NEW OPENINGS

our mission through this new way of experiencing Girl Scouts. We are so excited to pave the way for the future of Girl Scouts.” e Denver Girl Scout DreamLab was funded in part through a partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA. It is sources to provide a full suite of wraparound housing stability services such as mental health and nancial services. Residents will also have access to a tness center, community cafes, green spaces for gardening and play, and a community kitchen that will provide a space for cooking classes and community events.

According to Erin Clark, DHA’s chief real estate investment o cer, “DHA was impressed by Mercy Housing’s innovative proposal for redeveloping the 901 Navajo site from industrial warehouse uses to high-quality, mixed-income a ordable housing. And providing direct healthcare services adjacent to regional transit will be a welcome addition to the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood and to the broader Denver community.” is will be the sixth development made possible with land acquisition resources from a bonding partnership between the City and County of Denver and DHA. e DHA Delivers for Denver Program (D3) utilizes property tax mill levy revenue from Denver’s A ordable Housing Fund to expedite and expand a pipeline of supportive housing residences. part of a national property strategy to remove barriers of accessibility across the nation. Two other Girl Scout DreamLabs are slated to open this summer in Louisiana and New Jersey, and at least ve more are in the works in other parts of the nation.

To learn more about DHA, visit denverhousing. org. To learn more about Mercy Housing Inc., visit mercyhousing.org.

A rendering of the new development that will provide a ordable housing and a health center to Denver’s American Indian and Alaskan Native communities. Courtesy of RATIO Designs.

To learn more about Girl Scouts of Colorado, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org.

Girl Scouts gather in front of the new Denver Girl Scout DreamLab to celebrate the facility’s grand opening on March 12. Photo courtesy of Girl Scouts of Colorado.

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

It seems so long ago, but there was a time that Jewish people and Black people banded together to help push the nation’s civil rights agenda across the nish line.

But that was in the 1960s. Today, the two groups barely seem to know each other and relations are hindered by mistrust, misunderstanding and anger from both communities. It comes during a period of white supremacists increasing attacks — physical and through social media — against both groups.

Still, if Denver’s Caren Press has her way, the two groups gradually will move closer via the organization she recently formed, called “ e Denver Dialogue: A Conversation Between Denver Blacks and Jews.”

Press was spurred to action after hearing the anti-Semitic attacks by Kanye West a few months ago.

After a preliminary meeting a few months ago at a Montbello barber shop, the second gathering drew more than 100 people to George Washington High School’s library on March 15. e group conducted a frank talk about the tensions between the two communities and how to close that gap.

“We want to address some of the issues between the two groups and see if there is a way both can work together to combat white supremacy,” said Press, a retired attorney.

“ is grassroots movement is not controlled by any church, synagogue, school district or advocacy group. It’s our communities coming together with no agenda other than understanding, reconciliation and combining to ght the white nationalists that want to destroy us both.” e March 15 event was a breakthrough, and some attendees suggested not only more gatherings, but also some with a social bent, such as a barbecue. ere was a frankness, as some Jewish attendees said they didn’t know any Black people, and some Black attendees said the same about Jews. e gathering not only enabled people to learn about others, but also helped debunk some of the supremacists’ messages. at can help open some doors.

White nationalist groups send out a steady stream of fake news lies, and anti-Semitic and racist material and tropes.

“ is group ( e Denver Dialogue) would like to begin a dialogue and see if the relationship can be repaired to at least work together to ght this common adversary,” Press said.

Israel’s relations with Palestine was a hot topic on March 15 — and some of the Black attendees were interested to learn that not all Jews felt the same way about Israel’s actions. Jews in attendance learned that some Black people were horried by what West had to say.

“Anti-Semitism is a real thing,” said Evan Weissman, an activist with Warm Cookies of the Revolution and one of the two guest speakers on March 15. “For a lot of White Jews in the Denver area, it’s not something that’s felt in the same ways as systemic institutional prejudice is. Speaking for White Jewish folk: We need to be involved in racial justice e orts all the time, not just when it a ects Jews in a more direct way.” eo Wilson, a Black man who is the executive director and lead facilitator with ShopTalk Live Inc., was the event’s other speaker.

“I don’t operate from a hopeful frame,” he said. “ is is what is necessary and this is in front of me. It’s necessary to have this conversation, to build this bridge. We can’t move forward unless we understand that this is what we have in common.”

Wilson has been involved in improving relations between African immigrants and Black Americans.

In summary, Press said, “It’s a waste to ght amongst ourselves. We’re putting energy into not trusting others. ere are people that want to annihilate both. It’s dumb; we should be helping each other. We should be understanding each other and reconciling.”

To learn more about The Denver Dialogue, contact Caren Press at carenpress@gmail.com.

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

“Near East to Far West: Fictions of French and American Colonialism” is open in the Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum through May 29 and is lled with stories, color and historic interpretations that may be a bit skewed at times. It includes more than 80 artworks that explore the ways artists were in uenced by the style of French Orientalism as they explored ways to portray the story of the American West, its landscapes and inhabitants ... including indigenous people and those more recently arrived ...

Curated by Jennifer Henneman, director of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art at the Denver Art Museum, the exhibit ranges from works by French artists, who were exposed to life in exotic Algiers and American artists, some of whom were trained in France, re ected. e market for those American artists was mainly on the East Coast and a number of them lived and painted in Taos, New Mexico, depicting the scenes in and around Taos and neighboring desert landscapes as well as scenes from an artist’s imagination.

A visitor will see images of Taos Pueblo and its residents, and African battles that involve lions. ere are elaborate Oriental interior scenes, with brightly-costumed characters, desert vistas and pueblo architecture that resembles the sunbaked locations in the Arab world.

An amusing pair of drawings by Charles Russell show two views of

FATHER OF EIGHT lady. Must love kids, be fit and ready to jump in and join the fun. Military training would be helpful.

ADVENTUROUS CAT LOVER adventurous cat owner. Please be employed and willing to relocate. Especially fond of black and white tuxedo cats. All responses will be answered. Looking for that Purrr-fect match. his studio: the rst, as his mother imagined it: with a neatly dressed artist entertaining a fashionable woman, posing on elaborate furniture. e other, depicts the artist and his Native American buddy seated in a bare-bones mountain cabin as the painter, sitting on a wooden crate, draws from his imagination ... French Orientalism and Western American art “re ect fears, desires and curiosities about unknown lands during the process of colonization” in the western part of North America and in Africa and the Islamic world. is collection of big, colorful paintings really takes the visitor on a trip ... Oriental scenes may include lions ghting mounted horsemen, as well as exotic women with owers in their hair and pilgrims on camels, bound for Mecca ... e Denver Art Museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday evenings, and is located at 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway in Denver.

Imagination was alive and well in the mid-19th century on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, even though we read of excessive focus on proper behavior in the cities and small towns.

And the painterly skills were at front and center of these works, with swooshes of brilliant color, exotic costumes and a sense of humor as well.

Admission to “Near East to Far West” is included with general admission and is free for members.

SINGLE, ARTSY LADY SEEKS SINGLE ARTSY GUY. If you love painting, decorating, baking and knitting, we are a match. Please be over 30 and willing to take art classes.

GRANOLA EATING, CAMP LOVING, WORLD TRAVELER dreams.Must be fit and love spending days and nights outdoors in the middle of nowhere. If you know how to set up camp, pitch a tent and catch food, we need to meet immediately.