Elevating Black Voices: History Colorado hitting the road to explore Green Book sites with new grant
Coloradans love to get out and explore our beautiful state. But for Black Americans in the Jim Crow Era, road trips were not so simple.
There were just a handful of safe places for them to stop. Now, History Colorado will hit the road to explore those Green Book sites, all thanks to a new grant of nearly $75,000. It was awarded by the National Park Service as part of a recent round of underrepresented community grants.
Patrick Eidman, chief preservation officer and deputy state historic preservation officer for History Colorado, explained how beneficial the funds will be for History Colorado.
"These Green Book sites really were travel guides and places of safety where Black travelers could stop, eat and refill their cars with food," Eidman said.
Eidman told CBS News Colorado anchor Mekialaya White that it's imperative to keep digging into Black history in our state, which is at the heart of the project.
"Candacy Taylor, who wrote 'Overground Railroad,' has looked at these sites nationally and she's identified that roughly 80% of them have been lost so we're at this moment where it's really important that we identify these properties and understand them and frankly make them available for preservation incentives so we can save these places, work with property owners," Eidman said.
Eidman also says these sites has shaped our state immensely.
"We look at the recreation and travel industry in Colorado and it's such an important early history in our state. Often, it's portrayed from a perspective of white Americans of the time," Eidman said.
He added, "So, to bring this additional perspective on I think is really critical. And there's one in particular that we've worked on designating, Winks Lodge in Gilpin County. It's one of if not the only mountain lodge built by four Black Americans. So really an incredible history which certainly deserves to be studied."
This is the second phase of the project for History Colorado. The first part looked at the Green Book and other travel guides and identified approximately 280 properties that were advertised.
"We think about 160 remain, but this next phase is really going to allow us to do more of a deep dive. We'll go on the road. We'll be able to photograph," Eidman said.
He added, "So, it's really about education and celebration of these places. And we have great preservation incentives in Colorado, tax credits and grants and we want to be able to put those in the hands of these property owners. We think it's going to make a real difference."
