Woke, a term that for generations was associated with the struggle for civil rights, has been transformed into a profane epithet.
Black Lives Matter
Posted inColoradans, Education, Equity, News, Politics and Government
Political swings on Colorado school boards spark level of antagonism not seen since desegregation
Julie Hensley believes her SUV was targeted because of the cheery blue-and-yellow “Come Together” message spray-painted on her back window. The special education teacher at Legend High School in Parker was already at her desk at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday when the hallways began to buzz with word that teachers’ cars were slapped with flyers: […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Littwin: The Arbery-killing trial is not a do-over for Kyle Rittenhouse, even though it feels that way
Update 11:55 am: The jury wasted little time in finding all three defendants in the vigilante shooting of Ahmaud Arbery guilty of murder. The man who pulled the trigger, Travis McMichael, was guilty on all nine counts. Greg McMichael was found guilty on eight counts and William Roddy Bryan Jr. guilty on six. They all […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Tiny wrists in cuffs: How police use force against children
By Helen Wieffering, Colleen Long and Camille Fassett, The Associated Press CHICAGO — Royal Smart remembers every detail: the feeling of the handcuffs on his wrists. The panic as he was led outside into the cold March darkness, arms raised, to face a wall of police officers pointing their guns. He was 8 years old. […]
Posted inEquity, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Colorado’s new board to rename controversial landmarks has its first recommendation: Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain
The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board on Thursday made its first recommendation: changing the name of Squaw Mountain in Clear Creek County to Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain. After a year of plodding procedural meetings, the board unanimously approved renaming the peak — referred to in debate as “S-Mountain” — after the influential Cheyenne translator known as Owl […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Carman: A mother’s grief turns to long-overdue action in justice for Elijah McClain
When Attorney General Phil Weiser stood behind a microphone to announce the indictment of three cops and two paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain on Wednesday, his tone was somber and resolute. “Our goal,” the grave-faced Weiser said, “is to seek justice for Elijah McClain, for his family and friends, and for our state.” […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Racial discrimination still exists in jury selection. Colorado’s Supreme Court rejected a proposal meant to fix that.
In June 2020, as people across the United States and in communities like Denver and Aurora were protesting the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, the Colorado Supreme Court sent a letter to judges and court employees pledging its continued commitment to equal justice and the marginalized. “We have been starkly reminded that […]
Posted inColoradans, Education, News
“Everything is still the same”: A year after protests, young Coloradans don’t think anyone is listening anymore
Melissa Boateng is still scared. It’s a quiet fear, not one expressed through echoes of rally chants and parades of protesters, but one that follows her from her Denver home out into her community. This time last year, Boateng, now 18, had recently led a youth-centered Black Lives Matter protest that drew a crowd of […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News, Technology
What’s Working: Denver business leaders say $45,000 is the new “scrape-by” wage
If you’ve been wondering what Denver’s business leaders think about work, jobs and unemployment, a pretty large source of influence had already taken a stand. “An economy that doesn’t work for all Coloradans doesn’t work for us,” Prosper CO says on its website. The organization was started as a committee two years ago by the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Littwin: A year after George Floyd’s death, much has changed. Not all of it good.
Everything has changed and nothing has changed. The last time I remember using that lead for a column was on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. But it fits just as well on the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death. As I write this on Tuesday, it was just a year ago. The pandemic had already […]