CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
EDITORIAL STAFF Lauryn Bolz | Editor-in-Chief editor@collegian.com Abby Vander Graaff | Content Managing Editor managingeditor@collegian.com Matt Tackett | Digital Managing Editor managingeditor@collegian.com Renee Ziel | Night Editor copy@collegian.com Amy Noble | Design Director design@collegian.com
PIONEERS OF CSU ATHLETICS: ALFRED JOHNSON & HOWARD KINCHELOW
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WE SHOULD ALL BE CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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UNCOVERING COLORADO’S HISTORIC BLACK AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY
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Katrina Clasen | Design Editor design@collegian.com Lucy Morantz | Photo Director photo@collegian.com Luke Bourland | Photo Editor photo@collegian.com Devin Cornelius | Photo Editor photo@collegian.com David Slifka | Webmaster dslifka@collegian.com
BLACK-OWNED RESTAURANT BRINGS RICH ETHIOPIAN FLAVORS TO FOCO
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SINGER JULIA KIRKWOOD PAVES WAY FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS
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FORT COLLINS WORKS TO PRESERVE CITY’S BLACK LANDMARKS
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Laura Studley | News Director news@collegian.com Serena Bettis | News Editor news@collegian.com Katrina Leibee | Opinion Director letters@collegian.com Paul Brull | Opinion Editor letters@collegian.com Scott Nies | Sports Director sports@collegian.com Noah Pasley | A&C Director entertainment@collegian.com Maddy Erskine | A&C Editor entertainment@collegian.com Paige Moorhead | Social Media Editor socialmedia@collegian.com
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Enslaved at birth, Tubman lived from the early 1820s to 1913. After freeing herself through the Underground Railroad in 1849, Tubman guided other enslaved people toward the north for eight years. She also worked as a nurse and spy during the Civil War, advocated for women’s suffrage and opened a home for elderly African American people.
$20 70
The currency Harriet Tubman may appear on. Jacob Lew, a former Treasury Secretary, proposed the redesign of the bill in 2016. After Donald Trump took office, the plans slowed, but Joe Biden’s administration announced an increased effort to make the change.
The estimated number of enslaved people Harriet Tubman helped free.
93 1849 1st The years Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, has been on the $20 bill.
The year Harriet Tubman traveled along the Underground Railroad for the first time, becoming a free woman.
INFOGRAPHIC BY MALIA BERRY AND KATRINA CLASEN, RESEARCH BY SERENA BETTIS
Historians consider Harriet Tubman as the first Black woman to serve in the military.
Pioneers of CSU Athletics: Alfred Johnson & Howard Kinchelow By Scott Nies @scott_nies98
On March 21, 1945, Kenny Washington joined the Los Angeles Rams and became the first Black football player to sign an NFL contract. Forty years earlier, Alfred Johnson became the first Black football player to play for Colorado Agricultural College, now Colorado State University. Johnson, a sub-freshman at the time, took the field for CAC as a left tackle during their first game of the 1905 season on Oct. 7 against the University of Denver. Initially refusing to play, DU would eventually participate in the game on the condition that it counted only as a practice game. In the book “Aggies to Rams: The History of Football at Colorado State University,” author and volunteer historian for the Colorado State athletic department John Hirn writes, “DU stated, it would not, however, play against a Black man in a regular championship game.” Hirn’s book indicates this game was later considered an official contest and DU forfeited, officially making Johnson the university’s first Black football player. The front-page story of the Oct. 8, 1905 edition of The Rocky Mountain News reported on the game that broke the collegiate football color barrier in Colorado. The story was republished in its entirety on Hirn’s Colorado Aggies website and sheds light on the rampant racism that Johnson was subjected to. In the article, University of Denver head coach Ora Smith Fowler is quoted saying, “Negroes on football teams have caused needless squabbles, and we should keep peace in the family by drawing the color line.” Despite the racial prejudices Johnson was subjected to, he elected to continue playing with the support of the university’s president Barton O. Aylesworth and head football coach
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John H. McIntosh. “Barton Aylesworth said as long as he’s enrolled in this school and he’s a student here, he has every right to play in whatever sport or do anything that our other students do,” Hirn said in an interview with The Collegian. In the Rocky Mountain News story about Johnson’s first game, McIntosh is quoted saying, “If Johnson proves to be a better tackler than anyone else
was published on Dec. 8, 1905. Johnson would letter for the football team in the 1905 and 1906 seasons and would be the last Black athlete to play for the Aggies until 1936. Although the color barrier had been broken, over roughly the next 30 years it was quietly built back up. While there was no official rule against playing Black athletes according to Hirn’s book, it was still regarded as highly controversial in the early 1900s to have any people of color on your team. “They probably didn’t want to deal with all of the social aspects of getting an athlete accepted,” said Hirn. In an email to The Collegian, Hirn further contextualized why there was a lack of Black athletes after Johnson finished playing. “I do not know if the ethnic backgrounds can be traced through records, but just look at the yearbooks between those dates and you will find that the school was more than 95% white with some Latin American and Asian students,” Hirn wrote. Alongside the racial prejudices of the time, Colorado State’s athletic department went through numerous personnel changes, making the program devoid of any type of consistency or leadership that would be willing to
get out of here, you’re not wanted here,’ but that didn’t happen at CSU during these times.” When the athletic department was devoid of leadership that was willing to support athletes in challenging the color barrier, athletes of color ceased to be found at CSU. This lack of diversity amongst Aggie athletics remained until Howard Kinchelow competed in his first collegiate wrestling competition on Feb. 19 of 1938, according to the Feb. 24, 1938 edition of The Rocky Mountain Collegian. The Collegian wrote, “Bright light of the meet was the heavyweight class match in which Howard Kinchelow, wrestling for the first time in college competition, threw his man, Dow, in 37 seconds for a local record.” What reopened the door for Black athletes, according to Hirn, was the legendary acclaim surrounding Harry Hughes and his career as director of athletics at Colorado State. Hirn wrote, “Harry Hughes had become so respected within the conference and the entire country, nobody dared push back if he or any of his coaches wanted to play an athlete of any other race.” The wrestling coach that supported Kinchelow was Hans Wagner, who was “Hughes’ closest confidant,” according to Hirn and was “known throughout his career as a coach for his willingness to allow any able-bodied student an opportunity to play sports,” according to an article chronicling Kinchelow’s career on the CSU athletics’ website. Beyond the wrestling mat, Kinchelow held a role in the Cosmopolitan Club, a club formed to
“A player would step on the field and most of the times the coach would say, ‘Oh, get out of here, you’re not wanted here,’ but that didn’t happen at CSU during these times.” JOHN HIRN VOLUNTEER HISTORIAN
Alfred Johnson stands for a group photo for The Collegian in his Colorado Agricultural College letter sweater in 1907. PHOTO COURTESY OF CSU ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
he will be played in that position if no rule is made, and we will appear on the field with him, and the other fellow will either play there or forfeit.” In the fourth ever Border War, the Aggies would defeat the University of Wyoming 34-5 with Johnson scoring the first touchdown of the game, according to The Rocky Mountain Collegian’s recap of the contest which
field a Black athlete. Hirn emphasizes the importance of administrative leadership and its role in supporting the first Black athletes at CSU. “It wasn’t just the player being able to step on the field, it was that support of the president of the school and the athletic department,” Hirn said. “A player would step on the field and most of the times the coach would say, ‘Oh,
“break down all national and racial prejudices especially on the part of Americans and to promote a bond of good fellowship,” according to the article. While there are always improvements to be made in making sure athletes of color feel properly and equally represented, Colorado State can look to Johnson, Kinchelow and the support they received from their administrations as the catalysts behind the fall of the color barrier within CSU athletics. Scott Nies can be reached at sports@ collegian.com.
Alfred Johnson stands for the 1905 Aggies football team photo. PHOTO COURTESY OF CSU ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINE MOORE-BONBRIGHT THE COLLEGIAN
Howard Kichelow stands for the 1938 Aggies wrestling team photo. PHOTO COURTESY OF CSU ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINE MOORE-BONBRIGHT THE COLLEGIAN
Thursday, February 11, 2021
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We should all be celebrating Black culture has shaped Black History Month American food and music lives easier and more efficient, and that is all thanks to the minds of Black inventors. Growing up in the United States, we are not always taught about the achievements Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects of the Black community and how Black the views of the individual author only and does culture impacts everything around us; our not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or music, fashion and even our speech are all its editorial board. heavily influenced by members of the Black February of each year is designated as community — especially those who are also Black History Month, a time to celebrate all involved in the LGBTQ+ community and the incredible feats of intelligence, triumph drag/ball culture, specifically. and perseverance that the Black community Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender has demonstrated throughout history. woman, is often attributed to throwing the Black History Month is celebrated in the first brick that began the Stonewall Riots, month of February due to the work of Carter leading to the formation of Pride celebrations G. Woodson, who is considered one of the across the nation and the world. The LGBTQ+ original pioneers and advocates for studying community and the Black community African American history. Woodson has even have been intrinsically been referred to as “The connected for decades and father of Black History.” support one another in Black History “Recognizing that our culture fighting for civil and equal Month should be is sculpted by the powerful rights. celebrated by all Black culture history and traditions held by people, not just those is American culture. the Black community is crucial who represent the Recognizing that our Black community. to having a well-rounded culture is sculpted by The history of our understanding of the powerful history country and much of and traditions held by American culture.” our day-to-day lives the Black community is are centered around crucial to having a wellBlack achievement and rounded understanding of the inventions that incredible Black people American culture. have given us. Learning the history behind The pandemic has made it difficult to Black History Month is important in gaining a participate in all types of celebrations, but deeper understanding and appreciation of the there are many virtual ways for you to honor Black community as a whole. Black History Month from home. After attending a national celebration Consider purchasing something from of the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation a local, Black-owned business or explore Proclamation, which spanned over three other businesses around the county. Not weeks, Woodson was inspired to further only will you be supporting a small business study Black history and celebrate the and shopping locally, but you can also show hardships overcome by the Black community your recognition and support of Black for centuries. Woodson pushed his fellow entrepreneurs amid the pandemic. academics to shift their focus to studying You can visit a virtual event or exhibition Black history, recognizing that it was an under- put on by the Smithsonian’s National Museum researched and under-represented field of of African American History and Culture, study. where you can learn about culture, the civil Woodson, in tandem with the rights movement and more. These exhibits Association for the Study for Negro Life and are not only educational but also incredibly History (ASNLH), created “Negro History intricate and beautiful. Week” in February 1926. Choosing the month Finally, consider visiting Google Arts and of February was not a random decision but Culture’s “Black History and Culture” gallery a calculated one. Both Frederick Douglass and experience a virtual field trip and explore and former President Abraham Lincoln, who the various exhibits and sources available. signed the Emancipation Proclamation, were You don’t have to be Black to participate born in February and are credited with making in celebrating Black History Month. huge changes for the Black community. There is so much that we can do to Black History Month being in February educate ourselves on the importance of Black not only pays homage to Douglass and History Month and celebrate the influence Lincoln, but it also celebrates the overarching that Black culture has on our lives. So many accomplishments and history of the Black items and inventions that we interact with on community. a day-to-day basis are created by Black people, Our day-to-day lives feature a plethora and these incredible minds deserve to be of tools and items created by Black inventors. celebrated. Examples include home security systems, the Happy Black History Month! three-light traffic light, automatic elevator Bella Eckburg can be reached at letters@ doors and more. All of these things make our collegian.com.
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By Bella Eckberg
By Cody Cooke
@yaycolor
@CodyCooke17
Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. The United States has entered a national conversation about its problematic history and how that history is celebrated. Debates over the removal of Confederate monuments and the initiative to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill demonstrate our country’s attempts to come to terms with its legacy of enslaving and systemically discriminating against African Americans. Black History Month reminds us of the very real consequences of America’s past, but it can also give us the opportunity to appreciate our present. Celebrating the ways in which Black cultures have enriched the broader American culture should be an important part of this month and our attempts to write a more equitable history going forward. For example, American music as we know it today has its roots in the styles of Black musicians. Almost anybody can recognize the sounds of jazz, and some of its most important pioneers — such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and John Coltrane — are now household names that carry with them the tag of musical genius. According to the Smithsonian Folkways Magazine, the “rhythmic accentuations and call-and-response” elements of jazz can be traced back to African cultures. When these elements came together with European instruments and harmonies, the magazine writes, it yielded a musical style that was “entirely American, rooted specifically in the earlier African American blues and ragtime styles.” Although jazz isn’t exactly a mainstay in everybody’s playlists today, it had undeniable influences on the music we still love to play. Around the end of World War II, a new sound was evolving from jazz called rhythm and blues developed by Black artists. It wasn’t long before performers like Chuck Berry and Sister Rosetta Tharpe took that sound and turned it into what we know today as rock ‘n’ roll. It is important to acknowledge that white artists like Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones undeniably drew their inspiration from Black musicians. Rock and jazz both have roots in Black culture and style, and they have quickly become emblematic of American music more broadly — innovative, full of
energy and irresistibly captivating. Even today, pop music is dominated by elements of hip hop and rap, musical styles that can be traced to urban African American communities in the 1970s. Black artists have fundamentally shaped the sound of American music from the early 20th century to today. Besides music, food is another aspect of American culture that has deep roots in Black history. The American palate is exceptionally diverse, and while other cultures have rightful claims to the origins of several other food styles, African ingredients and cooking styles have a prominent place in Southern and soul food recipes. According to BlackFoodie.com, “Many crops that are key ingredients in soul food cooking were nowhere to be found in the Western Hemisphere prior to the slave trade.” One of those ingredients is rice, which was brought across the Atlantic Ocean by enslaved African people. Besides this staple crop, the slave trade also brought foods like okra and black-eyed peas to America from Africa. Today, these ingredients and others like pork and cornbread make up some of the most delicious and widely eaten dishes in America. You will struggle to find a major city in this country that doesn’t have a fantastic local restaurant selling fried chicken or fish with sides of mashed potatoes or some leafy greens. Restaurants like this are evidence of the fact that Black culinary traditions are a prominent part of overall American appetites. This is evident even in Fort Collins. Places like Lucile’s and Mo Jeaux’s Bar and Grill serve classic Southern (and therefore African American) meals like red beans and rice and pulled pork with greens on the side. These restaurants are local examples of the wide reach and popular appeal that Black culinary traditions have in America. In an article for Afroculinaria, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty wrote that “white America and African America are inherently connected.” These connections go further than the landmass we all share; they go back decades and even centuries, and they manifest themselves in our common tastes for food that soothes and music that excites. Black History Month can and should teach us more than the ugly consequences of our history. It can teach us how our culture has been and continues to be enriched by the contributions of African Americans. Cody Cooke can be reached at letters@ collegian.com.
Uncovering Colorado’s historic Black agricultural community By Sam Moccia @SamuelMoccia
On the morning of Jan. 12, 1918, readers of The Denver Star, the city’s foremost Black newspaper, were greeted with something curious standing out among the various political commentaries. “The town of Dearfield, Colorado,” reads an advertisement. “Now is the time to join the wave of Dearfield prosperity ... a mighty good thing to do for our (Black) people.” The ad was one of dozens crafted to convince Black citizens to join the rapidly growing agricultural colony of Dearfield, located west of Greeley, Colorado, a city on a rise to regional prosperity and national attention. Though short-lived, Dearfield once delivered on its promises of becoming a “mighty” place for Colorado’s Black agricultural community — once the center of a bustling and committed community. Now, decades after this chronically overlooked piece of Colorado’s Black history first began, the city’s history is finally, rightfully being explored, along with the stories of the families who brought this beacon of western Black prosperity to life. Following the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, thousands of formerly enslaved people seeking economic opportunity and escape from the South began moving west in hopes of acquiring land. Known as “Exodusters,” these thousands of migrant African Americans became the foundation of Black homesteading in the United States, according to PBS. CONTINUE ON PAGES 8 & 9 >>
PHOTO BY MATT TACKETT THE COLLEGIAN
UNCOVERING COLORADO’S HISTORIC BLACK AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY >> FROM PAGE 7 It was during this historic period that a fittingly historic figure and the founder of Dearfield, Oliver Toussaint Jackson, was raised. According to Colorado Encyclopedia, Jackson, who went by O.T., was born in April of 1862. Raised in Ohio, he was the son of two parents who’d survived being enslaved themselves. Jackson moved west to Denver in his mid-20s. He spent the next decades working in the restaurant industry, becoming an immensely successful entrepreneur and a prominent Black leader in the Denver metropolitan area.
Robert Brunswig, whose archaeological work focuses on Dearfield, described the town’s residents as a “mixed bag” of already successful Black entrepreneurs and those seeking new fortunes. “A lot of people that came to Dearfield had nothing,” Brunswig said. “They wanted to make opportunities for themselves and their families in a very fragile time in terms of intense laws and biases that were really holding them down.” By 1921, in the stretch of Colorado plains, where nothing more than bitter grassland existed a decade before, the town of Dearfield was thriving. In little time, the town had quickly grown in local fame, especially among Denver’s Black community. It became a prime weekend getaway for those residing
just east of Greeley. Soon, the Jacksons were joined by others. Seven families moved to Dearfield in its first year of settlement, surviving a long and bitter winter in only two frame houses, tents and dugouts, according to the work of Professor George Junne at the University of Northern Colorado, a
“By 1921, in the stretch of Colorado plains, where nothing more than bitter grassland existed a decade before, the town of Dearfield was thriving.”
“(People) wanted to make opportunities for themselves and their families in a very fragile time in terms of intense laws and biases that were really holding them down.” ROBERT BRUNSWIG ARCHAEOLOGIST
By his forties, Jackson was known widely for his farm, for the numerous restaurants that he either owned or operated and for his local work as a political liaison. But after years of witnessing lacking economic and social progress for Denver’s Black community, Jackson and his wife, Minerva, came to believe that African American agricultural expansion was the solution, according to Black Past. This idea led Jackson and Minerva to craft their expansive plans to establish an agricultural colony for Colorado’s African American population, situated on the state’s vast and challenging High Plains. Soon after, Jackson sought sponsors for the plan. Finding little support from local African American organizations and facing racial discrimination from the U.S. General Land Office, it wasn’t until 1910 that Jackson was able to persuade thenGov. John F. Shafroth, whom he served as a messenger for, to support the plans. That year, at long last, Jackson filed a homestead claim for 160 acres of land
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According to Weld County’s history website and research conducted by the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center, a 1921 appraisal placed the value of Dearfield and its land, including its dozens of cabins, two churches and multiple businesses, at $1.075 million — worth nearly $16 million today. Jackson’s vision of a prosperous Black homesteading community was a profound success. But the post-war period weighed heavy on homesteading communities across the country, according to the National Parks Service. The value of crops tumbled, leaving hundreds of thousands of farmers unable to afford their own land. In Dearfield, drought conditions worsened, water rights in the area grew scarce and the value of resident’s farms fell drastically. Soon after, many residents were forced to leave Dearfield behind, seeking work elsewhere. After the previous 15 years of population growth, entrepreneurial success and community prosperity, Dearfield was in a decline it would never recover from.
historian and expert on Dearfield. Among those early stakeholders are recognizable names in Colorado history like Dr. Joseph H.P. Westbrook, the African American physician and Denver activist notorious for his work infiltrating and reporting on local Ku Klux Klan chapters. In fact, it was Westbrook who gave the town its name, stating in an early planning meeting with the Jacksons that the fields of the community they sought “would be very dear to us,” and thus the name Dearfield was born.
Founded in 1910, all that is left of the once thriving Dearfield, Colorado, is the shells of buildings that once made up the downtown and the foundations of a few surrounding farm houses. At its peak in the 1920s, 600 Black farmers and families shopped, traded and attended church inside now dry, rotting walls held up by equally degraded supports. The buildings, now vandalized remnants of the dust bowl sitting along U.S. Route 34, are slowly being reclaimed by the prairie that once provided life and a new start for many.
in the nearby cities, according to 5280 Magazine, in large part thanks to Jackson’s continuous advertising of the town’s vision. “He was a businessman, he was a promoter,” Brunswig said. “That’s what he did.” Advertising fliers crafted by Jackson and distributed widely in The Denver Star and Denver Statesman, another of Denver’s foremost Black newspapers, promised weekend visitors everything from rodeos and fishing locales to late-night dances in the Barn Pavilion. And Jackson’s efforts paid off.
Numerous attempts were made to market the town by Jackson, but his attempts were in vain. By 1925, fewer than a dozen residents remained in Dearfield, and soon after, much of the city was torn down for reuse of its lumber. The Jacksons, eternally tenacious and refusing to abandon their home, remained in Dearfield for the remainder of their lives. Today, only a fraction of the oncebustling town still stands, including the Jacksons’ home, but its unyielding history is still being uncovered thanks to the incredible preservation efforts of organizations like Denver’s Black American West Museum & Heritage Center as well as researchers and historians across the state. Now, as the number of Black farmers continues to massively decline across the U.S. and the country reckons with a year of profound racial justice awakening, acknowledging the ignored history of Dearfield’s success couldn’t be more needed. And despite its quiet decline, the Black agricultural colony’s nationally discussed rise to fame, coupled with the prolific historic figures it hosted, makes clear just the kind of visionary place Dearfield was. Sam Moccia can be reached at news@ collegian.com.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
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Black-owned restaurant brings rich Ethiopian flavors to FoCo By Alexandra MacDonald @alexandramacc
Black History Month presents itself as an opportunity to reflect on history and celebrate the accomplishments of Black Americans. Within this annual event, there is an opportunity to embrace global Black culture. Colorado State University students here in Fort Collins are uniquely poised to celebrate these contributions while also supporting a local Black-owned business by enjoying a rich, savory meal rooted in Ethiopian culture at Raska International Cuisine & Sauce. Raska, located at the intersection of Mason Street and Laurel Street, was started by Hanna Selassie. Selassie, originally from Gondar, Ethiopia — one of the country’s oldest cities — immigrated to the United States to become a student at CSU and worked full time to support her two kids. Selassie’s restaurant started in 2003 as a store to sell her unique sauces, which grew into the thriving kitchen she maintains today. Selassie said that her food was inspired by her leaving home when she was very young and wanting to take her heritage with her. “When I miss my family, food is one of the things I hold on dearly to remember them,” Selassie said. “(Food is) sacred to Ethiopians, (it’s) how (we) express our love to one another.” The stout, orange building on Laurel Street catches the eye and offers a chance to try Ethiopian food, a cuisine some CSU students may not have experienced before. I was pleasantly surprised by the intense flavor that my dish, Tedla’s delight, had. Some people are accustomed to saying that when a dish is “spicy,” it contains heat — an attribute they may shy away from. When it comes to Selassie’s own in-house Raska sauce, “spicy” actually means absolutely jam-packed with flavor and spices. That’s not something to be afraid of. Selassie’s motto for her life is very clear. She declares it proudly on the landing page for her business at raskasauce.com: “Health is happiness, and food is an important way to obtain that happiness.” Selassie said that our foods now are often artificially modified and sterilized, and she works to incorporate more natural and authentic cooking in her dishes. “Having an indigenous way of cooking helps our health,” Selassie said. “We are what we eat; it is very important for me to remember that.” Black History Month gives Selassie an opportunity to look back on her own community, her skin color and her culture. It also provides a meditation on not only Black culture in
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America but also on her home country of Ethiopia and the global Black community. “American history is full of tears and blood; it is dynamic and self-reflecting,” Selassie said. “African Americans are survivors, and I feel guilty for reaping the pleasures of their sacrifice. I have nothing to complain (about).” Selassie also said that, as human beings, we have a tendency to compare and contrast ourselves and judge others as inferior
without recognizing the importance of what they offer to society. “This is a time we have to be mindful and grateful for the participants and listeners of these fragile communities,” she said. “We can appreciate and treasure other cultures and other ways of communities through our food at least.” This February, it is important to reflect on American and African American history.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ABBY FLITTON THE COLLEGIAN
We are one national community and our histories are deeply intertwined, so instead of looking at what divides us, we can reach connection in simple pleasures, like in the way Selassie creates her food. Consider supporting a local Black-owned business or restaurant like Raska if you can this month and continue creating these deeply important connections. Alexandra MacDonald can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.
Singer Julia Kirkwood paves way for young musicians kid and you have a huge, huge dream, people tend to try to dilute that dream with reality and the facts that it’s kind of In 2019, on the Mountain Avenue a one-in-the-million chance that you’re Stage in Old Town, 13-year-old Julia actually going to get there,” Kirkwood Kirkwood wowed the audience with said. Despite this, Kirkwood has made her original music, stunning voice and effortless self-accompaniment on the a name for herself in the Fort Collins acoustic guitar and piano. This fearless community. She has even been able to girl left the whole audience in awe of the share the stage with Colorado-based music icon Hazel Miller at FoCoMX and incredible talent of someone so young. Now 15, Kirkwood continues to recently in a virtual event. “I’ve gained a better understanding amaze. She has grown into a talented of who I am and who I wanna be,” multi-instrumentalist with both a strong voice and a strong message, neither Kirkwood said. “I’ve been surrounded with so many amazing people, so of which will be many artists and forgotten here in mentors. At this Fort Collins. “I really just wanted to point I’ve realized Music has it’s not about always been a part encourage people and inspire that writing what other of Kirkwood’s them to not give up on living people will like — life. Her mother’s it’s about writing life, even though it’s kind of on side of the family what you feel and carries a love hold a little bit.” what you think is for music, and right for yourself.” her mother was K i r k w o o d ’s involved in dance, JULIA KIRKWOOD songs are both opera and theatre MUSICIAN bubbly and when she was in down-to-earth, high school. tied together by “She had a piano, and when I was really little ... I would go to her piano, emotional lyrics and uplifting messages. For Kirkwood, writing songs comes which was in our basement, and I would just play on it,” Kirkwood said. “So it all as almost a second language. She writes her music as she records it, layering started with a piano in my basement.” Kirkwood shares her mother’s her vocals on GarageBand and singing passion for music, including her love for whatever lyrics come to her mind. “Most of my inspiration comes opera. “I love Marian Anderson; she was from, I’d like to say real-life experiences, one of the first Black opera singers who but not all of those experiences are mine was female as well, so I always looked up personally,” Kirkwood said. “A lot of the love songs I write are based off of things to her,” Kirkwood said. Growing up with this passion for people in my family have gone through music hasn’t been easy, Kirkwood said. or friends have gone through.” Her song “Keep Fighting” was Since Kirkwood is still young, she often struggles to find other musicians to written during quarantine, immediately collaborate with or feels like she isn’t after she watched Elton John’s COVID-19 relief concert. Kirkwood felt taken as seriously, she said. “A lot of times when you are a the need to contribute some positivity in these tough times.
By Maddy Erskine @maddyerskine_
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“I wanted to write something to kinda show that everyone is in this together; we are all in the same boat,” Kirkwood said. “I really just wanted to encourage people and inspire them to not give up on living life, even though it’s kind of on hold a little bit.” This message of inspiration is a common theme in Kirkwood’s songs, as she wants to make sure that no one feels alone in this world. Kirkwood said the goal of her music is to give people hope and to “inspire them to express themselves.” In the future, Kirkwood hopes to get signed to a record deal and be able to continue performing and working with other artists. One of her dreams is to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. “No matter what happens, I just always want my music to be a part of my life,” Kirkwood said. Wherever Kirkwood ends up, whether it’s teaching music or performing at the Super Bowl in 2030, her impact on this town will never be forgotten. She has paved the way for young musicians to be able to make names for themselves by working passionately at her music for so many years, despite the limitations and expectations people have put on her because of her age. “On the bright side, there’s a whole new generation of musicians, whether they’re Black or not, that are just bringing up a whole new type of musical culture,” Kirkwood said. “It’s just really nice to see everyone bringing their own style from wherever they may be from to create an even bigger music scene in this world.” Maddy Erskine can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.
PHOTOS BY ANNA VON PECHMANN THE COLLEGIAN
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MALIA BERRY THE COLLEGIAN
Thursday, February 11, 2021
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Fort Collins works to preserve City’s Black landmarks By Isaiah Dennings @isaiah_dennings
all the research into this honorable website, Bertolini said. Bertolini and his team put in hours of their own time to research and patch together the narrative framework for all these stories and locations. Most notably, the preservation team found the story of Mattie Lyle, a Fort Collins woman who sued the State Theatre for discrimination and won in 1939.
goal within historic preservation of telling the untold stories and bringing different perspectives to light for the history of Fort Collins. The website features instructions for a walking tour of the city that includes several historical Black monuments and structures from north and west Fort Collins to the CSU campus for the public to explore and learn about — for example, the now-demolished Clay family homes that used to be on the north end of Washington Park by City Hall. “What we wanted to do was make sure people knew that there was a geography to Black history in Fort Collins,” Bertolini said. The Historic Preservation team wants to conduct more formal research that goes more in depth to completely retell the story of Black lives in Fort Collins that get routinely forgotten. Maren Bzdek is a senior historic preservation planner at the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation department. Bzdek worked alongside Bertolini to do the research and planning that went into the website honoring Black history in Fort Collins.
The City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation department created a website outlining narratives around Black historic locations within the city in an effort to preserve the sites as city landmarks. Deeper historical research into the Black history of Fort Collins began this past summer with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and the events following the tragic death of George Floyd. Jim Bertolini is a historic preservation planner who works for the City and has played a major role in putting together the Black historic preservation project. “The resurgence of Black Lives Matter was forcing some conversations about Black history and how it is not told a lot,” Bertolini said. As a result of this, not many people understand the true role that African Americans played in building communities, including in Fort Collins. It was an untold story and the duty of historical preservation is to revive that voice, Bertolini said. Reviving the past Bertolini and his team already knew small amounts of Black history but conducted a lot of archival Immigration Law Office of Kimberly Baker Medina on Feb. 6. PHOTO BY GREGORY JAMES THE COLLEGIAN research and looked through City records and censuses to uncover all the stories. Lyle was the first person ever in The road to preservation Bertolini crafted the website with the Historic Preservation is a division Larimer County to sue on the basis of model that they had successfully mastered of the Community Development & discrimination, and she won with a with the women’s suffrage project from a Neighborhood Services department and is unanimous decision by the jury. few months before. there to recognize and protect properties “(We had) some lucky connections Bridgette Johnson, managing that are significant to the history of Fort with people, including Lyle’s director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Collins. grandchildren, who live in Seattle now, Student Success and former director of the “We use places to tell the stories of (and were) tremendous help in offering Black/African American Cultural Center Fort Collins,” Bzdek said. “And we do it at Colorado State University, reached out letters and family photos and things like in such a way that hopefully, it creates that,” Bertolini said. for a partnership on the Martin Luther The website that launched on MLK an environment where everybody feels a King Jr. Day celebration and the historic sense of belonging based on being able to preservation team was able to put together Day is intended to be a part of a larger
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connect with our history.” Fort Collins has many gaps within its Black history: From 1870 to 1930, there were little to no records of Black families or culture. Bzdek hopes that the project serves a dual purpose: Not only does it help to inform community members, but it works to create change by officially recognizing these uncovered locations as historic landmarks. In Fort Collins, there are currently around 300 historic landmarks, but none of them are directly associated with Black history, Bzdek said. “One of the things that we do by creating the kind of web content that we did and the virtual tour is we set up the possibility for that to change by bringing the community up to speed on where those places are,” Bzdek said. To designate a landmark, the property owner has to make the decision and go through a specific process, which includes providing a reason for designation. The issue is then brought before City Council, where they will vote on an ordinance officially recognizing the landmark. Once the property becomes a landmark, it cannot be destroyed, and the owner has access to funds that can be used to take care of the property and ensure its longevity. There is a nationwide effort to uncover and preserve historic Black locations and properties. The National Trust for Historic Prevention’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is an organization that works to help communities find, verify and get funding for historic Black locations. Their goal is to tell the full American story by supporting those who have not had a voice in the past. The funding associated is an advancement for equity and meant to catch up with all the lost time. “Here at the local level in Fort Collins, we’re trying to do our part to make sure that we’re part of that nationwide effort,” Bzdek said. Preservation in action Kim Medina, a local attorney who specializes in immigration law, owns the Thomas residence on 308 Cherry St. Medina purchased the house and renovated it back in 2013 to use as an immigration law office. “We wanted a place that felt comforting and homey, so we chose a home and we liked that neighborhood,” Medina said. Medina inquired with the City upon purchase of the home to see if it had historical significance, but by the standards of architectural and social significance, the property did not qualify as historic.
The Colorado State University Diversity House located west of campus on Shields Street Feb 6. PHOTO BY GREGORY JAMES THE COLLEGIAN
Through the investigative work of the historic preservation department with Bzdek and Bertolini, Medina was able to learn the true significance of her office. The office was home to Virgil Thomas, one of few Black people to attend Fort Collins High School in the late 1930s. Thomas was the only Black athlete on the Fort Collins High School football team; he was one of the best players on the team as star left tackle for the offensive line. In his free time, Thomas was a boxer and starting pitcher for the Fort Collins softball club. Thomas earned a football scholarship to Wilberforce College in Ohio and left Fort Collins in 1941. Thomas went on to serve as an infantry corporal during World War II, serving in Germany and Italy. “That was very exciting to us, and
so we asked the City if we could try to landmark the house to honor the family that lived there and to honor the young man who had attended Fort Collins High
The former residence of the McDaniel family on Feb 6. PHOTO BY GREGORY JAMES THE COLLEGIAN
“I did the walking tour with my mother, and some of the houses on the tour have been torn down,” Medina said. “It’s tragic.”
“What we wanted to do was make sure people knew that there was a geography to Black history in Fort Collins.” JIM BERTOLINI HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLANNER
School and have played football there,” Medina said upon discovering the true history of her office. If the home on 308 Cherry St. makes it through the process, it will be the first landmark in Larimer County associated with Black historic significance.
The former residence of the Hicks family and later, the Lyle family Feb. 6. PHOTO BY GREGORY JAMES THE COLLEGIAN
Medina stressed the importance of honoring history of not only the white and wealthy but of the lower class diverse identities that typically don’t get the mantle. She wants to honor the history of Indigenous Americans, African Americans and immigrants.
Bzdek stressed that these actions were more than performative for MLK Day and Black history and that they are an avenue toward institutional change. “Ultimately, the state of Colorado should develop a statewide civil rights context, a statewide African American’s history context,” Bzdek said. Although the Black history in Fort Collins is limited, the stories deserve to be told as these small communities contributed so much to the advancement of diversity and culture in Fort Collins. “It was small but mighty, like, these people do really interesting things,” Bzdek said. “Each person was significant in their own way, each one of them is very, very powerful actors in their community.” Isaiah Dennings can be reached at news@collegian.com.
The former residence of Andrew and Edith Goodall Feb. 6. PHOTO BY GREGORY JAMES THE COLLEGIAN
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