January 31, 2023
Celebrate Black History Month
Boulder County Commissioners Support Local Events and Urge Residents to Raise Awareness of Black History
Boulder County, Colo. -- The Boulder County Commissioners recognize February 2023 as Black History Month in Boulder County and urge all residents to actively raise their own awareness of Black History, and encourage everyone to recognize the struggles, achievements, and contributions of Black Americans through local Black History Month events and to engage in action to create a fully-inclusive, anti-racist Boulder County.
The commissioners delivered the 2023 Black History Month Proclamation (included below) during their weekly Business Meeting on January 31.
Events and Resources
The NAACP Boulder County and the Executive Committee, African American Cultural Events, Boulder County, are hosting 2023 Black History Month Celebrations throughout the month of February.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for African & African American Studies (CAAAS) is also hosting a series of Black History Month events and programs, which are also open to the community.
Online resources include the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and History Colorado's Black History & Heritage resources, including the “African American History in Colorado” Online Exhibit, which follows Black history in Colorado from Lincoln Hills through the Civil Rights Movement.
Visit the Museum of Boulder’s website for a collection of oral histories from Black Colorado residents, which provide first-hand insight into a range of experiences and stories from Colorado history. These resources are primarily from the collections housed at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, Carnegie Library for Local History, and History Colorado. The Museum will launch a new exhibit “Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History” in September.
The Louisville Public Library’s librarians have put together a series of Black history book lists for all ages (Celebrate Black History Month, children’s chapter books, children’s books, young adult books). These books are available at libraries throughout Boulder County and online through the Marmot Library Network and other online library networks.
2023 Black History Month Proclamation
WHEREAS, each February, National Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history, Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America — our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations;
WHEREAS, across the generations, countless Black Americans have demonstrated profound moral courage and resilience to shape our nation for the better, and in the face of wounds and obstacles, including enslavement and segregation, perpetuated by the nation itself, Black Americans lead in every part of society today, strengthening and uplifting all of the United States of America;
WHEREAS, Boulder County supported the 18th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulder County Community Celebrations 2023 themed, "The Dream...Keep Hope at The Center”, organized by the NAACP Boulder County Branch in partnership with the Executive Committee, African American Cultural Events, Boulder County, and held at the Boulder Jewish Community Center on January 15 and Silver Creek High School in Longmont on January 16;
WHEREAS, Boulder County continues to support the work of the NAACP Boulder County Branch in partnership with the Executive Committee, African American Cultural Events, Boulder County and their 2023 Black History Month Celebration events and education with the theme, “The Evidence of Who We Are”;
WHEREAS, Boulder County supports the creation and adoption of fully inclusive, anti-racist, and multicultural policies at a state and local level and believes it is the moral responsibility of the county and its employees to interrupt institutional racism which manifests through racist policy, practices, and behaviors both internal and external to the Boulder County organization;
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners congratulates Dr. Reiland Rabaka and everyone who worked to establish the University of Colorado Boulder’s new Center for African and African American Studies, which celebrates its grand opening on February 1 and whose mission is to research, promote, preserve, interpret, and disseminate knowledge about the histories, cultures, and arts of Africa, African Americans, and the wider world of the African diaspora;
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners asks all Boulder County residents to join in carrying forward the work to build a beloved community as described by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives”.
Now therefore, the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners, on behalf of Boulder County, do hereby proclaim that the month of February 2023 is recognized as Black History Month in Boulder County and urges all residents to actively raise their own awareness of Black History, encourages everyone to recognize the struggles, achievements, and contributions of Black Americans through local Black History Month events, and to engage in action to create a fully-inclusive, anti-racist Boulder County.
ADOPTED this 31st day of January 2023
