Jess DuBois: His Canvas of Life

Jess DuBois was born on July 6, 1934, in Denver, Colorado. Having deep roots in Colorado, he was raised by his stepfather Obrey and mother Melba Hamlet (his biological father died when he was 12.) His stepfather built Winks Lodge, the first facility opened in Lincoln Hills, which was been founded in 1922 as a resort property for black patrons. At the time, it was the only such resort west of the Mississippi River.

DuBois was a Marine Corps veteran, who served from 1952 to 1956. “It was something I felt I had to do,” he said. It gave him his first chance to see the world: He did hitches in South Korea and Japan. He came home to study at the Art Institute of Colorado courtesy of the G.I. Bill. He graduated from the inaugural class of The Art Institute of Colorado in 1957. DuBois then traveled the country to study with several established artists including Ray Vanilla, David Lafel, and Daniel Greene. As a Creole of Cherokee ancestry, Dubois was passionate about Indian art. He showcased it in his successful DuBois Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado until he was forced to close following the town’s devastating 1982 flood. He subsequently returned to his native Five Points neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, where he cultivated the arts of glassblowing and sculpture, combining those skills with his existing media.

DuBois received The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1988 Denver Black Arts Festival, where he was lauded for his ability to “Project the soul of his subjects onto canvas.” The Denver-area Regional Transportation District commissioned him to cast a bronze statue of Denver’s first African-American doctor, obstetrician Dr. Justina Ford, which was dedicated in 1998. It can be viewed at the 30th & Downing Light Rail Station in Denver. DuBois was one of three artists who received the Denver Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts in 2004. He was inducted into the Art Institute of Colorado Hall of Fame that same year. He was also recognized by the City and County of Denver as a Five Points Jazz Festival honoree in 2019 DuBois’ beautiful paintings, sketches and sculptures grace galleries and fine art collections around the world. Today, his work is featured in galleries in Santa Fe, Taos and art venues around the world.Thousands have marveled at his ability to capture likenesses of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., figures from the early American West, John Elway and jazz greats like Ray Charles. All of the Tuskegee Airmen signed his portraits.

DuBois taught children’s art in a number of local settings, continued to take art classes himself, and said his goal in life was “to get better and better.” Art was his calling, his passion, his life. DuBois has three daughters and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. DuBois died on December 28, 2022, at the age of 88.

Celebration of Life Memorial: February 26, 2023

The public is invited to celebrate the life and legacy of world renowned artist Jess E DuBois. A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at the Park Hill golf course, located at 4141 East 35th Avenue in Denver 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The family will showcase many of his fine works of art. Come and share your stories and memories to honor a life well lived.

For more information, email Risadubois@yahoo.com.

Continued from page 3 crises had an undeniably negative effect on the campus. Because of flood damage, water pressure was so low, students could not bathe, flush toilets, brush their teeth, take showers, or have meals prepared at the dining facility. Sanders and his players had to take baths in a swimming pool.

Money is a substantial factor in people’s decision-making, though people say they do things for altruistic reasons. Ayn Rand vehemently rejected self-sacrifice in the service of others. She felt the less you do for people, the better off they are in the long run, and it will grant them more individual freedom. Money can make the idea of altruism a moot point. The NFL is 71% people of color. When the president of the United States called players “sons of bitches” for protesting police violence, there were enough players of color that they could have shut down the NFL until a public apology was made. Instead, they remained silent and played on. Too often, multi-millionaire athletes and entertainers will not make a solid political statement if it means they will lose a lot of money. Sanders was taking care of himself. Maybe his three years at Jackson State were enough of a sacrifice. And who is to say that he will not continue making a positive impact on the Black community while serving as a coach in Colorado?

HBCUs are worth saving. In the face of historical struggle, HBCUs have produced over 80 percent of the nation’s judges and 50 percent of Black doctors. Rising college cost alone is enough to keep many African Americans from attending any college. In HBCUs, 60 percent of all students are from first-generation, low-income families.

According to Forbes, HBCUs have been underfunded by at least $12.8 billion.

Twenty years ago, I left my corporate position at Time Warner Telecom to become a public-school teacher. The reason for this move: I became tired of watching the school system failing our children. The national test scores showed African Americans on the wrong end of every educational statistic. My salary shrunk to half of what I previously made, and I had to change my lifestyle. However, leaving corporate America to teach was my best professional decision ever. I cannot expect anyone else to do what I did under the same circumstances. I made an individual decision with no expectations other than wanting to positively impact students who other authority figures may sometimes ignore. Beyond the lives I personally touched, I may not have made a dent in public schools’ widespread systemic problems, but at least I could positively influence a few. That can go a long way.

Sanders was never going to be the savior of HBCUs. The problems facing the nation’s historically Black colleges are too far-reaching and profound. One coach, even a celebrity coach, would not be enough to untangle this Gordian knot. What should we expect of Deion Sanders? Can the hopes and future of HBCUs rest in the hands of one football coach? If that were true, that would be the easiest fix in the world. But a village, not one man, needs to tackle the financial woes of HBCUs. All of us need to contribute..

Editor’s note: Thomas Russell, a contributor for DUS, is an educator and the Director of Cyber Education for the National Cyber Security Center. He was awarded an honorary doctorate for cybersecurity from the Denver Institute of Urban Studies. His latest non fiction book is Binary Society.