Just six weeks after a white police officer shot an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Mo., saying it was self-defense, a powerful exhibition about race and racism opens at the History Colorado Center.
“It walks us through the history of where this idea of race came from, how it manifests today, and how it impacts our democracy and the promise of our democracy,” said . “It’s a gift to the city.”
It comes right on time.
on the nation’s deep racial divide. reveals that 64 percent of African-Americans respondents believe that Michael Brown was targeted because of his race, compared with 23 percent of whites.
Social scientists say that not talking about race strengthens the network of mistaken — but deeply ingrained — assumptions. To have the difficult conversations, they say, restores a sense of hope and possibility.
For more than a year, the museum has worked to organize a six-month series of programs with conversations that will include topics such as immigration, income inequality, disparities in health care and bank loans, and how race and privilege impact the world of arts and culture.
Experts will lead discussions on the origins of race and how they’ve changed over time, with special emphasis on what that looks like in Colorado, both past and future. The community partners involved with the exhibition include nearly 100 multicultural organizations, the city of Denver, and law enforcement agencies.
In Denver, interest is already high. The first community conversation that accompanies the show — led by Maria Hinojosa, host of National Public Radio’s “Latino USA” — is already full, with nearly 400 tickets snapped up.
“It’s just phenomenal,” said Rita Lewis, president of the Denver chapter of the NAACP. “This is the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, so it’s perfect timing. … Sure, we have an African-American president, and here in Denver we have an African-American mayor and African-American police chief, but race is still an issue at the end of day.”
Museum leaders say Colorado’s changing demographics and changing attitudes toward identity in America influenced their decision to host the exhibition and to help create conversations crucial to the future of the state.
“Race is such a taboo topic that people are so afraid to say the wrong thing,” said Kathryn Hill, chief operating officer of History Colorado. “But it is an important conversation to have if we are ever doing to break down these barriers.”
Colorado is now significantly more diverse, according to Census Bureau statistics released in 2010.
Those identifying as white fell to 70 percent in 2010 from 75 percent in 2000, while those identifying as Hispanic rose to 21 percent from 17 percent. The relative representation of blacks, Asians, and those identifying as multiracial also increased.
But the state’s future is in the youth statistics. Overall, the number of nonwhite youth in that time period increased by nearly 39 percent, while the number of white youths decreased by 3 percent,
A target audience for the exhibition is young people, especially those in middle school and high school studying American history. A leading Latino organization made sure to promote the Hinojosa event on its Facebook page.
“We made it like a game,” said Christine Alonzo, executive director of . “You have to grab the attention of the youth. We want to get them involved, because they’re our future.”
“Race: Are We So Different?” launched in 2007 as the first museum show to explore race from biological, cultural and historical viewpoints. It proved so popular that the national tour was extended through 2015, appearing everywhere from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to the Museum of Science in Boston.
Funded with more than $4 million in grants from the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation, it was created by the American Anthropological Association with the Science Museum of Minnesota.
At History Colorado, the race exhibition fills a large room with text, multimedia presentations and photographs.
The entrance displays drawings of and begins with a narrative in both English and Spanish that sets the tone: The idea of race is only a few hundred years old, and was created by the people in power to gain economic, social and political advantage.
A timeline shows that the concept of race started in 18th-century Europe, when Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus developed a biological — American Indian, Asian, African and European.
In 1776 in America, the same year he helped draft the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote in “Notes on the State of Virginia” that “blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to whites in the endowments of both body and mind.”
His ideas influenced scientists, who began to develop even more concepts about race. By the 19th century, as immigration to America increased, racialization rapidly spread from African-Americans to Mexican Americans, Chinese Americans and American Indians.
Today, even though scientists say that race does not exist, its legacy continues to affect the lives of many Americans.
, sees a hunger in the younger generation for all things multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural.
“Those of us in the hip-hop generation are mixed race, and we’re ready for change in America right here and now in our generation,” he said.
“There’s reason to be hopeful,” he added, “because on the frontlines, this next generation that will be leading their country is already having a quality conversation about what’s going on right now.”
Race: are we so different?
Where: History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver
When:Sept. 20 through Jan. 4
Cost: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, $8 for kids 6-12, and free for kids under 5.
Info: 303-447-8679 or
