Colorado Historians Documenting Historic Moments In History

DENVER (CBS4) - Damage, donations, and dialogue are three words to describe the last sixth days at History Colorado. So far hundreds of people have chipped in to help with broken windows and vandalism related to the recent protests.

The museum is appreciative of all the help, and right now is focused on fostering more dialogue and recording this critical moment in Colorado history.

"We are absolutely in the middle of what we say, several historic moments," said Marissa Volpe, director of community engagement at History Colorado.

With six days of protests downtown, History Colorado has had a front row seat to it all, as well as first-hand experience of the unfortunate side effects.

"There was graffiti, we had windows broken, the building was broken into," Volpe said.
Rather than dwelling, Volpe and her colleagues are getting to work. That includes collecting artifacts like signs, paint cans, and police pepper balls.

More importantly, the museum is actively looking to record people's experiences of the protests and living in the time of COVID-19.

"We can get some information about who you were, and why did you decide to protest, what did it mean to you, and why this language on this sign," Volpe said. "Through an oral history we can go even deeper into the meaning behind why was this a significant issue for you to protest at this time, for instance, why did you decide to go in the time of corona(virus)?"

Historians and curators are also looking to Colorado's past.

"These issues are a part of our national history, right? And we have not been able to fully address, and yet in Colorado, if I can draw parallels to the Chicano movement, those protests that we saw in the 60s and 70s," Volpe said.

The Chicano movement, often referred to as "El Movimiento," was a Latino-led civil right movement. It aimed to fight discrimination in the workplace and schools, among other things.

While most protests were overwhelmingly peaceful, there were some clashes with police.

"There's a lot of things happening right now that we've seen in our state's history, and we've seen communities come together to work towards the betterment of really all communities," Volpe said.

The eventual 2020 exhibit remains to be seen, but History Colorado has one goal in mind moving forward.

"The more we say or include 'we,"'the better our history is going to be."

Find ways to donate an artifact or share your experience with History Colorado.