The month of February marks the beginning of Black History Month, with this specific month being chosen in regards to it being the month both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas were born. The idea of Black History Month was first conceived by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1915 as Black History Week, a week meant to honor and educate the accomplishments, contributions, and tribulations Black Americans endured throughout America’s history. Black History Month was meant to highlight and put into a greater focus the integral and imperative role Black Americans have engaged and continue to engage in America, that is often overlooked or downplayed. Woodson’s Black History Week organized and promoted Black history in schools, and the week eventually became a month, with President Gerald Ford in 1976 officially recognizing Black History Month. Each president since have recognized the month, and each year since has operated with a theme honoring different aspects of black history. This year, the theme is “A Century of Black History Commemorations” as per Dr. Woodson’s organization, ASALH. Dr. Woodson helped launch black history into a greater consciousness, and the fact that black history is forever intertwined with American History. Black American history continues now in modern day and with the historic trials, strength, and resilience February seeks to commemorate, and it’s important to celebrate the black history in Colorado with the important figures seen below.
James P. Beckwourth
James P. Beckwourth, a famous trapper and man of the west, was a mixed race African-American, born enslaved in 1798 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As an adult, he became a free man and joined William Henry Ashley’s Fur Trapping Expedition. He spent many years trapping around the west, becoming one of the first Black trappers crossing into the Rocky Mountains. During his time in the west, he formed a close relationship with the Crow people, and became the Chief of their people. He left the Crow people later on and had a couple of adventures, from joining the Missouri volunteer military to founding a trading post in Pueblo, Colorado, and then later rejoining the Crow people. He died in 1866. As a recognizable icon of the west with his many such adventures, he is remembered as a famous trapper and one of the icons of the west.
Clara Brown
Clara Brown, a great philanthropist and business woman, was born enslaved in Virginia in 1800. She had four children and a husband, but in 1835 at the age of 35 she was sold to a different slave owner in Kentucky, being separated from her children and husband. In 1857, she was freed from enslavement, and according to the Colorado’s Women Hall of fame, she became one of the first African-American women to cross the plain during the Gold Rush, and became one of the Black women to settle in Colorado. During her stay in Colorado, she became a great philanthropist, her money spawning from opening up the first commercial laundry business and her other shrewd financial decisions. She poured her money from the laundry business into investments in the mining industry and real estate. From her accumulation of money, she put lots of it into helping freed slaves relocate from the south and churches and businesses in Denver, as she became a great community caretaker. She strived to fulfill her lifelong goal of seeing her children and husband again, and going back to Kentucky. At the age of 82, she reunited with only one of her daughters, and eventually returned to Denver with her. Clara Brown is a highly respected and beloved figure in Colorado, being nicknamed the “The Angel of the Rockies,” and she was tributed in the Opera House in Central City, inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame, and had a community meant for the lower income named in her honor, the Clara Brown Commons Community. Clara Brown is a philanthropist icon and an enduring figure in Colorado’s history, making great strides and efforts for the community.
Ada Belle Evans
Ada Belle Evans, the first African-American mayor in Colorado, was born in South Carolina in 1932, and in 1955 she started teaching, which is where she met her husband. She and her husband bounced around the United States and in Denver for various teaching positions. Finally settling in Fairplay, the place she’d become mayor of, she took a science position. According to History Colorado, she and her husband with two children were the only African American family in the small city. The frequent discrimination, redlining, and communal isolation Evan faced alongside her family still snuck its way into her newfound residency. In 1974, Evan ran for mayor of the town and won by 62 votes. During her time as mayor, she had many roads paved, got grants for Fairplay, and had ideas and progress for recreational facilities. She served two terms as mayor, and is fondly remembered by the town she served. She eventually retired in her hometown of South Carolina, paving the way for many other African-American politicians in Colorado, such as Penfield Tate ll, the first African-American mayor of Boulder, Wellington Webb, the first African-American mayor of Denver, and Yemi Mobolade, the first African-American and current mayor of Colorado Springs.
There are many other great and important Black American figures in Colorado, and in America’s history as a whole. The history of African-Americans is the history of this nation, a history that is honored year round.
