BLACK IN BOULDER

accidental and generally due to Black flight from the area in response to a homogeneously white culture of microaggression, exclusivity and violence against non-white people.

Therefore, to find oneself in Boulder in 2023 is to arrive in a space in which Black culture is mostly invisible. The lack of representation regarding the cultural expressions of Blackness is endemic in the dominant narrative in the U.S. and Boulder. However, the attempt to marginalize and/or misrepresent the narrative of Blackness in no way diminishes the interest, accomplishments and/or excellence of the first Black people in Boulder and those who currently live in this area.

This monthly editorial serves as one of the plethora of efforts to reach out to Black people in Boulder and proudly share aspects of our histories, lived experiences, struggles, joys, accomplishments and excellence. In addition, the editorial will provide constructive criticism of various aspects of Boulder that are insensitive, marginalizing and unfair to Black culture. The critique will often be accompanied by suggestions that intend to be practical and engage in personal growth and systematic change.

I am a Black, single father of four, professional, uncle and brother who

Opinion

has lived in the City of Boulder for the past decade. We are a proud African American family, and we call Boulder our home. My family and other Black people in Boulder spend our time enjoying the fresh air, clean water, quality education, and healthy food options. We are Afrofuturists and our intention is to sustain the positive experiences and minimize the negative. Essentially, we are not only responding to our oppression, we are also liberating ourselves from it.

In this liberation work I wear many hats and one of them is to curate the Boulder African American History Center. The center is a virtual entity that intends to connect the various physical efforts to support the liberation of Black people in the Boulder metro area. We will utilize the Boulder Weekly platform to illuminate the gifts, critics and liberated voices of the Black people who live in the Boulder area. The method is through critical editorials, liberating opinion pieces, captivating and relevant interviews with empowering Black people and highlighting of existing movements and organizations that serve to make the experience of Black people safer and more comfortable to thrive economically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and physically.

Making space for the cultural expressions of Black people in the Boulder area is in no way meant to diminish the need and current efforts to elevate representation of the Indigenous people of the Americas and people of color, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent people, and every other marginalized group not named here. We stand in alliance. We hope to share well and be contagious! We look forward to your engagement.

Anthony Gallucci is a dad, author, activist and professor. He is currently teaching at Naropa University and finishing his doctoral work in psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies researching masculinity from an Afrocentric epistemological lens.

This opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

Local events highlight youth leadership in mental health crisis BY EVANGELYNE ELIASON AND NICOLE SPEER

In recent weeks the mental health crisis devastating our nation’s youth has been getting muchneeded attention from the local and national press. For young people, and for the parents, educators, health professionals, scientists, and others who interact with people under the age of 25 on a regular basis, it feels like it’s about time we focused on this growing crisis. We have seen firsthand how young people increasingly struggle under the weight of misogyny, racism, queerphobia, transphobia, and other forms of oppression. We see how record levels of economic inequality, an ever-increasing climate disaster, stagnant wages, crippling student loan debt, lack of healthcare, food insecurity, unaffordable housing and gun violence erode their wellbeing and safety.

Experts in youth mental health have been raising the alarm for years as reported symptoms of mental illness have skyrocketed, particularly among LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color (especially Black and Indigenous youth). In 2021, Children’s Hospital Colorado declared a youth mental health state of emergency due to record numbers of children and youth experiencing mental health crises. In 2021, nearly one-quarter of U.S. high school students had seriously considered attempting suicide and one in 10 high school students had attempted suicide. In the 2020-2021 academic year, more than 60% of college students met criteria for a mental health problem — a 50% rise since 2013. Students of color were the least likely to connect with mental health providers despite having the biggest increase in mental health challenges.

This youth mental health crisis prompted the Colorado Legislature to increase funding for mental health services and specifically for youth mental health services in 2021 and 2022, and there are myriad mental health-related bills moving through the Legislature in 2023. The City of Boulder recently allocated $2.5 million to stabilize and expand the mental health staff workforce needed to serve Boulder community members. But many of these changes are years away from having any impact, and given the dearth of training programs that equip mental health providers with the knowledge of how