CO.Fax Magazine: Issue 2 by CO.FAX Magazine

CO.FAX MAGAZINE

BL ACK

HISTORY

MONTH

E DITI ON

Issue - 02

Stand With www.weltonstreetcafe.com

Welton Street Cafè, has been a linchpin of the Historic Five Points community for well-near 40 years. Half of this time has been served at their most acknowledged

location 2736 Welton Street, however they will soon be

relocating to a new space. With ‘exhausted efforts’ in acquiring funding from the government, corporate grants, and business loans Welton took a different approach and connected with the community to help furnish the new location. So far, the community has helped raise over $85,000 of the $250,000 that the business is seeking, that’s nearly 35% of the goal. March 12, 2022 will be the last day you can dine at Welton, until the grand opening of the new location, 2883 Welton Street. Make sure to visit and support Welton Street Cafe or donate through the Go Fund Me where more information is provided.

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Welton Street Café has been serving up Soul Food and Caribbean Cuisine since 1999. In the community 36 years strong, come dine with us. last day of dining at the infamous 2736 Welton Street location will be March 12th, 2022

DINE WITH WELTON FB: Welton Street Cafe IG: Weltonstcafe www.weltonstreetcafe.com

• I S S U E •

HELLO

READER’S

This One is for Black People: It’s Time to Reach Back

Since the beginning of colonization, there have been numerous oppressive obstacles that have caused great destruction in the countries located in Africa. At the hands of colonization many African countries have faced economic, political, and social turmoil and the country of Ghana is no exception. Ghana is a multiethnic country located on the West coast of Africa. Yet, despite all it has been though it was the first country south of the Sahara to achieve independence from colonial rule and little did they know that in today’s world they would be recognized as one of the wealthiest leading countries in Africa. For centuries Ghana’s largest ethnic group (the Akan people) have held a significant cultural importance to the area.One of the ways in which the Akan people have accomplished this is through symbolism. In the Akan culture there is a symbol known as Sankofa and in many ways this symbol has much to teach African Americans. This symbol encourages people to reach back into their roots in order to shape and cultivate their future. It’s three segments (“San” which means to return, “Ko”which means to go and “Fa” which means to look, seek, and take) allows people to think of time as a circular notion rather than linear. It allows Black people to reach back into their roots and grab what is helpful in aiding our progression and advancement. Therefore in honor of this month’s Black History issue CO.Fax magazine encourages you to reach back. Through this month’s issue we encourage you to begin to think Sankofically… to begin to use your past and our history in order to reimagine what the world can look like for us if we put the work in. CO.Fax magazine encourages you to make everyday (not just Black history month) about self-exploration, Colorado exploration, and worldly exploration.

It is our responsibility to bring game and learning back to the community so in this issue CO.Fax will be aiding our readers in reaching new heights by providing information regarding the Black communities of Colorado. In this issue we will be reaching back to the history of Dearfield (Colorado’s first Black settlement), exploring ourselves through the language of Black people with Dr. David Mitchell, and diving into the living history of our communities through the narrative behind Welton’s Café and Dr. Chereka Dickerson. Thank you so much to all who contributed to this issue. Each and every one of you made this project come to life and moving forward we wish nothing but the best for you all. CO.Fax will continue to support each of you on your road to success and improvement as you move along your journey. This one’s for Black people. Let's fuck the city up!

Kei-Shaun M. Thomas E D I T O R ' S

N O T E

FROM THE EDITOR

33 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: DR. CHEREKA DICKERSON We interview professor Dr. Chereka Dickerson of Welton Street Cafè centered around

EDITORS NOTE

DEERFIELD ARTICLE

This one is for Black People . It’s

More knowledge about the

time to Reach Back!

infamous Deerfield, CO.

INTERVIEW: DR. DAVID

PHOTOGRAPHY SEGMENT

MITCHELL

photographers Imanni Thomas

Interview with Dr. David

and Rayshawn Baker show case

Mitchell, exploring ourselves

their work.

This one is for black people, it’s time to reach back. This month is filled with black creators, entrepreneur, photographers and more. I wanted to do something completely different , which is why we decided to take this route. I have so many more ideas I want to incorporate , we just have to take it slow as we approach new opportunities. Thank you all to our readers and supporters we appreciate each and every one of you.

through language.

inside

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We appreciate all of our supportors!

Co.fax Magazine has made such an amazing impact in the magazine world. With over 400+ readers from issue 1, we want to say thank you to everyone who took time to support us. We appreciate all of the shares, love, and interest in CO. Fax Magazine. We can’t wait to bring you more issues in the near future!

Co.fax

CO.FAX Magazine The platform that sheds light on people that make a difference

If you haven’t already, go support issue 1 on the Gold Boys brand. Featuring Artist Lover Boy Talib and basketball athlete Michael Sparks

CO.FAX Magazine ISSUE 1 Currently available through ISSUU

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PAGE 9

CO.FAX MAGAZINE

ARTICLE

THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY: DEARFIELD, CO AN EXCLUSIVE CO.FAX ARTICLE BY IIMANI MONET Since the conception of American society, America has commonly been recognized as the land of opportunity. Yet despite its promising title, for many people America seems to fall short in its potential for opportunity. It is often left unmentioned that in this land the so

These labels can easily be identified in the historical practices Black people have been forced to endure. These practices include slavery, red lining, segregation, racism, etc. In spite of these unjust and inhumane practices Black people

called “opportunity” is not evenly

have still succeeded and are constantly aiming to

distributed.

improve in the areas of self-preservation and

Some individuals receive more opportunity or

self-actualization. One of the ways we have and

privilege based on their identity while others are

can continue to do this is through the formation

left marginalized, disadvantaged, and negatively

of Black towns.

interpreted. One such example of this can be found in the Black community. The Black diaspora has always been subject to various predetermined labels and illustrations in this land of opportunity. Despite the

From 1865 to 1920 Black people in America have created their own Black towns and settlements . The formation of these towns and

fact that these labels and illustrations were not

settlements were

originally constructed by Black people, they have

the emancipation of the enslaved. These towns

somehow managed to dictate and control the notions

and settlements were and are physical

surrounding what it means to be Black in America.

manifestations

un doubtedly essential

after

of advancement of Black

people in America . For several generations Black people have been depicted and perceived under the designations of

In total there were over 50 Black towns and

property, hypersexualized and exotic bodies, savages,

settlements created across the United States .

uneducated, uncivilized, financially illiterate and

Today only 13 still exist in Oklahoma.

underserving, etc.

In Colorado our first Black settlement was known as Dearfield . It was founded 1910 by man named Oliver T. (Toussaint L’Ouverture ) Jackson . O. T. Jackson was b orn in Oxford, Ohio, in 1862, and moved to Colorado in 1887. He was a farmer but in 1909 Jackson spoke to John Shaforth (the governor) to prose the idea of an African American settlement . In the end Jackson secured 320 acers of land in Weld County (25 miles southeast of Greeley on U.S . Highway 34) . According to the Denver Public Library, a t its peak the settlement proclaimed a colony of 700 people (60 families), with 44 buildings and improved lands worth about $ 950,000 and their annual production of $125,000. Unfortunately, the flourishing town hit a rough patch . In 1930 the Dust Bowl took pla ce which led to the eventual demise of the settlement .

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Today Dearfield is referred to as a “ghost town” ; it has very few buildings that are still left standing, and the conditions of these buildings are in dwindling . However, efforts have been taken to save the historic settlement. What’s left of Dearfield has been sectioned off from the public and on the town’s 100 th anniversary a plaque was placed there which is said to honor the settlement. Although Dearfield is interpreted as a ghost town to CO.Fax magazine it is much more. It’s not a ghost town. If anything, it’s a priceless ancestral district… a real land of opportunity for the Black communit y . To CO.Fax it a monumental piece of the past with the potential to once more become living history. Perhaps with the help of the community Dearfield may flourish again as a land of real opportunity for Black people filled with all the modern and essential infrastructures needed to operate a town. Perhaps with our help and care we may see a day where there is a town in which everything from the school to the bank is Black owned and Black directed. Perhaps if we help and take our destiny in our own hands, we can reimagine what it means to be Black in America and rebuild a living history.

Above Dearfield LODGE.

As we move forward into the coming months, please be on the lookout for our documentary. It will be centered around Dearfield, its history, and discussions with Colorado leaders.

Interview #1

Exploring Ourselves through Language

With DR. DAVID MITCHELL

CO.FAX MAGAZINE

DR. DAVID

MITCHELL

EXPLORING OURSELVES THROUGH LANGUAGE: AN INTERVIEW CENTERED AROUND AAVE

If Co. Fax magazine were to go around and ask Black people how many languages, they speak I bet most people would say one. In fact, we would go even further to claim that one language people would say the speak would be English. However, if we told y’all you can speak two languages we’re sure most people wouldn’t believe us. Nevertheless, it’s still true. In our interview with Dr. David Mitchell, an English professor at Metropolitan State University and the Assistant Professor of Linguistics, we sat down to talk about the language that originates in the Black community referred to as AAVE or African American Vernacular English. Some of you may wonder why discussing AAVE is important. In this piece CO. Fax wants to emphasize that language is important because it could mean the difference between life and death, getting that job or not, or even getting a quick response from police. If you were unaware before, as a Black person even the way you speak can be used against you as a weapon because Linguistic discrimination is a way of maintaining old racist tendencies. As stated in the editors note for this month’s issue, one of our main goals is to encourage our readers to learn about their communities and themselves and reading this article centered around AAVE is one way to do it. It is another way you can use your knowledge to protect yourself and your community.

K.T.: Wassup everybody my name is Kei-Shaun Thomas I.M.: And I’m Iimani Monèt and today we are sitting down with… Dr. M: Dr. David Mitchell an English professor at Metropolitan State University and Assistant professor of Linguistics. K.T. : Where were you born and raised? Dr. M: I was born in Sandusky, Ohio which is like Northwest Ohio not far from Toledo. It’s a tiny town but the population was large because we had this big, huge amusement park there called Cedar Point so there was always a lot of people compared to the other little towns around us. The environment was always different. I grew up there for 12 years and then I lived in East Cleveland for a while and then we moved to Fremont, Ohio. Fremont is also Northwest but it’s way more rural and I lived there till I was around eighteen.

K.T.: That’s an interesting background, what were the demographics of your hometown? Dr. M: In Sandusky if you were to look at one of my old class pictures it would be right down the middle… half Black and half White. Fremont would be like half White, 40% Latino, and 10% Black people. My daughter goes to school in Fremont now and it’s a little bit different now its more like 40% White, 40% Latino and then 20% Black. So, things are shifting now. But in Cleveland its just all Black people. My mom was the only White woman in the neighborhood. K.T.: So, do you have siblings? Dr. M: I do. I have six sisters and one brother. Two of them are full sisters but the rest of them are half siblings. One of my half sisters lives here in Denver and I hang out with her like once a week. Her boyfriend and I lift weights together and she has a two year old daughter so I feel like I got lucky with that because I don’t really hang around with anybody so having a sibling in town gave me a small social life.

K.T.: So where do you fall in the range of siblings? Dr. M: Same thing as everything in my life… IN THE MIDDLE! I don’t like it to be too hot or too cold… I was born in the middle of the year… I’m in the middle of my siblings. Everything has to be just right and balanced for me. I.M.: That’s very mid of you! K.T.: What made you decide to become a professor? Dr. M: I had tried college before when I first graduated high school and I wanted to be an art major. I was a sketch artist, but I was too young, and I was getting into trouble, so it didn’t really last. I only lasted a year and then I took a couple years off. When I went back, I really liked one of my English professors because of his demeanor. Instead of sitting on his chair he would sit at the front of the room on one of the tables and put his feet on the chair. He always had some novel or short fiction type book, and he was like this old 70’s type hippie dudes. So, he would sit on the table and everything he would say had to be really intense and when he would speak, he would squint his eyes “so and so did this and that and it really had this Zen buddhist appeal… it was really a Zen moment.” Everything was a Zen moment to this dude. And so, I was like if you can get paid to just sit up here and do that then I’ll do that cuz that seems like some pretty good and easy money.

CO.FAX MAGAZINE

He also noticed that I was a strong writer, and I didn’t know I was strong writer until he said so. He was very nit-picky grader but even though he would nitpick he would nitpick he would be like this is good shit. He would even read some stuff I had written aloud and that made me think “hmmm maybe I am good at this stuff.” When I switched from community college to Cleveland State University, I told the councilor I wanted to be a professor. And she looked at me and I looked at her and she looked at me and I looked at her and she was like “you do know you have to have a PhD to do that right?” and I was like “yea,” and she was like “okay.” Despite being told at different times that what I wanted to do was silly I was determined. I think a lot of things are easier than what people make them seem. Everyone makes it all seem like its so hard but its so freaking easy. Everything takes time… I’m a slow learner and I’m even a slow reader but I persevered. In grad school I thought everyone was smarter than me. Even the stupid people were smarter than me but by the end I had shifted into a higher gear that I didn’t know was possible. Sometimes it can be scary because you have imposter syndrome, but you have to trust the process. You have to be okay with not being the smartest person in the room. You have to be okay with not being the fastest in the beginning and you have to just be focused and steady. CO.FAX MAGAZINE

I.M.: That’s great advice I feel like not only for myself but for our reader. Perseverance, consistency, and dedication are really essential to success. I.M.: How do you feel about Black representation in the department you currently work in? Dr. M: I think the weird thing for me department wise is my bigger concern for the Latino population. You look at these kids coming to campus to tour campus and the entire tour group is Latino. All I can think is you guys need to make something for these people who are coming to campus because they don’t want to hear about Shakespeare or the dead White dudes and shit. They don’t want to hear about that. They want to hear about something they cam relate to. So, I push for that. As one of two Black people in the department its normal to me. This has always been a thing. At Ohio State I was the only Black dude and I’m only half Black. You guys only have a half Black person in this whole room right now. It’s always been a thing and I wish it weren’t, but this isn’t going to last forever. It will change and that feels good. For now, I just hide in my office but even without the race thing there can be tension in the department. Sometimes the tension seems to split the department in half…

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I.M.: Split it in half for what… What categories would it be? Dr. M: You have literature people and the writing people. The writing people the get everybody who comes to the university because everyone has to come to the university and take a writing class. It’s a requirement, lit. people not so much. It’s considered the deeper more philosophical side of the department. They don’t have number powers though. So sometimes they bicker with one another. I.M.: I would have never thought there would be “gang” wars in the department but that does makes sense, and all workplaces are like that. Dr. M: They can be very cliquish. And you can see it in the emails. There’s some bickering and I’m like who gives a shit. Like what does this have to do with helping students get their degrees and to be better writers and better readers. But its not too bad. I haven’t felt sabotaged by the department but the one time I did one of the Brown professors saved me. Which is why Black and Brown representation is important in all departments because I feel like there can be a lack of casual support that can really help you professionally and that’s really important.

I.M.: I kinda wanted to touch on something you had talked about in your answer to the previous question when it came to Metro’s student population. In my perspective as Black student I find it strange, and I don’t quite understand how the university doesn’t emphasize the demographic make up of our campus. For two straight years I believed our university was a PWI or a predominately white institution because that what I saw in class. However, my first semester as a junior which was fall 2021, I learned that we were an HSI or a Hispanic serving institution. I don’t get why that isn’t presented more. Like why are we not bringing that to the forefront of our image university wide? Why did I have to learn that from a random billboard in the JSSB (Jordan Student Success Building)?

Dr. M.: When I just got to university, I wondered the same thing. Professors are being pressured to send kids through even if students aren’t doing the best ya know? Its like go easy on the grading, do more promotion of your classes, we need to grow our numbers… numbers, numbers, numbers. And I’m like why don’t we try the one thing that makes sense: advertise to the Latino community. Get some Latino professors, get some Native American professors, have them teach some classes ya know? That’s the most obvious way because that’s your target audience. That’s 101 business. I want it just because that’s the environment I’m most comfortable, but it makes sense for so many other reasons as well. K.T.: What benefits do you feel your presence brings to Black and Brown students in classrooms?

Dr. M: When I was in grad school at Ohio State, I saw an article in the newspaper that had something to do with education, so I took a peek at it. It had given some quick stats about a study done in Columbus, Ohio. The study was taking a look at some integrated schools, and they were tracking the grades of the students. When tracking the grades of the Black students they found that integrated schools has made their grades go up however they still weren’t as high as the White students’ grades. Then they did another study where they put Black and Brown teachers at the front of the classroom and then the grades began to even out more.

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CO.FAX

FEBRUARY 2022

I think just seeing something like that at the front of the classroom is an attention grabber and it makes you want to listen. There is five to six hundred years of rape, and murder, and brain washing, and religious oppression, etc. that comes out of White peoples’ mouths that everyone becomes apprehensive about it. It causes people to not want to listen, to want to believe or to be skeptical in ways they shouldn’t have to skeptical. People should always be a little bit skeptical about the things people tell us. That’s health science. But there’s gonna be some push back to White folks because of the history. So, when you have someone at the front of the room who doesn’t portray that and is someone that students can relate to, students will absorb information differently. They are gonna care about what that person has to say. And that has nothing to do with your skill as a teacher, its just a fact that we need a more diverse representation of people at the front of the classroom to get students grades up. I also think a second aspect to this is, how the teacher relates to the material, ya know? I teach about speech in the Black community so when a student hears the information from me, they can that deeper appreciation and love in the topic. I speak this language myself, so it makes it feel more authentic. I weave my way in and out of Black language so its more real and intimate. Imagine a White woman trying to teach that or trying to teach about Black woman writers… its not the same… it’s not authentic because no level of education is going to allow someone of a different race to really understand that experience. So, there’s a lot to be gained from having Black and Brown professors.

”No level of education is going to allow someone of a different race to really understand that experience.” I.M.: I definitely agree with that. In all my years of schooling I’ve had four Black professors, and these were all introduced to me during my bachelor’s degree program. I would say three out of the four of these professors were my most influential teachers regardless of what they taught. Like to be honest with you I was scared to take History of English and I’m sure you noticed that because I would have you meet with me every week to answer my questions. And though experiences like that I realized the connection that I had with my Black teachers was different because I was able to see myself in my professors. It was like having a mentor more than it was like having a teacher or a professor. While I may be getting mentored in a subject that doesn’t have to do with Blackness, I could understand you more because we share a cultural understanding of what its like to be Black or Brown. Dr. M: There’s more to it for us. I had another student named Dante who was so quite that I didn’t notice him the first class. But after class he sent me an email and was like “Man, its nice to see a Black professor in the classroom.” And I’m like “who the fuck is this dude. “niCe To SeE A BlAcK pRoFeSsoR” like WHO IS YOU?!” But after I found out who he was I was like “Oh that’s what you meant.” Because I initially thought it was a White guy. In the end he was just looking to relate to someone. He was also a lover of romance languages, and I added a lot of French, and Spanish, and Portuguese and Latin into my talks so he latched right on to me. So, I created a class just for him and I taught him for free in my office. K.T.: That’s dope! Issue 2 | 18

Dr. M: You can’t get paid to teach just one student and they won’t reserve a class for you if you only have one student, but they will still let you teach the class if you want. So, he would just come to my office, and we did a hybrid version of Latin and Prodo-Romance. We still talk to this day. He’s actually in grad school at CU Boulder trying to get into med school. Its nice to see when students care about you as a professor especially with Black folks because there’s push back against science and knowledge in the Black and Brown communities because of where it comes from. There’s skepticism there so seeing more representation can help easy that. I.M.: It makes things a lot more comfortable, and I even went through that in multiple ways after learning about all the crazy shit they used to do in the medical field. For a while I didn’t even trust fuckin doctors. I still don’t even enjoy going because I feel like they be tryna play me or won’t communicate information effectively. That’s why I like to bring my grandma with me because she works in health care, so she knows the ins and outs of stuff better than I do. She can articulate the ideas better. Plus, she’s White so they deliver information to her differently as an educated White woman than they do to me when I just go by myself. Dr. M: The medical field is not God to so sometimes they don’t even know. One of the dark secrets of science is publish or perish. You have a lot of people working on stuff that can kill you and there’s pressure on them to publish interesting shit. So sometimes you get a lot of publications out there with incomplete or inconclusive data. So, you have to be careful. Sometimes you even get doctors without PhD’s but with MD’s and they aren’t hip to research. They take their degrees for granted. Those “doctors” didn’t have to write a dissertation or go the extra mile. They memorized a lot of stuff, and they can do things related to chemistry or biology and they have experience working on patients.

However, that doesn’t mean they are hip to the latest research. So, know that if you do your research you can advocate for yourself in terms of the medicine, they give you and stuff like that. All in all, there should always be some skepticism and you should always do your research no matter who you are. It’s just like police violence. Everyone has to be careful. Now its true that Black people get the worst part of that but anyone and everyone can die at the hands of police so it’s most important that we protect our bodies from harm in any and every way. Going back to the medical field perspective they have been forcing unlawful sterilizations of Black and Brown women for years. I.M.: I learned a lot about that. They even do that in prisons too. Dr. M: NPR had a whole series of shows where they spoke on how social services got paid more for Native American children than for other children. So, you could have a random person call CPS (child protective services) on you, and they can take your child from you for 90 days. And if something goes down, they can put that child in the foster care system even if you have able family members and 9 times out of 10, they are put into White families. There are these little sneaky and weird ways that the same things are happening, but everyone is so comfortable nowadays that we rarely take notice. Even poor people are cozy in America these days… its so rare to see people get really angry and up in arms about stuff. But there’s weird stuff going on.

CO.FAX MAGAZINE | Page 19

CO.FAX MAGAZINE I.M.: Can you explain to our readers what AAVE is and how it is its own language? Dr. M: So AAVE means African American Vernacular English. Some people say AAE which is African American English so that it includes standard varieties of English spoken by Black people. However, AAVE is usually only used to describe nonstandard varieties of English spoken in Black communities. I personally don’t like the name AAVE because Black people don’t want to be put into scientific boxes… “oh that’s the way you guys talk”. People don’t want to be put in those boxes and it makes collecting data and getting research done hard because they are pushing back and are scared to talk to you. I would rather it be referred to as EVOA English varieties originating with African Americans. I haven’t tried to push that idea but something originating in the Black community feels different than putting people in a box. I.M.: I mean that makes sense to me because most Black people are able to code switch between AAVE and Standard English anyways. We put on our White voice in professional environments vs. when we at home. Dr. M.: Its just another thing that helps others to argue that we haven’t yet fully been assimilated or are apart of this country when we’ve been here for centuries. I think that assimilation is important to the Black community because we don’t want to be COMPLETEKY flipped on our heads and turned into White people, but we don’t want to be know as the speakers of what y’all deem the ugly language. So, there’s a lot of mixed feelings in the Black community about that. When I went out to collect my data for my dissertation, I could sense them being worried and scared about handing their speech over to me. So, I had to assure them that I wasn’t trying to say anything about them rather I was just looking at the information. In terms of the history of AAVE, when Africans were being kidnapped and brought here, they were outnumbered in the early 1600’s so they were probably talking just like how Europeans did because during the early and mid-1600’s the boats were brought from the Caribbean where they learned English, Irish, Portuguese, and Spanish then came to America. By the late 1600’s that had changed because America started getting boatloads of people coming directly from Africa. So, a lot of Black people that came here in the 1600’s and maybe even the early 1700’s already knew English and a couple other languages. The people were different then… The Black people were different then. They were extremely tortured and brainwashed then but in the 1700’s and 1800’s they people who were coming from Africa were like “I don’t like you I don’t give a shit about what language you speak, etc.”

They had a very “not to be played with” attitude so they weren’t picking up the language the way earlier arrivals had. I think that’s when AAVE really started to take shape because they were holding on to things that were different in order to feel like they hadn’t been completely derailed. So that’s how AAVE started to take shape. Sometimes words dictated as AAVE didn’t even originate in the Black community. For instance, the word axs. Black people didn’t start that because they didn’t know how to pronounce the word ask… that word is 1,000 years old. Folks have been saying axs for 1,000 years. That was just what we learned from the dialect of English that was present when we came. All of those European dialects of English were mixing and molding into what we now call standard or southern standard. A lot of linguistic norms have been learned a long the way. Some people choose to stick with axs, and others went with ask and Black people kept axs. Some White folks in certain areas still use ax too! I.M.: What did you study in your dissertation and why was that important? Dr. M: I started off as an Endo-Europeanist, so I studied ancient Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin and I was trying to come up with an idea to work on that dealt with Prodo-IndoEuropean. However, it was still kinda early for that kind of research and data wasn’t really flowing into the internet market in those days. So that made it hard to find research and data for that topic. So, I decided to do a project on AAVE because it was something I knew well, and White people struggled getting into that territory and getting the data. They are either scared to go to the neighborhoods or Black people cod switch so its hard to get the data because they will speak differently if you speak differently. So, a lot of White folks would go and not be able to find the info that they wanted. I had read a paper about “habitual be” which is when individuals express a habitual aspect to the verb that you use.

For example, “I be going there every day.” By saying be and adding it to go, not only are you saying that action of going is taking place, but it is a habitual thing that happens regularly. In standard English you would have to use a word like usually… “I usually go there every day.” Or you don’t have anything at all you would just say “I go there every day.” So, it’s very useful thing. I remember reading a book centered on AAE and in this book they had talked about habitual be and verbal s. I thought that section of the book was very interesting, but I also thought what was said about verbal s was wrong. If it was right, it was right it was only limitedly right because there was more to it. If I were to say, “I gets paid tomorrow.” I don’t mean that I gets paid regularly tomorrow it means that I gets paid tomorrow and I’m excited and I wasn’t able to find anything written about that. There was no literature that putting an s on our verbs indicated emotion. There is no literature that says we can use grammar to express emotion because they are supposed to be separate that’s why a lot of emotion, we express is either in our tone of voice or our gestures but that’s not true here and I thought that was interesting. So, I went out to prove that observation with my dissertation and it was complicated because I had to get a good sample that was significant enough to prove my thoughts about verbal s., I had to go through a process to get it all together, and I had to choose the cities to collect data from. It took some trust to walk into those neighborhoods and I had to develop some social skills that I didn’t previously possess. I did find some evidence to support my observation and I’m still working on verbal s right now.

I.M.: That’s really cool because I feel like you’re right in your observation. Of course, you have to collect the data to show it but to me it makes sense that verbal s does show emotion. To me it seems almost obvious. Dr. M.: It’s obvious to us because its intimate. There’s intimate knowledge put into our language and sometimes you can only see it or understand it if you speak it. You live in it, and you know it… it’s a memory that makes you feel good in it. You can’t read a book or watch a movie and make your own version of that. There are somethings that White folks just don’t know because they don’t have to live in it. I.M.: What do you believe are some of the biggest misconceptions of AAVE? How is it perceived in different spaces? Do you find yourself code switching in the spaces that you reside?

Issue 2 | 21

Dr. M: Ya, I code switch all the time…even in

I.M.: That’s facts and this is something that I

my classrooms I code switch. Its something

have been discussing in class recently. I read

that people just have to live with, I think. I

and article recently that discussed how

think I gravitate towards standard English a

Dialect and language are racist in the school

lot so when I do code switch, they know I’m

system, and it can kill Black and Brown

doing purposefully. AAVE is designed by the

students because standard English is the

Black community to better at expressing

expectation. However its very obvious to

emotion and feelings than standard English.

understand that when you don’t speak that or

So, when something that is emotion occurs,

write that you can get sucked into the school

you are going to naturally switch into that

to prison pipeline fairly easily… `

language. I think one of the main misconceptions about AAVE is that its bad

DR. M: And that’s right I mean we even have tik

English or wrong English or broken English.

toks displaying these facts about our society.

The job of linguists is to show the

There’s one where a guy is calling the police

systematicity to show the structure and

and saying there’s a burglar in the house and

grammar of the language. There are

the 911 operator is like we will have someone

grammatical rules behind the language. To

out there right away and then is like oh wait a

show the systematic nature of AAVE is to

minute what color are you? Umm white? Say

protect our people from ridicule about our

the word ask and the Black person says ax and

language being incorrect when its not it just

then the operator hangs up the phone. And

wasn’t understood by the person who heard it.

while that’s a funny video and it’s made for

It shows its value and its genuine right to have

entertainment purposes, we know there’s some

place in the world of language.

truth to that. There’s some truth to how Black

Dr. David Mitchell DR. DAVID MITCHELL

people are responded to for the way they speak vs how white people speak that’s why people put on their white voice at work.

Issue 2 | 22

ENIZAGAM XAF.OC

REKAB NWAHSYAR

SAMOHT INNAMI

YHPARGOTOHP

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Interview #2

Interview with Dr. chereka Dickerson

CO.FAX MAGAZINE

DR.CHEREKA

DICKERSON

Centered on Culture, Food, and Education

Since the 1920’s Five Points has been recognized as a focal point for Black residents of Denver and according to the Denver Public Library during the 20’s more than 90% of Denver’s African American population resided within its bounds. For many years since then, Five Points has been known as a cultural and entertainment district containing countless spaces for the Black community from neighborhood institutions to restaurants . Considering that this month’s issue is concentrated on Colorado Black History, we decided to sit down with Dr. Chereka Dickerson who has played an essential role in the education of Colorado youth and helping to run her family’s infamous soul food restaurant: Welton’s Café. In this interview we sat down with Dr. Dickerson at Welton’s to discuss Dr. Dickerson’s family dynamic, Black culture s , the education system, and the history of the beloved family business. Issue 2 | 34

I.M.: Wassup everybody my name is Iimani Monèt K.T.: And I’m Kei-shaun Thomas I.M.: And today we are sitting down with… Dr. D: Dr. Chereka Dickerson a professor at Metropolitan State University, graduate from Illinois State University, and a manager at Welton’s Café. I.M.: So, to start off can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where were you born and raised? And how many siblings do you have? Dr. D: I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. My mom and dad have six kids

Dr. D: Well, my parents are from the same island so within the household there was very little culture

together and I am number 4 so I would

clash but moving from the island to Denver there was

consider myself to be somewhere in middle

culture clash in the new environment. I felt like yes,

since there’s no middle of six, but I am

I’m Black but I didn’t really fit in with the Black kids

closer to the end.

because I wasn’t raised in an American Black household. I was raised in a West Indian Black

K.T.: And what role do you feel you

householdwhere we ate different kinds of foods and

constantly played growing up as the 4th

had different kinds of values. I had to navigate

child?

Blackness while being Black but not being Black enough in the way that Black folks around me were.

Dr. D: Well, it’s really interesting because there’s six of us but it wasn’t like

K.T.: How did you learn to adapt to those particular environments?

“1,2,3,4,5,6” there was two and then there was a six-year gap and then there was a five-year

Dr. D: When I tell people I was a shy kid they don’t

gap before there was two more. So, my two

always believe me,but I use to sit back and observe so

oldest sisters were born in the early 70’s and

it would take me a while to open up to people because

then my sister and I were born in the early

I had to know how to interact with people. However,

80’s, and then my younger brother and sister

when I found a way in then I was in, otherwise I

who are the last two were born in the late

would just sit back and observe different groups. Then

80’s. So, growing up it was really kind of

I might encounter someone promising and try to

like I was the perfect child; being that my

befriend them and then I would be entered into the

sister and I were the middle of six she’s the wild child, so I was always the one that was sitting in the corner with a book somewhere. I had a smart mouth, but I was never really in trouble much.

group. But it was hard because I was a smart Black kid and there were stereotypes of smart Black kids wanting to be White, but it wasn’t really that I just liked to read. I was always in the high reading group and the high math class, so I was always 1 of 2 or 1 of 1 Black kids in those classes. So socially groups would always say: “Oh, she thinks she’s better than

I.M.: I can definitely relate to that… So

everybody.”

how did your West Indian roots mesh or

But I didn’t want to be classified as that. So, I just

clash with other Black cultures that you

had to find a way to learn to be Black.

grew up around?

Or maybe even “She’s white.”

I.M.: Where did you get the motivation to continue to read or pursue education? Where did you get that inspiration from? Dr. D: My parents. My parents were really serious about education, and they instilled a strong work ethic in us. There’s this stereotype about West Indians having 15 jobs so because my family had a restaurant when we were little we’d be in the in the restaurant after school. They would have us doing small tasks that were necessary for the business to run but not really laborious. So, they instilled that work ethic into us very young. They also praised good grades and there was a high premium on education. Growing up we had encyclopedias so if we got in trouble we had to do reports out of the encyclopedias. So, we always grew up with books in the house and a premium on education and work ethic. I do the same thing with my kid; he reads to me, and I read to him. He even gets mad if I don’t read to him, he’ll say: “Mommy, are you going to read to me?” and I say “Well, did you read to me?”. Then he’ll pull out his book and read to me. He wants to read,and I instill that need for education in him that my parents instilled in me. Issue 2 | 36

K.T.: What made you decide to become a professor and to get your PhD? Dr. D: This is a story I often tell people because one of my mentees who took a few classes with me and is currently in the master’s program that I was in, and she told me that she looks up to me. For a while I thought she hated me because she would always sit in the class and give me a stank face. She just looked like she wanted to cuss everyone out! But she was like no you were my inspiration. However, it makes me sad that I graduated from that program 11 years ago and I experienced so much racism from professors and advisors. It was like they were trying to sabotage me or set me up for failure when they are supposed to be there to be supported. However, when I looked around, I noticed there were no other Black women or Black people for that matter in the program; my Latina friend also said that she expedience the same thing. But the way that they interacted with the White students was very different than the way they interacted with me and my Latina friend.

They would call attention to things like our writing not being good and things like that so when my mentee applied for the program at metro state, and they said she would have to take writing classes in order to do well in the master’s program because the way she wrote was not going to cut it I was like that’s crap. I know her writing is not below graduate level because I read it. You’ve taken my class (referring to I.M.) you know I’m not playin’ that I.M.: That’s a fact Dr. D: But it’s because she’s a Black woman that they are automatically going to hone in on her writing and say it not good enough. So, when I experienced that racism looking around the program… not seeing any other Black faces, not ever having had a Black professor, not seeing any Black professors in the program, they suggested that maybe after finishing our master’sprogram maybe you’d want to go on and get your PhD and teach at the college level. Now I was really on the fence about it because I just wanted to make it through the program without having to cuss somebody out! However, when it came time to do my thesis/project for the program my advisor came up to me and was like:

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“Why are you doing a thesis? Why are you not doing a project?” and I was like: “Well you said if you have any inkling that you might want to get a PhD do the thesis because that’s what they are going to be expecting for you to have.” She was like: “Are you sure you want to get a PhD its really hard.” So, I was like YES THE FUCK I DO! That was the thing that pushed me over the line, but the second she told me I can’t do it I was like OH WATCH! CHECK, CHECK! That was really the catalyst because I loved school and I didn’t know I loved teaching until I started teaching, but I didn’t like that I didn’t see myself represented in any faculty ever. . My first Black professor was in my PhD program, so that means I went through my whole bachelor’s program with no Black professors. And if I wanted a Black professor, I had to major in Africana Studies because that was the only place I saw Black professors.

My whole masters program I didn’t have any Black professors and I didn’t even see no Black professors nowhere unless I went into the Ethic Studies Department. So that made me question: “Is that the only place we can get Black professors?”. Why can’t we get Black professors in the English departments, in the school of Business, in Chemistry something right? The only place I ever saw Black professors, with the exception of UNC which had a Black professor that taught Biology or something like that, were all in Africana Studies. I was just like I’m pretty sure there’s Black professors that can teach other things besides Africana Studies. There’s nothing wrong with Black professors teaching Africana Studies, right? I mean the majority of my work is African American Studies but why does that have to be the stereotype of where you’re going to find Black professors?

That’s like only finding women in a women studies program, only finding Black folks in a Black studies program, right? People study chemistry, and English, and engineering, and theater. Why does it always only have to be here? So that was the catalyst for me… somebody telling me that this is something you can’t do even though it’s something you want to do or might want to do. If you were to tell me (referring to I.M.):

“You know Dr. Dickerson I think I might want to get my PhD in English and teach English at the university level.” I’m just going to be your biggest champion. But when my advisor who’s supposed to be my advisor, who I took two classes with, who I got an A in both of those classes with, wouldn’t write me a letter or recommendation for my PhD program it lets me know she was not rooting for me. And I needed somebody to root for me. Added to the fact that, when you are going through a graduate level program or an honors program you have to do a thesis but finding someone who has the expertise of what you’re looking into or someone who is willing to work with you is difficult. As you know (referring to I.M.) since you’re in the honors program you have to seek out somebody for that thesis subject whether that be a professor or someone who happens to know about the subject. But if you don’t have a department that studies your topic what are your supposed to do? If the university doesn’t have what you are trying to study its not going to encourage you to go into that field. You’ve seen the English department at metro (referring to I.M.) it is not representative of the demographic of students of color who attend the university. So, it’s no surprise to me that I have students that take multiple course that I teach because I’m the only one. They be like: “What you teachin’ next semester? I don’t even know what Harlem Renaissance is BUT IMMA BE RIGHT HERE HARLEM RENAISSANCE-ING IT UP! I.M.: FACTS! Dr. D: “Didn’t wanna know about this. All I know is Langston Hughes. OH, THERE’S MORE THAN THAT!? OKAYYY!” It’s not just Black women, but Latina women and Black women have overly followed me through whatever class I teach. They know I’m not just going to give them their writing and be like this is crap whereas other professors have. I’m gonna tell you lets work on this together, and be encouraging and be a champion, and when it comes time, you need a letter of recommendation I will write you one. I didn’t have that. I literally had to beg people from my undergraduate program to write me letters of recommendation because people from my masters program wouldn’t. I.M.: So that kind of moves into the next two questions focusing on why you teach Black lives and why you decided to be an English professor in a majority White department. Would you say it’s based on the representation issues? Dr. D: You know, I teach what I know. One of the things that constantly happens in academia is this thing called Me-search and that’s where people begin to research themselves. I’m a Black woman so I research Black women, right? And more specifically I research Black women in literature and film…representations of Black women in and Black women writers that’s what the majority of my research is in. There is very little representation of classes otherwise. I teach African American Literature just about every Spring. In class yesterday, I asked the same question I had posed to your class (referring to I.M.), why do we need a class called African American Lit. when there is a class called American Lit.? Why can’t we just absorb it in there? And the overwhelming response to that is because its going to marginalized. You would get two weeks on African American Lit.

Issue 2 | 38

You’re not gonna get the full breath of what it means to study African American Lit. In all honesty, I didn’t even really go to school to study African American Lit. I just was studying literature but that’s what I ended up researching. So, when I talk about African American Lit., my classes are gonna talk about some real stuff; we not just gon read some Toni Morrison and sit up here and say:“Look at how great of a writer she is! She’svery convoluting, she uses layers in her writing, she uses a lot of similes, and naming”. But she’s also Black person and CHOOSES to center Blackness in her writing and hers how she does it and here’s why it’s important. You can open a book and see everybody else but Black folks so why can’t we have a class that focuses on Black folks in a society that says Black lives don’t matter. And they tell you this every single day…when they gentrify Black neighborhoods, when they send kids from school to prison, when they just murder Black folks in the middle of the street on TV and walk away. If people don’t see Black people as human, then they will continue to enact violence towards us whether its institutional violence like prison systems and school systems of physical violence that you see in these viral videos of Black folks being murdered by police. And after 100’s of thousands of people has been murdered we are just now starting to see people have consequences for their actions. But let’s not forget that they overwhelmingly don’t get consequences, so they continue to do it. Its sad that it takes so many people to get murdered before they even being to ask questions.

They need to see Black folks teaching chemistry, and math, and English. They need to see Black women teaching Chemistry and English and all of that. So that lack of representation in the school system where the principle is White. All the teachers are White… it doesn’t allow the students to see themselves reflected in the people around them, so they more than likely cut up and then it exacerbates the problem where school systems suspend them, and expel them, and then they go to jail. So, I think sending these young White girls into these classrooms where you have Black and Brown kids, they don’t know how to deal with them while they are cutting up, so they just send them to the principal’s office, and they get suspended. For example, my son’s 2nd grade class is full of Black and Brown kids, and he has a first-year teacher, fresh out of college, fresh off of student teaching in zoom, so she had never had a class interaction before. For the first six weeks of school, she would miss a day of school each week and then in week 7 she just never showed back up. K.T.: For real? she just never showed back up?! Dr. D: She never showed back up. I.M.: Oh, that’s just great!

K.T.: What do you think is the biggest failure in school systems for Black youth? Dr. D: SHOOT! HOW LONG WE GOT!?!?! I.M.: We could go all day if you want to! Dr. D: Well, what I will say about that is that it is layered its not just one big failure. One of the things that I think they fail at is encouraging student of color to seek out degrees in education so that they can teach in schools outside of the Black men being coaches and gym teachers. Issue 2 | 39

Dr. D: Ya she just quit on these kids. But then they found a woman with 25 years of experience and she’s a Black woman. She’s a lightskinned Black woman but that don’t matter because she’s Black. As a teacher they don’t pay teachers enough for what they have to do, and they don’t support them enough in the ways they need to be supported. But in my son’s school, the class sizes are much smaller, and they have two pair of professionals in the classroom. That is the type of support early education needs… small class sizes and multiple teachers. So,this whole push to do everything online or to have larger class sizes it doesn’t allow teachers to know how to help students and meet them where they are. My son is a high achieving student because I support him at home. Not every student has that privilege for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s because the parent has to work multiple jobs. Even though the parent may care about their student’s education, they are too tired to come home and help them. Number two when you have these young White girls or even older White women in the classrooms they sometimes look down at the single moms. The way the approach them can be extremely condescending unless the child is high achieving. So, there is lots of internalized stereotyping that goes on and goes unacknowledged because who’s teaching these young White girls how to be teachers…White women. They don’t really get any kind of perspective outside of the experiences that these White teachers have even if they take multicultural classes. We all know that not all multicultural classes do the work they are supposed to do. I teach multicultural classes, so I know, and my classes do the work they are supposed to do because I know what I’m doing. However, you don’t actually have to know what you’re doing in order to get these courses. So, you get women taking these multicultural classes and they’re just like ALL LIVES MATTER. K: Do you feel as though this is something you have the power to combat? And if so, how would you do it?

Dr. D: My son’s school has smaller classes and so Denver Public Schools was trying to close up some of the schools that are called under-enrolled. The pandemic has really created this disconnect where some of the schools in gentrified or gentrifying neighborhoods have a lot of Black and Brown students who attend the schools there however the White gentrifiers don’t send their kids there. So now the schools are under-enrolled and so they want to close the schools. My son’sschool was on that list and was at risk of being closed. So, the parents were like: “OH HELL NO!” and decided to protest. So then Denver Public Schools backed up and was like: “Okay let’s rethink this.” Therefore, I think it’s important for me as a parent that when they have surveys, I fill out the surveys, or go to the town halls to let my voice be heard. If you don’t speak up for your kids,then they are going to be subject to whatever the school system has for them. So as a parent I can advocate for my kid the way I can and encourage other parents to advocate for their kids as well.This stuff really requires the community to get behind each other because had it not been for community organizers rallying up parents and saying:“Hey, we need to talk about this.” Then they would have went ahead and closed down the schools. Right now, they are like: “We’re not gonna talk about that right now.” So, they better not turn around and say: “Hey this school is closing down.” because that’s something they could do too. However, because the new superintendent was really trying to hear what we were saying. They thought it was important that we advocate for our kids. There’s only so much you can do. Teach your kids at home and support them how you can but also advocate for them in the systems as well.

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I.M.: How was Welton’s Café started? Dr. D: We haven’t always been Welton’s Street Café. We have been Welton’s Street Café since 1999. My parents started their first restaurant in 1986 when I was 4 years old so I can’t vouch for this because I don’t remember it. But the story goes that my parents are West Indiana and the West Indiana population in Denver Colorado is very small and even 40 years later it still is. My dad had got fired from some random job and he was like,” I don’t like the fact that people have that much control over me, so I’m gonna go into business for myself.” My mom happens to be blessed with the ability to cook really good food. One of the dishes we serve: pâtés are not something you can easily find a substitute for because it’s a West Indian dish and you have a very small West Indian population (unlike the east coast). So,my dad said we are gong to sell these beef pâtés and a coke for $1 now keep in mind this was in 1986 nowadays that pâtés islike $9-10. And people liked it, so they kept coming back for more. People began asking us well can you throw some cheese in here or some broccoli or something and so we started making all these variations of pâtés based on what the people wanted. The problem was that owner sold the building where the restaurant was located and then the building was later demolished so we had to move. We moved to some place around here, but we moved around Five Points a lot because of changes of ownership. We’ve always been in Five Points though and we’ve been on Welton Street since about 1990. We were on 23rdand Welton, 27th 52 and Welton, and we’ve been 2736 Welton since 1999. So, it was kind of like dad exploiting my mom’s talent. You know when you go into business for yourself and its actually successful enough to keep a roof over your head and your lights on and food in your kids belly you just keep doing that. So now its our turn. We are the generation that’s taking it over since my mom is semi-retired. My brother and sister are back in the kitchen and my other sister is up here. So that’s how it happened.

K: So, what are the challenges of running and managing the empire? Dr. D: One of the biggest challenges in the restaurant business right now is the high turnover in employees. Finding employees is difficult and keeping employees is even harder because it’s a minimum wage job. Even if you offer just above minimum wage, if I lose my job today, I could find another one tomorrow. So that’s one of the biggest challenges is finding employees and keeping them. With COVID some people have left the food industry all together because its scary. The employee pool for restaurants and hospitality is really lacking right now…everywhere. The hardest part is actually the business ownership part. You are responsible for everything. Like if someone doesn’t show up for work you either show up for work or find somebody to show up for work. It never stops. People think owning a business is cool and they only cool thing about it is that you are your own boss. For instance, there was a power outage the other day and it knocked down a cooler and freezer. We figured something could be wrong with the wiring because this is an old part of the city, and the wiring is really wacky. Half the power will be on, and the other half will be off. So, you’re constantly thinking about what is and what is not going to work for business. You have to think about how weather impacts business, how the pay cycles impact business, how the vacation cycles impact business. There are no days off. Even when you’re closed, you’re probably ordering groceries, or prepping food, or you’re planning for the week, or doing payroll, or meeting people…

Issue 2 | 41

YOU ARE ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING AND IT NEVER STOPS. When you own your own business it’s cool,but it’s a lot more work. When you go to work you go to work you do your work and you leave work and that work is still there, when you own your own business there is ALWAYS work. If you aren’t up to that then you aren’t cut out for it. I have been playing a manager role for this business since I was 18 and since I’ve graduated from college either behind the scenes or up front. I run the social media and communications for the restaurant. I had to learn Instagram overnight and still don’t know how to use it halfway! But we run off of Facebook and Instagram. I can create a flyer but its hard for me to be the visual designer because its not my day job. I got suckered into that because I’m always at the computer. K: How was the experience of Five Points growing up sinceyou’ve been around to see the gentrification of the area?

Issue 2 | 42

Dr. D: I often tell people is that this is what its like being Black in Denver. Denver doesn’t have very many Black people, but Five Points insulated me from that. Growing up for me Five Points was just Black. It was crackin with Black business all over the place. So having a business on Five Points it was and still is very Black in here. So, the gentrification has absolutelychanged the feel of the neighborhood. If you come down here on a day we aren’t here it’s just like, where am I? Am I in the Twilight Zone? It’s heartbreaking to see that change. That’s why my siblings and I decided to take the reins on the restaurant because you see a lot of Black businesses die out after 1 ½ or ever 2 generations and we wanted to keep it going. If we don’t survive that is the death of Five Points and then it becomes “The Historic Black District with no Living Black People There” vs the “The Historic Black Neighborhood”. We are living history; we predate gentrification efforts…we are still here, and we are still thriving.

It’s been a hard road… but we’re still here…still tryna make it. I get emotional when I talk about it because one of the things that has kept us alive is being able to adapt. We ask ourselves what is it that people demand? How can we appease the people? That’s why I had to learn social media so quick because that’s how people promote nowadays is through social media. There’s plenty of old schoolers who say they aren’t on social media, but they know people in their circle who are, so they learn about what we are doing anyway. You have to learn how to move with the flow and still give them the quality of what they expect.

CO.FAX CO.FAX MAGAZINE

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BREAKING OUTDA BOX THEYCALLHIMAP Back Man in the mirror Hallelujah

1. 100PACK SAVY Gotta feel me Box state baby Bless you

2. LILMACDIDDY 6am in calabasas Real Rap Beat by me

3. KASHLIFE POLO Dapper Money Freestyle Smoke sumn The bounce back

4. AMEAZY Brunch in Miami That fly Absolutely

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CO.FAX Exclusive By Kei-ShaunThomas

Artist of the Month

February 2022

heycallhimap, takes over our Artist of the month page. We are recognizing him not only for his music but also for his effort towards paving ways for Colorado people, Artist, communities, and more. From attending protest, working with local artists, even starting clothes/shoe drives to help low income families , AP is for the community. AP has been categorized in the top 5 Artist charts for years now, and his work truly speaks for itself. Working with artists like Trev Rich, FBP Moe, and many other Colorado legends he has become one himself. One of CO.FAX Magazines‘ favorite songs would have to be “Man In The Mirror” , where AP talks about grinding to new positions from the bottom. I can’t wait to work with AP in the future, whether it be through music or CO.FAX, I’ll make sure to shed more light on AP’s career. Shout out to Theycallhimap, KEEP GRINDING. Issue 2 | 50

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