carlile, Miss Mary Williamson, and another unknown woman, most likely another teacher and Superintendent J. F. Keating.

Colorado Is My Classroom, Part II

After we ran an article in August exploring the history of outdoor classrooms in Colorado and around the country, the Steelworks Center of the West brought to our attention another experiment in outdoor education that took place in Colorado. We’re pleased to share their story in The Colorado Magazine. 

A group of African American teenage campers and their counselors from Camp Nizhoni pose by Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad tracks and a railway stop near the entrance to Lincoln Hills (Gilpin County), Colorado. They wear dresses, blouses, shorts, and wide-brimmed hats; some hold jackets and coats. Shows luggage on a wooden platform.

Health, Recreation, Education, and Uplift: Lincoln Hills and Black Recreation in the Colorado Mountains

When temperatures soared in cramped, noisy cities, Colorado’s higher elevations promised chilly nights and mild days spent fishing, camping, and hiking under shady pine trees. Unlike their white counterparts, however, African Americans could not head just anywhere in the mountains. Not far outside of Denver, Lincoln Hills, a vacation community developed for Black people, represented both an escape from the city and an escape from segregation.