American West Museum - Denver, CO|
The Black American West Museum & Heritage Center's mission and goals are
the interpretation, collection, housing, displaying, exhibiting, and preserving
of histrical artifacts, documents and other memorabilia which tell the
history and relate the stories of Black men and women who helped settle
and develop the great American West. This approach allows visual artistic
inculcation of the rich and colorful contributions of Black pioneers in
the western United States. We tell it like it was!
Little Known Facts:
- Nearly a third of cowboys in the building of the American West were
- Black families came West in covered wagons; established self-sufficient
all-Black towns, filling every job from barber to teacher, state legislator
- African Americans were some of the West's earliest millionaires,
owning much of the West's most valuable real estate and many of its
- One of the first gold discoveries in Idaho Springs, Colorado was
made by Henry Parker, a Black mine owner.
- Blacks were also military heroes, taking San Juan Hill with Teddy
Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War. It is a little known fact that
the all-Black 10th Cavalry should really be credited with that victory.
It' true, African American people played a major role in the settling
and shaping of the American West. Yet, until now, this story has gone
virtually untold. From the early fur trade until today, the museum's exhibits
document this history, with a special emphasis on Colorado and early Denver.
It is a story not found in history books, but we tell it like it was.
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