Community writes its own history for Colorado's Museum of Memory
History Colorado is leading an endeavor to amplify the stories that too often stay in the margins.
The Museum of Memory initiative is empowering communities across the state to write their own part of Colorado's history.
Sarahy Plazola captured portraits and oral histories of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic -- the workers from the Centro Humanitarian de Trabajadores. The people who made sure we had food on our tables and so much more. "They were the ones cleaning hospitals, and I think people forgot that we make this country run, we are important to society we are important to Colorado."
Plazola adds about the Museum of Memory, "We are proving people exist, we are proving their existence, we are proving their history, we're proving that they lived in Colorado and they're also part of Colorado history."
History Colorado's Marissa Volpe explains how important it is to capture peoples' culture, the everyday traditions that Coloradans treasure.
"We also really wanted to get a sense of what were the places that were meaningful to folks," Volpe said, pointing to a map with pins showcasing the Northside's most popular spots, including Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and the original Chubby's founded in 1967.
The Memory project includes a continuing effort to capture the stories of Denver's Northside, which has experienced dramatic demographic shifts due to rising housing costs.
Ricky Ramos, now a professional comedian, grew up near 38th and Federal in the Quigg Newton Homes run by the Denver Housing Authority.
He said, "What was Colorado about? Well for one, Chicanos built Denver in the late 80s early 90s. That has to be in there. The brown berets, the Corky Gonzales's, that all has to be a part of Colorado's history."
The public history effort aims to engage communities across the state.
Volpe said, "It is absolutely important that the state of Colorado remembers, collects a wide range of community stories and we know that we haven't done that in the past."
A common thread of the Museum of Memory initiative stories is displacement and migration. The community-based curators are ensuring critical contributions are not erased from our collective memory.
On conducting the interviews and taking the photos of the Centro's worders Plazola said, "I felt more connected to my community, I felt like they were being highlighted, I felt that they for once were taken into importance by the state."
The interviews, photos and artifacts collected for the Museum of Memory are archived digitally and shared at community events across Colorado. Other featured communities include Globeville, Elyria, Swansea, Five Points, and several neighborhoods in Pueblo. Learn more at historycolorado.org/museum-memory-initiative
