Researchers want to hear people’s personal stories as part of the Colorado Black Equity Study events going on around the state.
State legislators approved a bill in 2024 that Gov. Jared Polis signed into law creating the Black Coloradan Racial Equity Study Commission. They charged the group with looking at possible historical effects of slavery and systemic racism on Black Coloradans.
Yarkenda Payne-Diallo, is the director of the Justice for Black Coloradans nonprofit group, which she says was largely responsible for writing the bill that legislators approved in 2024. Organizers have been gathering old records and community stories.
“If the state owns the information, then they can no longer use (its absence) as an excuse for not having documented harm in the state of Colorado,” Payne-Diallo said.
The study is scheduled to wrap up next March. After that, the commission is expected to make recommendations about possible historical and ongoing effects of slavery and systemic racism on Black Coloradans, according to information on the state legislature’s website.
Community donors are paying for the study, which has a three-year budget of $1.3 million. Listening session events have been held around the state, including in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Durango and Pueblo. People also can take an online survey and add their stories to the History Colorado website.
The commission is a group of 14 people named by Gov. Jared Polis to evaluate and review the study once it is complete.