White people can’t change the story of our collective past, but we can influence the ending. For us to take responsibility for dismantling white supremacy, we must
Know white history—both collective and personal-- so we understand and are not surprised to learn of its impact on communities of color.
Explore white privilege-- how we benefit directly or indirectly.
Own that shameful history. It belongs to us even though we wish we did not
Disown white supremacy completely. Try to undo the damage it has caused.
A Brief, Incomplete History of White Supremacy in Denver*
Since the arrival of white people in Denver in the 1850s, minorities have suffered, especially Native people whose lands, people, and cultures were and continue to be destroyed. In Oct. 1864 at Buffalo Springs, a detachment led by Nichols killed Indian women and babies. (In 1987 University of Colorado changed the name of Nichols residence hall to Cheyenne-Arapahoe Hall. In Dec. at Sand Creek 700 federasoldiers led by Chivington massacred 500-600 Arapaho and Cheyenne men, women and children. He received widespread support from Denver’s leaders and media.
The Denver Ku Klux Klan era is signified by Mayor’s Stapleton’s tenure, 1923-31 and1935-47 because it was a reign of terror for minorities. There were hundreds of hooded men marching in the streets, harassment and violence. West of Denver regular KKK meetings occurred on South Table Mountain, with burning crosses visible, and south of Denver there were weekly rallies near “Kastle” Rock. Klansmen harassed the Jewish enclave along West Colfax. They burned crosses on front lawns of black activists, white supporters, blacks who moved to white areas, black professionals and blacks who were business partners with whites. During this era (1925) Shorter AME Church was destroyed by fire, many believe caused by the KKK.
Racism’s Impact on Denver Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Associations & Schools
The effects of Denver’s KKK era lingered in an aftermath of cultural practices and racist attitudes, particularly related to housing and schools. As Five Points deteriorated and African-Americans moved east, they risked crossing racial lines—first, Race Street, then Colorado Boulevard, then Park Hill, and Monaco. Today Denver’s easternmost community retains the name of the mayor who embodied and enabled white opposition to African-Americans. Is it any wonder many feel the slight, the insult, the disregard, the old burn, when they see or hear that name--Stapleton?
· In 1920 when a black fireman bought a home on Gaylord St., his life was threatened by the Clayton Improvement Association of white homeowners. Then a white mob threatened a black woman who moved to Gaylord Street.
· In 1921 a black post office clerk’s rental on Gilpin St. was bombed twice.
· In 1924 black students from Morey Jr. High were barred from swimming classes. Students from Manual Training High School tried to attend a dance for white students. In response, The Denver school board ordered that school social functions be separated. The Park Hill Improvement Association advocated for racially separated schools. In 1927 the Colorado Supreme Court ruled the board’s action unconstitutional.
· In 1932 blacks tried to integrate Washington Park’s swimming beach, and beat them up in front of white onlookers.
· Just as mortgage companies and real estate brokers played a role in Denver’s history of racism, so did neighborhood associations. Sometime before 1948 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down restrictive racial covenants, neighborhood associations, including the Capitol Hill Improvement Association, urged owners restricting sales of their home to whites only.
· In 1967 the court struck down the restrictions in the Clayton will that had prohibited non-white boys from admission to Clayton College for Boys.
· In 1969, Keyes vs. School District #1 Denver, a lawsuit challenging de facto segregation in Denver public school, was filed. The U. S. Supreme Court, in * 1973 “compelled by a mountain of evidence,” ordered schools to desegregate, which required busing students due to Denver’s historical practices of “racial steering” in real estate sales and rentals and redlining certain neighborhoods, as well as private restrictive racial covenants.
· In 1984, as part of their plan to kill prominent Jews, neo-Nazis machine gunned to death Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg.
· In 1995 the court ended supervision of Denver public school desegregation and busing stopped. In 2017 Denver’s public schools may be even more segregated than they were before court-ordered desegregation.
· In 1997-98 Skinheads killed a Denver police officer, an African refugee and they paralyzed a white woman who tried to help him.
· In a one-year period ending 1998, eight African-American workers at Denver area companies discovered nooses planted in their work areas.
White supremacy has always been a part of U.S. history and the ideas have not gone away. They go underground and simmer in the dark, sensing when they might survive in the light of day. We remember and honor the lessons of Nazi Germany. We speak up, even when it is uncomfortable. It takes courage to live in this world.
Jackie St. Joan is a white woman who has lived in Denver for 46 years. She experienced extreme racism that tore her own family apart, and speaks here to white people specifically. Much of the history is derived from “Home-Grown Racism: Colorado’s Historic Embrace—and Denial—of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education,” by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, University of Colorado Law Review, Vol. 7, #3 (1999).
Get involved: Facebook sites: ChangeTheNameStapleton, NE Denver Neighbors for Racial Justice, Indivisibility Denver, Standing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ Denver)