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2 | Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

MESSAGE From The Publisher Volume 40

Number 6

September 2026

PUBLISHER Rosalind J. Harris COPY EDITOR Tanya Ishikawa COLUMNISTS Barry Overton Dr. Dedrick Sims Thomas Holt-Russell CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Elena Brown Karen Davis GUEST CONTRIBUTORS Jon Hochschartner Theo Perry Patricia B. Smith SPECIAL PROJECTS ASSISTANT Tanya Ishikawa ART DIRECTOR Bee Harris BROADCAST COORDINATOR Karen Davis CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Amanda Bierman GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Jody Gilbert – Kolorgraphix Marion Boston Sekar Uthayasuriyan DISTRIBUTION Lawrence A. James

Denver Urban Spectrum is a monthly publication dedicated to spreading the news about people of color. Contents of Denver Urban Spectrum are copyright 2026 by Bizzy Bee Enterprise. No portion may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. Denver Urban Spectrum circulates 7,500 copies throughout Colorado. Denver Urban Spectrum welcomes all letters, but reserves the right to edit for space, libelous material, grammar, and length. All letters must include name, address, and phone number. We will withhold author's name on request. Unsolicited articles are accepted without guarantee of publication or payment. Write to Denver Urban Spectrum at P.O. Box 31001, Aurora, CO 80041. For advertising, subscriptions, or other information, call 303-292-6446, email publisher@urbanspectrum or visit the Website at www. denverurbanspectrum.com.

Blessings and Dreams Fulfilled

s I return from the LMA Fest in Chicago, I find myself reflecting on two words that seem to have followed me throughout this month: blessings and dreams. Sometimes we become so consumed with what needs to be done next—the deadlines, responsibilities, challenges and uncertainties—that we forget to stop long enough to recognize what has already been given to us. This month reminded me to stop, look around and simply say, thank you. My friend, Digital Marketing Director and business colleague, Pastor Marion Boston, set the tone for our days in Chicago with morning prayer and words of blessing. This was our third business trip together, but somehow this one felt different. Through our conversations, experiences and time together, I believe we came to see each other in a deeper, broader and brighter light. That, too, was a blessing. At LMA Fest, I was especially happy to reconnect with our longtime LMA BloomLab team members, Robert Walker-Smith and John Celestand. These two brothers continue to be open, frank, insightful and genuinely supportive of the BloomLab newsrooms and the important work we do. The conference offered plenty of inspiration, education and ideas to bring home. But another experience was waiting for me. I had hoped to visit the Obama Presidential Center while in Chicago, only to discover that tickets were sold out well into 2027. Still, I decided to ask. I reached out about press passes and, as blessings would have it, tickets were provided for us to attend following the conference. I smiled and thought: Media does have its privileges. But nothing could have prepared me for what I felt once I was there. The depth of the museum and campus, the history, the stories, the pride and spirit of the people walking through it—all were powerful. Sharing the experience with two of my BFFs made it even more special. Yet for me, there was another presence there: the memory of my mother. My mother passed away on November 3, 2008—the day before

Barack Obama was elected the first African American president of the United States. Standing at the Obama Presidential Center all these years later brought together history and memory in a way I had not expected. I thought about that moment in our nation’s history, about where I was then and where I am now. I thought about my mother, the years that have passed, the things she did not live to see and the things I have been blessed to witness. Some memories never leave us. We simply make room for new ones beside them. My visit to the Obama Presidential Center is now safely tucked into that very special memory bank. And if that were not enough for one month, another dream was fulfilled when I had the opportunity to meet and greet one of my favorite singers, Gregory Porter. After interviewing him earlier this summer and writing about the gratitude that flows through his life and music, standing beside him in person was something I will always treasure. His music speaks of life—word by word, note by note—with gratitude, grace, pain, love and hope. Perhaps that is why this month’s cover story feels so fitting. Writer Elena Brown introduces us to businesswoman Amanda Gordon, Colorado’s first African American female automobile dealership owner. Her journey is another reminder that blessings do not always arrive wrapped neatly in a bow. Sometimes they emerge from struggle, difficult choices and the courage to change direction. After committing to sobriety, Amanda transformed her life and ultimately fulfilled a dream, building her business with transparency, empathy and commitment to the customers she serves. Three very different stories. Barack and Michelle Obama. Gregory Porter. Amanda Gordon. Different journeys. Different obstacles. Different dreams. Yet each reminds us that dreams are rarely fulfilled without perseverance, sacrifice, faith and people who help us along the way. And maybe that is the lesson I am carrying home from Chicago.

Life will always give us reasons to worry about what hasn’t happened yet, what didn’t work out or what remains uncertain. But every now and then, we need to turn around and look at how far we’ve already traveled. We need to remember the prayers that were answered, the doors that unexpectedly opened, the people who walked beside us and even the dreams we once whispered that somehow became reality. So, in the midst of whatever challenges you may be facing today, count your blessings. Hold on to your dreams. And keep walking. Sometimes the light we are searching for at the end of the tunnel is already shining—just enough to illuminate our next step. And for that, I am grateful.

Rosalind “Bee” Harris Publisher Denver Urban Spectrum

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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BACK FORTY TO THE BOARDROOM Amanda Gordon’s Road Through Auto Retail By Elena Brown Amanda Gordon still remembers being led to the “back forty.” Women of Color Automotive Network – Co-Founders

Amanda Gordon and husband Courtney Goodgain

She was 16, shopping for her first car with her mother and a $5,000 budget. Instead of being treated like a young driver about to claim a new kind of freedom, Gordon said they were directed to the dealership’s less-desirable used inventory and met with a salesperson who made clear their purchase was not worth his effort. “I don’t really care,” Gordon recalled the man telling her mother when she asked which vehicle would be best for a first-time teenage driver. “I’m not making any money off of this sale anyway.” Gordon ultimately drove away in “White Lightning,” a 1992 Hyundai Accent with a manual transmission, crank windows, and no air conditioning. She remembers the independence of learning to drive. But, she also remembers the message behind the encounter: a customer’s budget could determine whether they were treated with patience, dignity, and respect.

Gordon teaching a class on auto buying

Years later, she would understand that the back forty was the area where lessdesirable, lower-value used vehicles were kept.

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That moment became part of the foundation for GoJo Auto, the Denver used-car dealership she founded in 2018. She built her business around a different premise: buyers—especially women, first-time customers, and people working within tight financial limits—should not have to feel dismissed, confused, or pressured into a vehicle purchase. For many Denver families, a car is not a luxury. It is how they get to work, take children to school and child care, make medical appointments, and keep daily life moving. Gordon knows how quickly that necessity can become a financial burden when buyers do not fully understand financing terms, warranties, trade-in values, or the true cost of a deal. “I made a promise to myself that no one would ever feel like that leaving our establishment,” said Gordon, 44, who is recognized as Colorado’s first Black woman to own a car dealership. Her promise has shaped GoJo Auto’s customer-education focus and her broader work to expand access, leadership, and opportunity for women of color in the automotive industry.

A different dealership model For Gordon, a first car should represent freedom, possibility, and the roads ahead—not the size of a customer’s budget or the profit attached to a sale. As detailed in her blog, “According to Amanda,” her early car-shopping experience shaped her belief that a dealership can do more than complete a transaction. It can help customers understand the financial decisions involved in buying and owning a vehicle. GoJo Auto’s online reputation is generally positive, though like many dealerships customer reviews are mixed. GoJo has a 4.5-star rating based on 1,628 reviews on Birdeye and a 4.5-star rating from 274 reviewers on chamberofcommerce. com. For many customers, particularly women and first-time buyers, vehicle shopping can be pressure filled. Buyers may feel they lack enough knowledge about cars, financing, or negotiation to ask questions or challenge terms that do not serve their interests. That vulnerability can be costly. A buyer focused only on the monthly

payment, for example, might miss the loan term, total amount financed, annual percentage rate, cost of add-on products, or whether the trade-in value is fair.

What transparency means For many households, a vehicle is among the largest purchases they will make. About 65 percent of U.S. households own their homes, while roughly one-third rent. For renters, a vehicle may be their largest major financial investment.

For Gordon, explaining these and other factors is part of making financing less intimidating. Buyers, she said, should understand not only what they are paying, but why a lender may require money down or recommend a different vehicle. Her approach also reflects a larger conversation about who has access to ownership, leadership, and decisionmaking power in automotive retail. Women remain underrepresented in dealership employment and leadership. Organizations including the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers and the National Automobile Dealers Association with its Women Driving Auto Retail initiative are working to elevate women’s participation in the industry. Industry reports show that women account for roughly 20 percent of dealership employees.

At GoJo Auto, Gordon said transparency begins with clear, upfront information about a vehicle’s price, condition, fees, and financing terms. The dealership’s “Car Class” is designed to help customers understand the buying process, ask informed questions, and avoid last-minute charges or surprises. For her, consumer education is part of customer service: buyers should understand the financial commitments they are making before they sign—not after a monthly payment, interest rate, warranty, or trade-in value becomes an unexpected burden.

Building industry access For Gordon, representation is not merely about visibility. It is about expanding who sees automotive work as a path to a stable career, entrepreneurship, and wealth-building.

She often hears two questions from buyers: “Why do I need money down?” and “Why can’t I finance an older, less expensive car?” The answer often involves the loan-tovalue ratio, or LTV—the amount borrowed compared with a vehicle’s actual cash value. A down payment reduces the amount financed and lowers the LTV ratio, which can improve a buyer’s odds of approval, reduce lender risk, and potentially lower the interest rate and total interest paid. Older, lower-priced cars are typically not easy to finance. Lenders may restrict vehicle eligibility based on age, mileage, and value. Bank of America, for example, excludes vehicles more than 10 calendar years old, with 125,000 miles or more, or valued below $6,000. That is one lender’s policy, not a universal lending standard.

That belief is central to the Women of Color Automotive Network, or WOCAN, a nonprofit she co-founded to connect, elevate, and support women of color across the automotive industry. The organization provides professional community, career resources, leadership development, financial-literacy programming, scholarships, and access to industry networks that can be difficult to enter. WOCAN has grown from four founders and about 25 members in 2020 to more than 2,000 members and 300 allies. That mission was on display last month at the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers conference in Miami Beach, where WOCAN held its

Gordon said receiving her dealership license became intertwined with a commitment to sobriety and a turning point that reshaped both her life and purpose in the industry. “I was pretty low during that time, and I was bargaining with God to please give me this dealership license,” she said. “I heard him say he’d give it to me, but I would have to stay sober. I cussed, but I agreed,” she recalled with a laugh. “I went to an AA meeting that night.

fifth annual event. The gathering brought together more than 170 women of color and automotive leaders to discuss career growth, entrepreneurship, financial empowerment, and leadership. WOCAN’s other co-founders include CarNow Executive Vice President of Marketing Kerri Wise, Walser Hyundai Brooklyn Park General manager Erikka Tiffani Wells, and master mechanic and Girls Auto Clinic founder Patrice Banks. Together, they have built a network intended to make automotive careers more accessible for the women coming behind them. “Building inclusive leadership isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s essential for the future of the automotive industry,” Gordon said. The group’s work is part of a broader legacy of women reshaping automotive leadership, including Angelique Strong Marks, chief legal officer at Cars Commerce; Lerea Graham, general manager of Hello Mazda in Valencia, California; and Jenell R. Ross, president of Bob Ross Auto Group in Centerville, Ohio. Ross leads a family-owned company, which operates Buick, GMC, and Mercedes-Benz dealerships. It is identified as the nation’s only dealership group with that brand combination owned by an African American woman. Gordon said the automotive industry offers strong career options for women, who can bring perspectives that strengthen every part of the business from vehicle engineering and design to service, marketing, dealership operations, and ownership.

Education can be expensive, which is why WOCAN has awarded $100,000 in scholarships to women pursuing automotive careers. Its WOCAN-Bob Ross Legacy Scholarship, powered by Cars Commerce, awards eight $2,500 scholarships to women working in automotive dealership operations. “WOCAN has helped women level up in terms of education and leadership skills,” Wise shared on the “Lead Like A Girl” podcast. “By sending them to different industry events that they really wouldn’t have been a part of if it wasn’t for WOCAN.” For Denver consumers, Gordon brings that larger mission home through GoJo Auto. Her approach is reflected not only in who owns the dealership, but in how customers are encouraged to understand the financial choices in front of them. One of Gordon’s proudest professional accomplishments was being sworn in as the first Black woman to serve on the Colorado State Motor Vehicle Dealer Board. She became board president in July 2022. “I remember having to plead my case to the board, a board of all white men, to get my license,” she said. “And now, I’m on that board.” The nine-member board meets monthly to conduct rulemaking hearings, make policy decisions, consider licensing matters, review complaints, and take disciplinary action against licensees.

I got sober November 2, 2018, and got my license on November 20th.” Her personal transformation, paired with her professional rise, informs the way she approaches dealership ownership: with transparency, empathy, and a commitment to making space for people who have historically been underestimated or left out. Her commitment is to never send a buyer to the back forty, literally or figuratively, and ensure that every

customer leaves with a clearer understanding of the road ahead. ♦ Editor’s note: For more information call (720) 778-3554 or visit https://www. gojoauto.com/

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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ONE RIPPLE at a Time The Ordinary Moments That Shape a Child’s Life A parent can say something out of frustration and forget it five minutes later. But, a child may remember those words 20 years later. The opposite is also true. One sentence of encouragement can stay with a child for a lifetime. The words we speak today can become the voice a child hears tomorrow.

By Karen Davis Founder, One Ripple at a Time LLC

e were driving our grandson, Toddy, to basketball practice when I decided to interview him. Nothing serious. I pretended I was hosting a little TV show and asked him seven questions, just for fun. “What’s something you wish you could do that your parents won’t let you, but you’d like to try?” “Play Fortnite,” he said without missing a beat. Well, that probably wasn’t happening. “What’s something Grammy and Big Pop could do more of?” “Go swimming.” Now that we could do. Then I asked a question I didn’t realize would stay with me. “When do you feel the safest?” He didn’t hesitate, “At home.” Two words, but those short words told me everything. They told me my son and daughterin-love had created what every child longs for—a place where love is steady, peace is present, and a child knows without question that he belongs. I’ve thought about that conversation many times since.

The Moments That Shape a Life After more than 40 years of walking alongside children and families, I’ve learned that the moments that shape a child’s life rarely make the headlines. They happen in the ordinary moments: a conversation in the car, a word of encouragement after a difficult day, or a few minutes when we stop talking and really listen. A small moment can shape a life. That’s a ripple. One word. One question. One conversation. One person who notices. We may never know how far that ripple travels. That belief is at the heart of my education and coaching service, One Ripple at a Time LLC. I created One Ripple at a Time because I’ve seen what can happen when just one caring adult chooses to see a child, listen to them, and believe in them.

The Questions Children May Never Ask Every conversation helps a child answer questions they may never ask out loud: Do you see me? Do you hear me? Do you believe in me? Sometimes we answer those questions without realizing a child is even asking.

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Think about the last thing you said to a child today. Would you want those to be the words they carry 20 years from now? That question challenges me, too. I haven’t always gotten it right. There have been moments I wish I could redo, words I wish I could take back, and times I could have listened more and talked less. Making a difference in a child’s life isn’t about getting every moment right. It’s about recognizing how much the moments matter.

The Ripples We Create Those moments, those ripples, are why I’m passionate about the conversations nobody puts on a calendar—the ones that happen at the dinner table, at bedtime, or in a quiet car on the way to practice. They may look ordinary. But, ordinary moments can create extraordinary ripples. And, you don’t need a title, a degree, a stage, or thousands of followers to create one. Influence isn’t measured in followers. It’s measured in the fingerprints we leave on a human heart. One Ripple at a Time isn’t just for parents. It’s for anyone whose life touches the life of a child, because if your life touches the life of a

child, you are already creating ripples. The only question is what kind.

Be That Someone Each month in the Denver Urban Spectrum, I hope we can explore these moments together—the conversations we have, the questions we ask, the words we choose, and the opportunities we have to help children discover who they are and who they can become. Changing a generation doesn’t always begin with something big. Sometimes it begins in a car on the way to basketball practice. With the radio off and one question worth asking. Be the coach who believes, the teacher who encourages, the grandparent who listens, or the parent who chooses one more conversation instead of one more lecture. That’s how families, communities change, and generations change – not all at once. They can change as a result of one conversation, one choice, one child – one ripple at a time. Every child deserves someone who believes in them before they believe in themselves. Be that someone. ♦

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PREPARING to Think, Build,

STUDENTS Defend, and Adapt By Thomas Holt Russell, III

t a meeting of Career and Technical Education professionals, someone asked, “What skills should we teach students to prepare them for the jobs of the future?” It is an important question, but it may begin with the wrong assumption. The future cannot be known precisely, so education should not prepare students only for current occupations. It must prepare them to adapt as work changes.

Education must provide technical knowledge, but its larger task is to develop adaptability, communication, problem-solving, ethical judgment, and the ability to continue learning. This is especially important in cybersecurity. I began teaching later in life, after many years working in the same industry I was asked to teach in. Soon, I realized that the traditional classroom was poorly suited to cybersecurity. Rows of desks, long lectures, uniform assignments, and textbook-driven instruction did not reflect the way technical work was performed. Cybersecurity is not a spectator activity.

Students must configure systems, make mistakes, diagnose problems, research unfamiliar issues, communicate with teammates, defend decisions, and recover from failure. They need opportunities to practice rather than simply memorize. I learned this principle years earlier while serving as a young soldier in South Korea. A fellow soldier repeatedly asked me to play chess. I always refused because the game seemed boring. Eventually, I agreed to learn. He began explaining openings, strategies, middle-game tactics, and other concepts. I stopped him. The language of chess meant nothing to me

because I had not yet experienced the game. I told him I needed to know only two things: the purpose of the game and how each piece moved. He explained those basics, and we began playing. He beat me quickly in the first game. We played again, and I began to understand. We continued playing, and the game came alive. Only later, after I had gained experience, did books about openings, sacrifices, and endgames become useful to me. The experience gave me a structure into which formal knowledge could fit. I carried that lesson into my classroom. Students do not always need a lengthy explanation before beginning. Sometimes they need a purpose, a few essential rules, a realistic problem, and permission to try. From there, they can learn as they go. I think of this as inside-out learning. Students encounter the larger activity first. They learn concepts as they become necessary. Formal knowledge then deepens an experience that has already become meaningful. In networking classes, I used Cisco Packet Tracer, a simulation tool that allows students to build virtual networks, configure devices, and observe whether information reaches its destination. Instead of merely hearing about routers, switches, addresses, and protocols, students could work with them. They could drag equipment into a virtual space, connect devices, make configuration errors, test the network, and determine why it failed. The software did not replace teaching. Instead, it changed the teacher’s role. I became less of a lecturer and more of a guide. Students worked through scenarios in which they acted as network administrators responsible for meeting an organization’s needs.

8 | Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

They researched problems, compared solutions, and helped one another. I also changed the physical classroom. Desks arranged in rows were replaced with small groups. This encouraged discussion, collaboration, and peer teaching. Students with different strengths could contribute to a shared task. As a result, learning began to emerge through the work itself. The same principle guided my cybersecurity classes. I taught students the basic purpose of system hardening, introduced a few essential concepts, and asked them to begin securing a computer. Some initially insisted that they did not know enough. I reminded them that they had instructions, classmates, prior knowledge, and access to research. They were not expected to know everything before beginning. They were expected to investigate, test, make mistakes, and improve. This approach helped students develop independence and confidence. It also prepared them for cybersecurity competitions and more advanced coursework. Traditional textbooks presented another challenge. In a rapidly changing field, a printed book can become outdated soon after publication. That does not make textbooks worthless, but it does mean they should not serve as the sole foundation of a cybersecurity course. I kept the curriculum’s structure and required standards, but I drew on current technical documentation, trusted online resources, security advisories, news reports, simulations, and instructor-created scenarios. Current events made the subject real. A major data breach or newly discovered vulnerability could become part of a lesson. Students could examine what happened, why it happened, how the attackers succeeded, and what defenses might have reduced the damage. That kind of flexibility is difficult when every student must move through the same textbook at the same pace. Cybersecurity students often enter a classroom with dramatically different skill levels. Some have never opened a computer’s administrative tools. Others have spent years experimenting with operating systems, coding, gaming, or home networks.

As a result, lockstep instruction leaves some students behind while holding others back. A better model combines clear standards with multiple pathways. Students should be able to progress at different speeds, receive more support where needed, and move toward more challenging work when ready. Cyber ranges, simulations, virtual laboratories, and scenario-based exercises can support this model. They allow students to practice defending systems in controlled environments without endangering real networks. Students can investigate incidents, identify vulnerabilities, harden systems, check activity, document evidence, and work as members of a team. They can experience the pressure and uncertainty of cybersecurity while staying in a safe learning environment. Cybersecurity is a performance discipline. Students must learn to diagnose, configure, defend, communicate, and recover — not merely select correct answers on an examination. Education should not simply transfer information from an instructor to a student. It should help students become capable of acting when the instructor is no longer present, because that is the point of preparing them for an uncertain future.

debate, and question the claims of companies, governments, experts, and machines.

means protecting our information, questioning automated decisions, and holding designers and institutions accountable.

The future should not belong only to the people who design the systems, own the platforms, write the algorithms, and control the data. It also belongs to the people who must live with the consequences.

It also means changing how we educate people, because they should learn to understand and question the systems that shape their lives. Students should not be prepared merely to use existing tools. They should learn how systems work, how to question them, how to build alternatives, and how to respond when technology fails.

We do not all need to become engineers, programmers, or cybersecurity professionals. But we do need enough understanding to protect ourselves, educate the next generation, take part in public decisions, and preserve the parts of life that make us human.

Building something changes a person’s understanding more deeply than simply using it. For example, a student who plays a video game, experiences the world created by someone else. A student who builds a game begins to understand rules, systems, incentives, choices, and consequences.

Technology will continue to move forward, whether we are ready or not. The question is whether we will move with it blindly or with our eyes open, ready to see clearly, act wisely, and live with the consequences. ♦

That distinction matters far beyond technology. Technological literacy enables people to participate in shaping the world rather than merely adapting to it. It allows them to make safer personal choices, contribute to public

Editor’s note: Thomas Holt Russell, III is the founder of SEMtech (Student Engagement & Mentoring in Tech), a writer, educator, photographer, modernday Luddite, Existentialist, and secular humanist

Moving Forward With Our Eyes Open Technology is not merely a collection of machines. It is a human system of purposes, choices, values, and consequences. It begins with our needs, but it does not remain under our control simply because we created it. Instead, technology enters the world, interacts with human institutions, and changes the environment in which future choices are made. We do not need to reject technology. Nor should we accept every new development simply because it is faster, more efficient, or profitable. We need to see technology clearly: as a force that shapes choices, values, and consequences. That means understanding what it gives us and what it takes away. It means recognizing who benefits, who bears the cost, and what kinds of behavior a system encourages. It

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A NIGHT of Black Excellence Beta Theta Achievement Foundation Honors Denver’s Leaders at 3rd Annual Social

Aswad Allen, Anthony Lee, Dawn Owens Robinson, Christian Williams, and Joshua Coleman

Aswad Allen, Christian Williams, Ryan Ross, Anthony Lee, and Joshua Coleman

By Theo Perry Photos by AlfredShoots, LLC

an evening where the Foundation not only celebrates its honorees but also reinvests in the work ahead.

n August 1, 2026, Denver came alive as the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation (BTAF) hosted its 3rd Annual Black Excellence Social—an evening of celebration, community, and purpose. Part gala and part tribute, the event honored trailblazing individuals and organizations within the Black community while raising vital funds to advance the Foundation’s mission.

About the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation The Beta Theta Achievement Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing longstanding disparities in communities of color.

Its work centers on three pillars: financial literacy, digital access, and community health—building pathways to opportunity where systemic gaps have too often stood in the way. While BTAF’s reach extends broadly across the community, it maintains a special commitment to empowering Black male college students across Colorado by supporting their academic success, providing financial resources, and championing their mental and physical well-being. Rooted in the brotherhood of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the members of the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation carry forward the fraternity’s core tenets of brotherhood, achievement, and community service. The Black Excellence Social embodies that mission:

“We created these awards because our Foundation is built on a deep, community-rooted commitment to service, leadership, and collective impact,” said Christian Williams, an officer of the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation. “By honoring these individuals, we hope to inspire lasting change—not only here in Denver, but across our community and beyond.”

2026 Honorees Each year, BTAF’s award categories recognize legacies of leadership, service, and vision, and this year’s recipients embodied that spirit across every category.

Aswad Allen speaking to attendees 10

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award Honoring compassion, courage, and lasting service Adam’s Purpose, represented by Shay Jacob, and Street Fraternity Madame C.J. Walker Business & Entrepreneurship Award Honoring vision that turns determination into lasting opportunity The Crowley Foundation John Lewis Civic Champion Award Honoring courageous leadership in the spirit of “good trouble” Christopher Denmark Divine Nine Leadership Award Honoring servant leadership beyond fraternity and sorority Alice Arline, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Denver Alumni Chapter

Whitney M. Young, Jr. Community Leadership Partner Recognition Honoring bridge-builders across community, corporate, and civic life Dr. Ryan Ross, President & CEO, Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado Nelson Mandela Lifetime Impact Award Honoring a life devoted to justice, compassion, and transformative service Dr. Tijani R. Cole and Dr. Dawn Owens Robinson “One of the reasons the Foundation exists is to recognize and celebrate outstanding leaders and grassroots organizations whose dedication and commitment continue to shape and strengthen the Denver community,” said Anthony Lee, an officer of the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation. Following the awards presentation, the celebration continued late into the evening. Attendees mingled over hors d’oeuvres and drinks, exchanging stories and forging new connections. Music filled the room and drew guests to the dance floor, creating an atmosphere of joy, fellowship, and community that carried through the remainder of the evening.

“I look forward to this evening every year,” said the fashionable Monique Dinwiddie, wife of Cliff Dinwiddie of the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation. “It brings together such a beautifully positive community—one where people don’t just celebrate each other’s achievements but genuinely uplift one another.” Her words captured the spirit of an evening that brought together leaders, honorees, members, and supporters in celebration of Black excellence and the collective work being done to strengthen the Denver community. For further information on the Beta Theta Achievement Foundation, please visit its website at www. btafoundation1939.com and follow the Foundation on Instagram at @ betatheta1939. ♦

Anthony Lee and Mr. & Mrs. Sean Peterson

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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DANCING for a Difference Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s 16th annual Dancing with the Denver Stars raises a record-breaking $500,000-plus to expand arts education reaching more than 32,000 area students By Patricia B. Smith For Cleo Parker Robinson Dance

or one summer, 13 of Denver’s civic and business leaders traded boardrooms, offices and executive meetings for dance studios, rehearsals and choreography — all in support of a cause that reaches thousands of young people throughout the Denver metro area. On Aug. 22, those newly minted “Dancing Stars” stepped onto the stage at the Sheraton Denver Downtown to perform two-minute routines before an audience of 750 friends, family members and community supporters at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s 16th annual Dancing with the Denver Stars. By the end of the evening, their fancy footwork had helped CPRD achieve something worth celebrating: a record-breaking $500,000-plus raised to support and expand its Arts-InEducation programs. Denver comedian and actor Sheddrick “Shed G” Garrett, a veteran emcee of the gala, returned to guide the evening with his signature humor and mischief.

Dancing With a Purpose For more than 30 years, CPRD’s Arts-In-Education program has brought teaching artists into schools and welcomed students into dance experiences that combine movement with history, culture, social movements and traditions from around the world. The program has grown significantly during the past decade and is expected

to serve 32,126 students in 216 metro-area schools during the 2026 school year. During the 2025 school year, CPRD also collaborated with fellow Scientific and Cultural Facilities District cultural partner the Colorado Symphony.

Although Dwight was unable to attend the gala, Gwen and Moses Brewer accepted the honor on his behalf — along with a message from the honoree that drew laughter from the crowd.

The evening also marked the announcement of CPRD’s new AIE Gold Star School Program, which will expand teaching-artist residencies throughout the school year.

Karen McNeil-Miller served as the 2026 Honorary Event Chair. Robinson recognized McNeil-Miller for her leadership in community health and her longstanding support of people and organizations serving communities throughout Colorado.

Lakewood’s Belmar School of Integrated Arts is among the program’s early adopters. “Our students have benefitted from CPRD programs since 2018, and we are delighted to add more this year,” said Belmar Principal Meredith Leighty, who also serves as mayor of Northglenn and was a 2023 Dancing Star.

Honoring Stars Who Inspire The celebration extended beyond the dance floor as CPRD Founder and Artistic Director Cleo Parker Robinson recognized three community leaders whose contributions have inspired movement in Denver and beyond.

“What took Cleo so long?!” Dwight joked.

Robinson also celebrated her longtime friend George Sparks, president and CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, noting his many years of support for CPRD and the gala. “Our very dear George Sparks has danced with me for years as my July birthday buddy and has supported this gala in many roles over the years,” Robinson said.

We Are Family

“We are delighted to honor three stars in our constellation of Denver leaders tonight who inspire movement!” Robinson said.

This year’s Dancing Stars performed to the musical theme “We Are Family: Celebrating Musical Families and Dance,” bringing soul, hip-hop, funk, disco and, for the first time at the gala, Bollywood to the stage.

Internationally renowned sculptor and astronaut Ed Dwight received CPRD’s 2026 Legacy Award. Dwight, who became the nation’s first Black astronaut candidate during President John F. Kennedy’s administration, made history decades later when he traveled to space at age 90.

Another highlight of the evening brought dance, visual art and Denver history together.

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

After the seventh dance performance, auctioneer Simone Morrison rallied guests for an auction and paddle raise that generated $154,000 in additional support.

Denver and Five Points native and artist Darrell Anderson shared how Robinson and choreographer Milton Myers’ Raindance — a beloved CPRD work performed for more than 30 years — inspired his own artwork. After seeing Raindance performed during CPRD’s September 2025 Bolero concert at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Anderson created an intricate colored-pencil work across three actual architectural blueprint sheets used in the development of CPRD’s Center for the Healing Arts. “Raindance moved me so deeply,” Anderson said. Seeing the new Center for the Healing Arts inspired him to integrate dance and architecture in an effort to capture “what it takes to integrate the two perfections.” Anderson donated the original Rain Dance artwork to Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, where it is installed in the first-floor El Pomar Foundation dance studio. For the gala’s live auction, Anderson donated signed Print No. 1 of the three-panel Rain Dance triptych. The piece brought $14,000, with the winning package also including a studio evening with Anderson and Robinson.

A Legacy That Keeps Moving Beyond the music, laughter and applause, Dancing with the Denver Stars supports a mission that continues long after the final dance. Proceeds from this year’s record-breaking gala will help CPRD expand its Arts-In-Education outreach throughout metro-area schools and introduce more students to movement as a pathway to creativity, culture, history and self-expression. For the 13 Dancing Stars who accepted this year’s challenge, their two minutes in the spotlight represented months of preparation. For the more than 32,000 students CPRD expects to reach this school year, those two minutes will help keep arts education moving forward. ♦ Editor’s Note: For information about scheduling CPRD Arts-In-Education programs at a school, contact Shelby Jarosz or Mimi Patel at Education@ cleoparkerdance.org. Programs offer sliding-scale pricing and subsidies.

2026 CPRD Dancing Stars Andrew Holder, Xcel Energy, with Tori Carter, CPRD Ensemble “Stir Fry” — Migos Jeremy Fusilier, U.S. Bank, with Jasmine Francisco, CPRD Ensemble “Burn Rubber” — The Gap Band Mike Katz, BOK Financial, with Gabriela Maduro, CPRD Ensemble “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” — The Jacksons Annie Lee, Colorado Access, with Tripp Starr, Cleo II “Jump (For My Love)” — The Pointer Sisters Jonna McGrath, United Airlines Denver, with Lamar Rogers, CPRD Ensemble “Can You Feel It” — The Jacksons / “Stayin’ Alive” — Bee Gees Kevin Sullivan, Southwest Airlines, with Koura Wright, Cleo II/Junior Youth Ensemble Director “Rhythm of the Night” — DeBarge Janet Lopez, The Denver Foundation, with Max Nelson-Steinhoff, CPRD Ensemble “Let’s Dance Tonight” — Selena medley

Nick Lopez, Latin American Educational Foundation, with Lauren Slaughter and Gabriela Maduro, CPRD Ensemble “Jump” — Van Halen Kourtny Garrett, Downtown Denver Partnership, with Santos Garcia, Cleo II “Stomp!” — The Brothers Johnson Kelly Werthmann, CBS Colorado, with Corey Jamel, CPRD Ensemble and Youth Ensemble Director “You Should Be Dancing” — Bee Gees Jaco Swart, PCL Construction, with India Johnson, Cleo II “Shining Star” — Earth, Wind & Fire Dr. Jimmy Johnson, Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, with Michael Battle, CPRD Ensemble “I’m So Excited” — The Pointer Sisters Srinivas Vallem, CoBank IT, with Caeli Blake, CPRD Ensemble “Ki Fark Painda Hai” — Dev Negi and Neeti Mohan, from The Great Indian Family The gala’s first Bollywood routine

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

| 13

NO WAY

HOME

Imagines a Meeting Between Michael Marshall & Marvin Booker

Destination Freedom Black Radio Days brings two Denver stories together in a powerful examination of homelessness, mental health and justice

hat if Michael Marshall and Marvin Booker had met?

It is a meeting that never happened, but one that provides the compelling premise for Michael Marshall and Marvin Booker: No Way Home, a new audio drama from Destination Freedom Black Radio Days. Written by Terrance “Big T” Hughes and directed by Emmy Award-winning producer and director donnie l. betts, No Way Home will be presented live Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Aurora Fox Arts Center Studio Theatre. The production brings together the stories of two Black men who experienced homelessness and whose lives ended following encounters with Denver sheriff’s deputies while

in custody. Through an imagined meeting between Marshall and Booker, the drama explores their humanity while raising larger questions about homelessness, mental illness, incarceration and the treatment of vulnerable people. It is the second production in the Destination Freedom Black Radio Days series examining the experiences of unhoused people and follows an earlier production centered on Booker.

Marvin Booker: More Than the Circumstances of His Death Marvin Booker was 56 when he died in July 2010 following an encounter with Denver sheriff’s deputies in the booking area of the city’s downtown jail.

Booker, an unhoused street preacher, had been arrested on an outstanding warrant. The encounter began when Booker attempted to retrieve his shoes as he was being taken to a jail cell. Deputies restrained him, and a Taser and carotid hold were among the methods used during the encounter. Booker became unresponsive and died. No criminal charges were filed against the deputies. His family subsequently pursued a federal civil rights case, and in 2014, a jury found that five Denver sheriff’s deputies had used excessive force and violated Booker’s civil rights. The jury awarded his family $4.65 million. The City and County of Denver later reached a $6 million settlement, which included the jury award as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. But No Way Home looks beyond the circumstances of Booker’s death to the man himself. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Booker came from a large family and was the son of the Rev. Benjamin Roosevelt Booker Sr. and Roxey Anna Booker Walton, affectionately known as “MaDea.” According to Hughes, Booker shared a particularly special relationship with his mother. Hughes describes Booker as fun-loving, generous and someone who never met a stranger. He was willing to give away what little he had if it could bring joy or help someone else. He also cared deeply about people living on the streets. Hughes followed Booker’s case and trial for four years, an experience that helped inspire his continuing exploration of Booker’s life and legacy.

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

Michael Marshall: A Son of Denver Five years after Booker’s death, Denver faced another tragedy involving a man experiencing homelessness and mental illness inside its jail system. Michael Marshall was 50 and living with schizophrenia when he was arrested in November 2015 on trespassing and disturbing-the-peace charges and taken to Denver’s Van CiseSimonet Detention Center. While in custody, Marshall experienced what authorities described as a psychotic episode. On Nov. 11, deputies physically restrained him after an encounter involving another inmate. During the restraint, Marshall vomited and became unresponsive. He was transported to a hospital and died nine days later. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide resulting from complications of positional asphyxia. The Denver District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to file criminal charges against the deputies. In 2017, Denver reached a $4.65 million settlement with Marshall’s

family. The agreement also led to significant changes involving mental health services, deputy training, de-escalation and procedures for responding to people experiencing mental illness inside Denver’s jails.

He is also a human rights and social justice advocate.

Like Booker, however, Marshall’s life was much larger than the circumstances surrounding his death.

Destination Freedom Black Radio Days draws inspiration from Richard Durham’s groundbreaking Destination Freedom radio series, which aired from 1948 to 1950.

Hughes describes Marshall as deeply loved by his family, including his older sister Brenda, brother Rodney, niece Natalia and her daughters, along with a large extended family.

Continuing a Historic Radio Tradition

Durham used radio drama to challenge stereotypical portrayals of African Americans in mainstream media and tell stories about Black

history, achievement and the struggle for social and economic freedom. His scripts featured figures including Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson and Ida B. Wells at a time when such stories and perspectives were rarely heard on American radio.

The series is produced by No Credits Productions LLC and donnie l. betts and is available through podcast platforms, including the Broadway Podcast Network and Spotify.

Today’s Destination Freedom Black Radio Days continues that tradition by using audio drama to examine contemporary issues affecting communities of color. The 2026 season addresses subjects including housing, immigration enforcement and other social justice concerns.

Michael Marshall and Marvin Booker: No Way Home Tuesday, Oct. 13 | 7 p.m. Aurora Fox Arts Center Studio Theatre Tickets: $15 ♦

Event Information

Editor’s note: For more information, visit https://nocredits.com/

Marshall also had an extensive community among people living on Denver’s streets. “He is at home everywhere he goes; no one is a stranger to him,” Hughes wrote. “He is loved everywhere he goes; he is truly a son of Denver, a real native.”

Two Lives, One Imagined Conversation That is where No Way Home finds its emotional center. Rather than simply revisiting two tragic deaths, Hughes imagines something that history never allowed: What might Michael Marshall and Marvin Booker have said to one another if the two men had met inside the Denver jail? Both men knew life on the streets. Both were described as people who connected easily with others. Both were loved by their families and communities. And both became part of Denver’s continuing conversation about how its institutions respond to unhoused people, people experiencing mental illness and those in custody. By putting Marshall and Booker into an imagined conversation, No Way Home seeks to restore something that can easily disappear amid court cases, investigations, settlements and headlines—the individual humanity of the men themselves. The production features donnie l. betts and Latifah Johnson, with Andrew J. Betts portraying Michael Marshall and John Furtell, also known as Panama Soweto, portraying Marvin Booker. Hughes, known as Pastor Big T, is the founding pastor of Alpha and Omega Ministries and current co-pastor of New Covenant Christian Church Alpha and Omega Ministries. Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

| 15

BEAUTY OF Fine Art Show Returns to Fort BLACKNESS Collins for Labor Day Weekend Four days of original art, culture, fashion and connection arrive at historic Opera Galleria September 3–6

he 7th Annual Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show returns to Fort Collins September 3 to 6, bringing a curated choice of Black American artists, original artwork, cultural experiences, and fashion to the historic Opera Galleria in the heart of Old Town Fort Collins. Founded and curated by Louise Cutler, the Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show has grown into an annual gathering that connects artists with collectors, businesses, art enthusiasts, and the broader community. More than an opportunity to view artwork, the four-day event provides visitors with an opportunity to meet artists, explore original work and purchase art directly from participating artists. This year’s featured artist is Adderley Grant Lord, whose work will be highlighted throughout the weekend. The 2026 program will also feature a Vintage Glam Fashion Showcase, along with artist talks, creative workshops and more cultural programming designed to encourage meaningful engagement with art and the artists who create it. “We’ve continued to grow the Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show each year with the goal of creating an experience that goes beyond simply looking at art,” says Louise Cutler, Founder and Curator. “We want people to meet the artists, hear their stories, discover artwork that speaks to them and recognize the value of bringing original art into their homes, collections and businesses.” The show is also designed to contribute to the vitality of Fort Collins by drawing residents and visitors into Old Town, where attendees can experience the city’s galleries, restaurants, shops and other local businesses throughout the weekend. The 2026 Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show is supported by community partners including the City of Fort Collins, the Downtown Development Authority, Wear It Again Sam and NOCO Discover Magazine, with additional support from local arts and community organizations. 16

2026 Event Details 7th Annual Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show September 3–6, 2026 Opera Galleria Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado Featured Artist: Adderley Grant Lord 2026 Fashion Showcase: Vintage Glam, Cothing from “Wear It Again Sam” Vintage shop Curated by: Louise Cutler Free and open to the public. For event information, artist listings, workshops and the complete schedule: Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show About the Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show The Beauty of Blackness Fine Art Show is an annual curated fine art marketplace founded by artist and curator Louise Cutler. The event creates opportunities for Black American artists to connect directly with collectors, businesses and new audiences while presenting original art within a professionally produced cultural experience in Fort Collins. ♦

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

| 17

ALL THINGS BOYS

Boys Need Accountability From Adults Who Refuse to Give Up on Them By Dr. Dedrick J. Sims

here is a difference between holding a boy accountable and deciding who he is because of something he did. I have spent more than thirty years working with boys and young men, and I have watched adults confuse those two things more times than I can count. A boy makes a poor decision, becomes disrespectful, stops completing his work, gets into a fight, or violates a rule, and somewhere between addressing the behavior and assigning the consequence, we begin attaching the behavior to his identity. He is no longer a boy who made a bad decision. He becomes a bad kid. He is no longer a student who disrupted a classroom. He becomes disruptive. He is no longer a young man struggling to manage his anger. He becomes angry. Once those labels

take hold, they begin influencing how adults respond to him, what opportunities he receives, and eventually what he begins believing about himself. I believe deeply in accountability. Boys need boundaries, expectations, consequences, and adults willing to tell them when they are wrong. What they do not need is for the adults responsible for developing them to confuse accountability with abandonment.

Accountability Should Develop Boys, Not Define Them Somewhere along the way, we have created a false choice between holding boys accountable and caring about them. We sometimes behave as though compassion requires us to excuse poor behavior or accountability requires us to become emotionally distant. Neither is true. Some of the adults who had the greatest influence on my life were

also the adults who expected the most from me. They did not ignore my mistakes. They did not lower standards because life was difficult. They corrected me precisely because they believed I was capable of more. That distinction matters. A consequence should communicate that what you did was unacceptable. It should not communicate that you are unacceptable. Those are two very different messages, particularly for a boy who is still trying to determine who he is. When accountability is rooted in relationship, a boy can experience correction without experiencing rejection. He can understand that an adult is disappointed in his decision without believing that adult has given up on him. That is an important developmental experience because adulthood will require him to accept responsibility without allowing every mistake to become a permanent definition of his character.

Boys Are Going to Make Mistakes Sometimes I think we forget what adolescence actually is. We expect boys who are still developing judgment, emotional regulation, impulse control, and an understanding of consequences to consistently make decisions with the wisdom of adults who have lived three or four times as long. Then we are surprised when they get it wrong. This does not mean we excuse harmful behavior. It means we understand what development requires. Boys need opportunities to make decisions, experience consequences, reflect on what happened, repair harm when necessary, and make a better decision the next time. That process is part of becoming a man. The problem comes when our systems are better designed to document mistakes than to develop young people through them. A discipline record can tell us what a student did. It cannot tell us what he learned from it. A suspension can remove a student from a classroom. It cannot guarantee that he understands how to handle the situation differently when he returns. If the only thing a boy learns from accountability is how much trouble he is in, we have missed an opportunity to teach him something that will matter long after the consequence is over.

Correction Without Relationship Feels Like Rejection Boys pay close attention to who corrects them and why. They know the difference between an adult who is frustrated with them and an adult who refuses to let them settle for less than they are capable of becoming. That difference is usually built long before something goes wrong. When a teacher knows a boy beyond his behavior, correction lands differently. When a coach has invested time in a young man’s development, accountability carries different weight. When a parent has consistently communicated love and expectations, a difficult conversation can happen without threatening the relationship. This is why we cannot wait until boys are in trouble to begin building 18

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

relationships with them. If most of an adult’s interactions with a boy involve correction, eventually that boy may begin believing that the adult only sees what is wrong with him. Relationships give accountability context. They allow an adult to say, in words and actions, “What you did was wrong, and I still believe in who you can become.” Boys need both parts of that sentence.

The Goal Is Responsibility, Not Compliance

of responsibility. We should correct them because their decisions matter. We should require them to repair harm because other people matter. We should maintain high expectations because their futures matter.

decision. The measure is whether we have built environments capable of turning mistakes into learning, consequences into responsibility, and correction into development.

Most importantly, we should make sure that when a boy gets something wrong, he knows the adults around him have not decided that he is wrong.

Accountability should never require us to give up on a boy. Done well, accountability is one of the clearest ways we communicate that we have not.

Boys will make mistakes. Some will make serious ones. The measure of the systems surrounding them is not whether we can prevent every poor

If this conversation resonates with you and you would like to continue the dialogue around boys, adolescent development, or designing stronger

environments for young people, you can reach me directly at dedrick@ djsventures.org. ♦ Editor’s note: Dr. Dedrick J. Sims is the Founder and CEO of the SimsFayola Foundation, creator of The Sims Framework, and author of the monthly All Things Boys column in The Urban Spectrum. His work focuses on designing systems of belonging that create consistent opportunities for boys and young men of color to learn, develop, and thrive. Learn more at www.sffoundation.org.

There is another distinction we need to make. Compliance and responsibility are not the same thing. Compliance asks whether a boy followed the rule while an adult was watching. Responsibility asks whether he understands why the rule matters and can make a thoughtful decision when nobody is there to tell him what to do. If our only goal is compliance, we can build systems around control. We can create more rules, stronger consequences, tighter supervision, and increasingly sophisticated ways to monitor behavior. Those approaches may produce order for a period of time, but order alone does not prepare boys for adulthood. Eventually, every young man will leave the classroom, the program, the team, or the home where adults are setting the boundaries for him. He will have to make decisions when nobody is standing over his shoulder. At that point, the question will not be whether we taught him to obey. The question will be whether we helped him develop judgment. That requires conversation, reflection, consequences, repair, and repeated opportunities to practice responsibility.

What Adults Must Understand Now Our responsibility is not to protect boys from every consequence. It is to make sure the consequences they experience contribute to their development rather than becoming another reason for them to disconnect from the people and institutions that are supposed to help them grow. We should hold boys accountable because we believe they are capable Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

| 19

THE MARKET HAS NOT STALLED It Has Shifted A practical guide to standing out as a buyer or a seller in today’s changing real estate environment By Barry Overton

he real estate market is not simply a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. It is a strategy market. Elevated mortgage rates, high home prices, increasing inventory, and greater price sensitivity have changed how transactions come together. Homes are still selling and buyers are still buying, but success now depends less on momentum and more on preparation, positioning, and negotiation. For sellers, the days of placing almost any price on a property and expecting multiple offers are gone in many markets. Buyers have more choices; monthly payments are still a concern and listings that appear overpriced are often ignored. The most major decision a seller can make is to price the property for the market that exists today—not the market from several years ago or the price a neighbor received during a stronger cycle. Pricing correctly does not mean giving the home away. It means studying recent closed sales, current competition, pending properties, price reductions, and average days on market. Active listings show what sellers are asking; closed and pending sales reveal what buyers are willing to pay. A home positioned properly during its first two weeks typically attracts more attention than one that begins too high and later chases the market downward.

Condition and presentation also matter more when inventory grows. Sellers should address obvious maintenance concerns, improve curb appeal, declutter rooms and make the home easy to show. Professional photography, video and strong online marketing are no longer extras. They are essential because most buyers decide whether a property deserves an in-person visit before they ever walk through the door. Sellers should also think beyond price. A closing-cost credit, mortgagerate buydown, repair allowance or flexible closing date may solve the buyer’s biggest problem without requiring a major price reduction. When a buyer is focused on the monthly payment, a well-structured concession can sometimes create more value than lowering the purchase price by the same amount. Flexibility is another competitive advantage. Reasonable showing access

and openness to different financing programs can expand the buyer pool. Sellers should evaluate financing, contingencies, appraisal risk, closing timeline and the buyer’s ability to perform—not simply select the highest price. For buyers, the market’s transition creates opportunities that were difficult to find during earlier bidding wars. More inventory; longer marketing times and fewer offers can provide room to negotiate. Not every seller is desperate, but prepared buyers may have more influence over price, repairs, concessions, and contract terms. The first step is obtaining a strong pre-approval and setting up a comfortable monthly-payment range. Buyers should compare lenders, loan products, mortgage insurance, fees and rate-buydown options. They should also preserve cash for inspections, moving expenses, repairs, and an emergency reserve instead of exhausting every dollar at closing. Some of the best opportunities may be homes with outdated finishes, poor photographs, cosmetic issues, or extended days on market. Buyers should distinguish between unattractive features and structurally or financially dangerous problems. Paint and flooring can be changed. A serious foundation problem, uninsurable roof or unstable condominium association needs deeper analysis. Creative financing is receiving renewed attention. Buyers may receive help from assumable FHA or VA loans, down-payment help, rate buy-downs, builder incentives and, when right, seller

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

financing. Each option has qualifications and risks, but an experienced agent and lender can decide whether it produces meaningful savings. Buyers should never waive essential due diligence because a property is a bargain. Insurance, property taxes, HOA obligations, special assessments, and maintenance can dramatically change the actual cost of ownership. Investigate these expenses early, especially in areas affected by wildfire, flooding, hurricanes, or rising insurance premiums. Finally, buyers should avoid trying to perfectly time rates or prices. A purchase makes sense when the home meets their needs, the payment is sustainable, reserves stay and they expect to own it long enough to absorb transaction costs. Refinancing may become possible, but it should be a future opportunity—not a requirement for affordability. Today’s market rewards sellers who price accurately and buyers who prepare and negotiate intelligently. The market has not stopped; it has become more selective. The advantage belongs to those who understand local conditions, remain flexible, and approach the transaction with a clear strategy. ♦ Editor’s note: Barry Overton is a Denverbased real estate advisor, veteran, and mentor. He helps investors, homeowners, and agents unlock wealth-building opportunities across the country. Follow him for more insights on market trends, AI in real estate, and personal development for entrepreneurs. Contact him at 303-668-5433

Are You Tired Of Keying In Tons Of AI

‘ UP

Prompts And Looking For Human

THE GROW

Meet Aurora’s Tracy Williams Garden Guru Extraordinaire

Creative Skills To Design Your

That moment of completion in her mother’s Denver backyard set off what would become both a personal passion and a growing business rooted in food, family and community.

Relegated to a tiny outdoor space at her quaint townhome, she asked her mother to use her backyard to try out the little experiment.

Williams, an Aurora resident and founder of The Late Bloomer Edible Gardens, now helps others build and sustain their own gardens across the Denver metro area. Her company, launched in May 2025 after she completed a garden consultant certification, specializes in garden design, installation and maintenance.

Mom said, have at it. And by the time that first set of plump, crimson-colored tomatoes sprouted on the vine she was officially smitten. A garden enthusiast was born.

Next Marketing Designs?

“I just lost my mind; I couldn’t believe that I grew that,” she remembered.

A Mother’s

“We specialize in installing and coaching people and helping people maintain raised-bed, edible gardens,” she said. “The concept celebrates the art of cultivating food at any stage of life.”

We Offer These Services

Maternal love endures as daughter waits for kidney donation 4

but raised primarily in Denver’s Montbello neighborhood, the University of Colorado Boulder alum soon found herself returning frequently to her mother’s home with her young twin sons in tow, as her idea of seriously focusing on growing food took root.

Beyond the business, gardening has become a family affair. Williams’ now teen sons help out with the business in different ways when they can.

Her gardens expanded quickly. When she finally moved into a house of her own in Aurora with a backyard, she installed four raised beds. By the end of that first summer, she had doubled it.

Bonner said the experience shifted her mindset.

“I was always trying to figure out what to plant next,” she said. “It became my favorite pastime.” That pastime soon evolved into a profession. After noticing friends and followers asking for advice on social media, Williams enrolled in a six-week certification course focused on both gardening and business fundamentals.

that I did,” she said of one client. “But because she hired me to also plant her garden, I ended up doing the heavy lifting, laying out the vegetables, providing a maintenance plan and tending her garden.”

AND THE WALLS THAT DIVIDE Examining an immigration crisis that has separated families, terrorized communities and revoked access to basic human rights. by Ruby Jones

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Photos by Amanda Bierman

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - May 2026

reading the path of uncertainty with faith and fortitude guiding each footstep, people from all walks of life have migrated to the United States with the expectation that her promise of liberty will welcome them with open arms. Leaving homes, families and familiarity behind, they travel through hell and high water, undeterred by the barbed wire and border patrol guarding these stolen lands.

They bring very few possessions, but arrive with an abundance of hope – hope that the U.S. will offer sanctuary from political persecution, war and starvation; that better opportunities await; and that their children will be safer, stronger and supported in the land of the free. They remain brave, even when bigoted leaders shout, “This is not your home.” For all their troubles and painstaking travels, they are either detained and denied basic human rights or thrust into the center of a brutal debate and painted as delinquents, drug lords and undocumented “animals.” Demonized by domestic “enemy” rhetoric, unauthorized migrants – or immigrants – who have come to this country seeking shelter are facing the threat of deportation and arrest in one of the most shameful chapters in recent history. While this deeply troubling moment in time will be remembered as a stain on our nation’s conscience, people are taking a stand and showing up in solidarity for communities that deserve more than just sympathy.

For many, the price of authorized immigration is too high. Visas, passports and citizenship tests create insurmountable barriers for those escaping atrocities in their homelands. The U.S. Constitution extends protections like due process and equal protection clauses included in the Fourteenth Amendment, but anti-immigration sentiment is rooted in stripping fundamental rights and dehumanizing even the most vulnerable for their failure to enter “the right way.” Immigration has become one of the country’s most salient political debates. As lawmakers and voters grapple over the topic and its socio-economic considerations, demands for increased border protection are growing in intensity.

girl, she can’t recall a moment when her mother, Stephanie, wasn’t right beside her. Every volleyball game, swim meet, basketball game and even Not occasionally. Not when it was convenient. Always.

Stephanie worked tirelessly to ensure her daughter had access to opportunities many only dream about. Raising her in northeast Denver and enrolling her in a private school, she was intentional about building a future designed to reach generations for years to come. From the outside, it would be easy to assume those choices came with heavy sacrifice – the financial strain, emotional exhaustion, the constant pull-on time and energy. But when Stephanie reflects on those years, she sees them through a different lens. To her, it was never a burden. It was for a purpose.

The First 100 Days

Migration has occurred since the beginning of time, starting with the intercontinental movement of early human species from Africa to Europe and Asia. The colonization of the Americas found waves of European settlers traveling across the Atlantic Ocean in search of economic opportunity and religious liberty.

With immigration at the heart of the 2024 U.S. General Election, President Donald Trump immediately enacted several executive orders on the day of his inauguration, including one focused on “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”

Their arrival led to the genocide of approximately 56 million indigenous people and the enslavement of an estimated 12.5 million abducted Africans, followed by the creation of regulations that have complicated global travel and naturalization.

One of the most controversial developments in the first 100 days of his second term was the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law passed in 1798 allowing executive authority to detain or deport those who were citizens of countries at war with the U.S. without a legal hearing.

For first-time gardeners, that guidance can be critical. Yesima Sherrod of Denver’s Skyland neighborhood said she initially felt intimidated by the process.

guidance, and honestly, the very kind hand holding, I successfully grew my very first vegetable garden.” Williams said she often provides detailed diagrams, seasonal guidance and even harvest support.

“They’ve gone from helping me plant and harvest to now they’re out there with cell phones videotaping what I’m doing,” she said. And her passion extends beyond productivity. She describes her garden as both an escape and a creative outlet.

Following the rescission of Proclamation 9844 in 2019, he issued an executive order “Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States” on his first day in office, reenacting elevated measures. “America’s sovereignty is under attack. Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans, including America,” he penned.

Fire and ICE

Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with the authority to arrest unauthorized immigrants without judicial warrants.

“My garden is my sanctuary; it is my happy place,” she said. “It makes me slow down.” She said it also has been a space for both grief and deep reflection. “It’s been a place where I have gone to grieve some losses in my life, but it’s also been a place where I go to celebrate,” she said. Williams also sees gardening as a tool for empowerment, particularly within the Black community. “Black people ought to have a way to grow at least some of their own food,” she said. “Every time I can go into my backyard and get something I know I need, and I don’t have to go through someone else to get it, it is so empowering.” For beginners, her advice is simple. “I say just start, and start small,” she said. “All I wanted to do was grow a couple of tomatoes.” ♦ Editor’s note: Williams’ next gardening workshop is scheduled for Saturday, August 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pauline Robinson Branch Library, 5575 E. 33rd Avenue in Denver. For more information and to register, visit www. thelatebloomer.net

recalls.

knee pain, it raised immediate concern. Stephanie took her to a sports medicine doctor, determined to get answers. They were connected with a Black woman physician who pushed for more extensive testing beyond standard overuse evaluations, a decision that

disproportionately affects Black girls and women, often between the ages of 15 and 44, and one that can be difficult to detect early. Shortly after, she headed to college in Connecticut and transferred her medical care to UConn Health. As she was getting into her groove and working on campus; together with her doctors, she made the decision to undergo knee reconstruction surgery in hopes of easing the pain. Over the next couple of years, lupus began attacking Sydney’s kidneys. By 2024, conversations about dialysis and the need for a transplant were no longer

In Colorado and other major cities across the U.S., calls for human rights, dignity and social justice are mobilizing communities against a system that has lost sight of its humanity – all while fanning the flames of resistance in the fight for reform.

What Makes Us Human?

“Gardening doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore; it feels inspiring,” she said.

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - Julyher 2026 practices, mom was there.

By Gabrielle West

INVISIBLE BORD ERS

“I not only make friends, but we sit and talk and talk about gardening,” she said. “Everyone was so eager to share their stories or start their gardening journey.”

“Then I added squash and I was like, ‘well, now I need to throw in some greens,’” she recalled.

“I consulted, designed, installed, coached and maintained,” she said of one of her early clients. “I also helped her harvest her garden and told her what to do to put her garden to bed for would prove critical in Sydney’s health“Working She became a mother in her early hypothetical – they with Tracy was onewere of thebecoming Clients say that hands-on approach the year.” Editor’s note: This profile of a“Iwoman was like,in‘what, I 30s, can do thataccomplishing for a after many of not justjourney. a reality. After best decisions I made as agraduating first-time from has transformed their yards, need of a kidney transplantliving?’” is partshe of apondered.her “Then I jumped gardener,” college Sherrod and said.residing “She took whateast for In personal goals. So, Sydney back a the year since her official butwhen their confidence. In her senior year of high school in series of articles featured right in Denver in!” Urban transition from gardening felt like anyear, overwhelming and to move came along, Stephanie was ready, she madeproject the decision 2020, she was diagnosed with lupus, an Spectrum to bring attention to the urgent “I cannot say enough wonderful as a hobby to gardening turned it into something approachable, fully present and all in. And it shows. back home. Returning to the one Today, her autoimmune need for organ donation. We focused onbusiness offers a range things about and my experience with Tracy disease that can attack as a business, her organized place and genuinely enjoyable.” leadership, she knew she would be fully of the services dependingSydney’s on client confidence, needs. this mother and daughter in May issue the joints Williams,is” said Barbara Bonner of and vital organs, including work has expanded commitment to community the direct hireagreed her for a single consultation, credited Williams’ structured through word of in recognition of Mother’s Some Day. DUS the kidneys. It’s a Sherrodsupported. Denver’s Whittier neighborhood. “Tracy either in person or virtual, diagnose resulttoof a foundation carefully and her success. not to use last names to protect their condition thatapproach for By helped me turn my backyard into a mouth, community 2025, fatigue set in. Everyday issues recommend solutions. faithfully built. privacy when sharing about their and personal tasks required moreand energy thanevents and “Her easy-to-follow system Othersarticles, engage her for full-scale projects beautiful garden space by building two medical story. To read previous gorgeous detailed garden map it simple As a student healthbeds for my vegetables and before. Andmade in early 2026, what workshops. She that include design, installation and athlete, visit www.denverurbanspectrum.com. flowers. She took all the stress out of regularly hosts to know exactly what was planted and quickly started as routine lab work ongoing maintenance.is everything. When Sydney where, giving me the into confidence to start beginner-friendly began experiencing the planning with her helpful design escalated an emergency. “In a nutshell, as a garden visuals and she even picked out the gardening,” she said. “Thanks to her excruciating consultant, that could have been all perfect pots for my herb garden.” “I knew it was serious,” Sydney rom the time Sydney was a little

Williams’ connection to gardening is deeply tied to place. Born in Texas

Prayer

At A Competitive Price.

gardening sessions at local venues, as well as providing a specialized curriculum for older adults or those figuring out how to work with limited space.

By Chandra Whitfield

racy Williams only wanted to grow a tomato.

She was rushed to the hospital, where she underwent two blood transfusions and multiple procedures to prepare her body for dialysis. “When they told me dialysis was my only option,” she says, pausing to hold back tears, “that was heartbreaking for me.”

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - July 2026

Dialysis, a life-sustaining treatment that removes waste and excess fluid from the blood, can be done in a clinical setting or at home. Sydney opted for at-home treatment, which offers more flexibility, but also requires intense training, strict routines, and daily commitment. For a young woman in her 20s, the adjustment has been overwhelming to say the least. “I’m still in my 20s. I want to enjoy this decade,” she says. “The biggest fear is the future. When will I get a kidney? How long will I be on dialysis?”

The Trump administration deployed Marines to California, federalizing National Guard Troops to “protect Continued on Page 6 federal personnel and property.” The action incurred a lawsuit by Los Angeles Governor Gavin Newsom, and six months after the president took an Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - May 2026 | 5 oath to protect the American people, a U.S. appeals court ruled that President Trump is within his rights, despite the unconscionable risk to civilians.

Covering the Chaos Protests against the mass deportation campaign have spread throughout the country, including in Colorado. Local newsrooms have played a crucial role in documenting the crisis and elevating unheard voices in light of this growing crisis, but there are growing concerns about censorship, funding and safety amid the chaos. In response, Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), an initiative created by the Colorado Press Association and The Colorado Independent, is leading efforts to familiarize journalists with First Amendment rights, including freedom of the press. To amplify the impact of immigration reporting, award-winning journalist Stephanie Rivera is steering a data-collection project to track how sheriff departments around the state

President Trump expanded the department’s authority and revived the Task Force Model (TFM), deputizing state and local law enforcement officers to enforce immigration laws during routine police duties. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also rescinded earlier mandates regarding the protection of “sensitive locations” such as schools, hospitals and churches. Rapid deportation and traumatization bled into months of quiet stirrings and grassroots efforts until protests erupted in Los Angeles on June 6.

cooperate with ICE during non-citizen detainments.As COLab’s Collaborative Reporting Project Manager, she hosts listening circles to deepen newsroomcommunity ties and better inform audiences. Rivera encourages journalists covering immigration to heighten understanding by first identifying a target audience; then, by listening. “It’s active listening, and consistent listening. It’s not just holding one forum and then forgetting about them,” she explains. “That plays into mistrust, when people feel like you’re just extracting information and forgetting about them.” Continued on Page 6

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - July 2025

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - July 2025

• Magazine and Directory Design • Academic Books, Copy Editing, Indexing, and Typesetting • Marketing Material Designs for Senior and Assisted Living Companies

SPECTRUM DESIGNS

Bee Harris | 303-292-6446 bee@urbanspectrum.net

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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WHOSE Race, Power, Surveillance, VALUES WILL and the People Shaping AI LEARN? Artificial Intelligence By Thomas Holt Russell

ick Bostrom is considered one of the leading voices of today’s tech world. An Oxford philosopher, Bostrom wrote the bestseller “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, and Strategies,” published by Oxford University Press and recommended by industry giants such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Max Tegmark. Bostrom is one of the most influential people in the tech industry, and his book outlines the existential risks of artificial intelligence. The book puts AI safety at the forefront of societal concerns about AI’s rapid growth. One of his key ideas is to offset AI’s potential problems by aligning it with human values, giving it the ability to go beyond explicit instructions and achieve

its goals without harming humans in the process. This formed the basis of AI research disciplines. The AI industry supports this effort. The only problem is, whose values are we designing it to be? The following is an email Bostrom sent to one of his colleagues in 2023: “I have always liked the uncompromising objective way of thinking and speaking. Take, for example, the following sentence: Blacks are more stupid than whites. I like that sentence and think it is true.” Bostrom’s key idea is that, to combat the potential problems AI may pose, it must be made compatible with human interests. It just happens that the humans in this case- the people on the leading edge of technology, the same people who are leading and shaping the future of AI- are racist. Another prominent figure in the AI industry is Timnit Gebru. Gebru was

Timnit Gebru

born in Ethiopia, migrated to the United States as a child, and pursued a career in electrical engineering and artificial intelligence. In Karen Hoe’s book, “Empire of AI,” Gebru’s path through the world of AI is filled with roadblocks. Even though the book is not about her,

she is sprinkled throughout this story of AI from the second page all the way to the last chapter. When we trace her path, we get a clear picture of where AI may be heading in the wrong direction. Timnit Gebru worked in a world dominated by white men. In the book Empire of AI, Karen Hoa explained Gebru’s thoughts on the lack of Black people in AI. “She imagined starting a YouTube channel to lampoon the situation, changing her hairstyle and acting out different personalities to dramatize speaking to herself.” At conferences, she would often be the only Black person in attendance. At one conference, the Neural Information Processing Systems, she was even physically harassed by a group of young white Google employees who grabbed her and forced a kiss on her cheek. One of them snapped a humiliating photo of the incident. I believe that if there had been even a smattering of Black people there, that incident would not have happened. But since there are so few Black people in that environment, the dominant group takes liberties. It feels empowered, through their look-alike peers and supervisors, to behave and act unprofessionally without impunity. Gebru did not passively walk away from this incident. She wrote a critique in an anonymous open letter, saying the current homogeneity of the people building AI was discouraging talented

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

“Gender Shades”, which found that facial analysis applications were designed without Black people in mind. This led Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM to ban their sales of facial recognition to police. More on that later. She also started “Black in AI,” a nonprofit dedicated, as written on their website,”… to shift the power dynamic across the AI ecosystem to broaden the range of voices contributing to the development, deployment, and regulation of AI technology.” Nick Bostrom — AI Leader: “Blacks are more stupid than whites.”

people from participating and leading to a narrow conception of AI. She made it clear when she added, “We don’t have to project into the future to see AI’s potential adverse effects; it’s already happening.” Gebru, like many other people of color in the AI world, believes that the dominant direction of AI needs to change. All of this was taking place during the murder of George Floyd and the hate that was going around and has yet to go away peacefully. As a Google researcher, she led Google’s ethical AI team. She produced the groundbreaking paper called

Gebru would eventually get fired from Google after her research paper, “On the Structure of Stochastic Parrots,” warned about the problems of large language models and the environmental dangers of building data centers. Google rejected the paper and wanted its employees’ names removed. Gebru refused and was fired. They said she resigned. Years ago, I wrote about the dangers of those so-called gunshot detectors that were beginning to be installed throughout the United States. My concern then was that these systems were not designed for what they claim to do. They are designed for surveillance and data collection of all types, from facial recognition to license

plates and conversations. At that time, I wrote a column (Technicalities) for the Colorado Springs Independent. The editor got angry with me and asked what proof I had and how I could predict the future. Today, those gunshot detection systems have added cameras to the mics, and real-time surveillance is taking place. Guess which neighborhoods.

other underrepresented populations are harmed because of the embedding of sex and racial stereotypes into AI development by a small group of people who do not represent the majority of the population. We do not need racist views replicated in AI. Good grief, don’t we have enough problems? ♦

As an educator, I encourage everyone, whether they are going into cybersecurity or tech in general, to get a core understanding of technology. Certifications and professional certifications in technology should be given out just as diplomas are in high school. I am in the AI environment, and even here in Colorado, the number of Black people is minimal in this environment. Just as in the rest of the country, Black people are not participating in the AI ecosystems. With the rapid development of AI and its economic impact, this is a problem that needs to be seriously addressed. Why is this important?

Editor’s note: Thomas Holt Russell is the founder of SEMtech (Student Engagement & Mentoring in Tech), writer, educator, photographer, modern-day Luddite, Existentialist, and secular humanist.

The only way to ensure AI is fair is to have a diverse population at all levels of research and development. But that is not the direction it is heading in. The risk is that communities of color and

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Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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THE SOCIAL-SAFETY NET FAILS SPECIAL-NEEDS FAMILIES Op-ed by Jon Hochschartner

eing the parent of an autistic and nonverbal child, who will require around-the-clock care for the rest of her life, can be an isolating experience. Very few people understand the unique challenges you face. So, it was with some relief after we found out our daughter was autistic, that I discovered the YouTube channel Fathering Autism, which documents the life of Florida parents caring for their now-adult, nonverbal child. One of their videos, however, in which they discussed what would happen to their daughter after they died, inspired a great deal of anxiety in me. The parents had met with a financial planner and found that for their child to receive one-on-one care in a home setting — outside of a facility — for the rest of her life, they would need six-to-nine million dollars. Of course, I

had previously thought of what would happen to our daughter when we died, but to hear the amount necessary to achieve what did not seem like an unreasonable goal was overwhelming.

on policy in this area, but, speaking from my own personal experience, I know there are a variety of laws that could help our family a great deal. I’d like to mention a couple of them.

I’m a bit of a champagne socialist. My wife, for instance, runs a small preschool and employs a handful of people. Still, that monetary figure seemed impossibly out of reach. It was hard for me to even think about the number for a prolonged period without mentally shutting down. Given our relative privilege, I could not even imagine how those less fortunate broached the subject. In my view, this shouldn’t be a problem for individual parents to solve and represents a significant failure of our social-safety net.

Parents of special-needs children who require high-levels of support should be eligible for being paid by the government as caregivers. It is effectively a full-time job and should be treated as such. For instance, sleep irregularities are very common for people like our daughter. It is not unusual for one or both of us to be up all night with her. Similarly, my daughter is often sent home from school early, and without warning, because she is melting down and harming herself or staff. Even with my wife working, it often takes both of us to make sure we have adequate and safe coverage for our other children.

As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, I hope the organization will address the situation of families like ours more specifically, and, in turn, force the broader Democratic Party to do so as well, creating a large enough coalition to enact change. I am far from an expert

Accessing our meager, existing social-safety net is a labyrinthine, esoteric process, so much so it is hard to avoid the conclusion the system was designed that way on purpose. In my understanding, some states

allow parents of special-needs children to be paid as caregivers, but this is far from universal. For example, the Democratic-controlled state where we live, Connecticut, did not allow this until recently, and I have not figured out yet whether we qualify for the program. Again, it’s difficult for me to envision how families in less enviable financial circumstances, in other states, can make this work. Paying parents of special-needs children who require full-time support would, among other things, help these mothers and fathers save money for their kids’ long-term care. Ultimately, though, expecting such parents to try and cobble together a small fortune to keep their children out of an institutional setting is deeply unfair and unrealistic. Most people with different abilities, who are capable of speech, prefer living in their homes to being forced into segregated, restrictive, and often underfunded group facilities. Why should we assume those who can’t talk would want or should expect anything different? “State investments in home- and community-based services often result in short-term spending increases, but over time lead to long-term cost savings and a reduction in institutional spending, according to research from Brandeis University’s Community Living Policy Center,” according to Anna Claire Vollers writing in Stateline. “The national shift to community-based services has been overwhelmingly popular. About 82% of people who receive community-based services prefer to live at home rather than in an institution, according to the most recent survey by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.” What the parents of the Fathering Autism YouTube channel want for their daughter is not unreasonable and should be freely available to everyone who needs it. My wife and I are comparatively well off and yet how we will pay for the long-term care of our child is a constant — and at times crushing — source of anxiety for me. It’s simply not something most parents can plan for. A just society would care for its vulnerable members and not punish them for their inability to compete on the capitalist market. ♦ Editor’s note: Jon Hochschartner lives in Connecticut. He is the author of several books, including The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front. Visit his blog at SlaughterFreeAmerica.Substack.com.

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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GREGORY ALLICAR Presents AfroBohemian Home:

MUSEUM OF ART An Installation by Zsudayka Nzinga Immersive installation transforms the museum into a living archive of Black American life generations through the objects we make, the traditions we keep, and the lives we live. Drawing from cultural anthropology, historical research, and her own family history, Nzinga explores Black aesthetics, radical selfcare, resilience, and the everyday rituals that have sustained Black communities across generations. Throughout the exhibition, visitors are invited to consider larger questions: How did we get here? What traditions, memories, and survival practices shaped these interiors? How do the objects we inherit carry the stories of those who came before us? And where are we going from here?

Zsudayka Nzinga

he Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at Colorado State University is proud to present AfroBohemian Home: An Installation by Zsudayka Nzinga, curated by Louise Cutler. Opening September 2, 2026, the exhibition transforms the museum gallery into a living archive of Black American life—a richly layered domestic environment where history, memory, family, beauty, and cultural identity converge. 26

Through handcrafted furniture, paintings, textiles, books, photographs, and personal artifacts, multidisciplinary artist Zsudayka Nzinga constructs an immersive home that invites visitors to experience the Black domestic interior as a place of memory, scholarship, creativity, and cultural preservation. More than recreating a home, the installation reveals how ordinary spaces become extraordinary repositories of history, carrying the stories of

At the heart of AfroBohemian Home is the belief that the Black home is far more than a physical structure. It is a sanctuary, a classroom, a place of celebration, mourning, creativity, faith, resistance, and belonging. It is where generations preserve family histories, pass down traditions, cultivate beauty, and create spaces of refuge in response to the ever-present realities of history. In Nzinga’s hands, the home becomes a cultural archive—one built not through official records alone, but through furniture, photographs, books, textiles, heirlooms, music, color, craftsmanship, and everyday acts of care. Created through an extensive process of listening, research, experimentation, and making, the installation incorporates hand-dyed

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

textiles, custom-built furniture, mixedmedia paintings, decorative papers, photography, and screen-printed imagery. Nzinga’s studio practice is deeply informed by history, literature, podcasts, lectures, and cultural research. She hand-dyes fabrics using traditional Muck Dye techniques before layering wax-resist printing, marbling, screen printing, and collage to construct visual narratives that explore both historical trauma and enduring joy. Florals, cotton, agricultural imagery, and domestic objects become symbols that connect past and present, revealing the persistence of memory across generations. Central to the installation is the collaboration between Nzinga and her daughter, Satra Terrell, a multidisciplinary artist working in animation, painting, photography, furniture building, and upholstery. Together they handcrafted many of the exhibition’s furnishings, including custom-built furniture and reupholstered seating. Their collaboration reflects one of the exhibition’s central themes: the passing of artistic knowledge, craftsmanship, and cultural memory from one generation to the next. The exhibition also features an interpretive gallery that provides visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at Nzinga’s artistic practice. A time-lapse video documents the transformation of the gallery into AfroBohemian Home, while displays of studio tools, textile samples, sketches, research materials, historical references, and process artifacts reveal the scholarship and craftsmanship behind the installation. Rather than functioning as supplemental material, this space invites visitors into the artist’s studio and shows how research, memory, making, and storytelling come together to create the finished work. Curator Louise Cutler describes the exhibition as “a living archive of Black American life.” “AfroBohemian Home is more than an art installation—it is a living archive of Black American life. Every chair, every textile, every photograph, every book, and every handcrafted object carry

memory. Together they tell stories of beauty, resilience, creativity, family, and cultural continuity. Visitors are invited not only to enter a home, but to walk through generations of lived experience and discover how history continues to shape our present.” The exhibition also highlights the role of Black aesthetics as acts of resilience and self-determination. Through fashion, interior design, craftsmanship, color, and everyday rituals of care, Nzinga examines the ways Black communities have continually created beauty and affirmed identity despite historical and contemporary challenges. Her work offers a powerful reflection on the home as both a site of personal memory and a space where cultural knowledge is continually preserved, reimagined, and shared. As part of the exhibition, visitors are invited to attend an Opening Reception and Artist Talk on September 2, 2026, where Nzinga will discuss her artistic practice, research, and the creation of AfroBohemian Home. Additional lectures, gallery tours, and educational programs with Colorado State University students and faculty will take place throughout the exhibition.

About the Artist: Zsudayka Nzinga is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and educator whose work explores Black American history, cultural memory, anthropology, and identity through painting, textiles, installation, and mixed media. Combining historical research with innovative material processes, her work investigates how beauty, family, labor, and selfdetermination have shaped Black American life. Her installations and mixed-media works have been exhibited nationally and are recognized for their integration of scholarship, craftsmanship, and visual storytelling.

About the Curator: Louise Cutler is an independent curator, multidisciplinary artist, and founder of Louise Cutler Studio. Her curatorial practice centers on creating exhibitions that amplify historically underrepresented voices, foster meaningful cultural dialogue, and connect communities through contemporary art. Through immersive exhibitions and collaborative programming, she seeks to create spaces where art becomes a catalyst for education, reflection, and lasting community engagement. ♦

AfroBohemian Home reminds us that museums are not the only places where history is preserved. Homes are archives. Families are archives. The objects we keep, the stories we tell, the beauty we create, and the traditions we pass from one generation to the next all become part of a living cultural record. Through this extraordinary installation, Zsudayka Nzinga invites us to see the Black home as one of America’s most enduring and powerful archives of memory, resilience, creativity, and cultural identity.

Exhibition Information: AfroBohemian Home: An Installation by Zsudayka Nzinga Curated by Louise Cutler Exhibition Dates: September 2 – December 13, 2026 Opening Reception & Artist Talk: September 2, 2026

Location: Gregory Allicar Museum of Art Colorado State University 1400 Remington Street Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 Admission is free and open to the public. Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

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COVER TO COVER Publisher’s note: At a time when books are being challenged and banned in schools, libraries and communities across the country, the importance of telling our stories—and preserving our history—has never been greater. For nearly four decades, Denver Urban Spectrum has understood the power of the written word to inform, educate, inspire and document the experiences of diverse communities and cultures. Books share that same important responsibility. They preserve voices, introduce us to experiences beyond our own and ensure that the stories of our communities are not forgotten, diminished or erased. This month, we are once again pleased to present Cover to Cover, our book section highlighting the works and stories of four authors whose voices contribute to that rich literary landscape. We invite you to discover their books, learn more about the stories behind them and support the authors who continue to put our experiences, histories and imaginations on the page. And we hope this is only the beginning. Denver Urban Spectrum looks forward to welcoming these authors to Denver for future Cover to Cover book signings and conversations, bringing writers and readers together to celebrate the stories that deserve to be read, shared and remembered.

Just One Wish – Wonders from Ghana’s Volta River

Ada, Ghana – The Nekotech Center of Excellence announces the release of “Just One Wish,” the enchanting first installment in the “Wonders from Ghana’s Volta River” children’s book series. Written by the dynamic motherdaughter duo, Princess Asie Kabuki Ocansey and Olufunmilola Serwa Babalola, and beautifully illustrated by Nils Kwasi Britwum, this story invites young readers on a vibrant journey into the heart of Ghanaian culture. Set along the shimmering Volta River in Ada, Ghana, “Just One Wish” tells the story of the river’s most beautiful—and saddest—fish. Adorned with glittering scales of gold, red, purple, blue, and silver, the fish is admired by all but remains lonely, singing the same wishful song day and night. When the bold and noisy Frefrifrog steps forward to uncover the mystery behind her wish, the river community learns about loneliness, hope, and the power of caring for one another. The story gently introduces themes of prayer, resilience, and the importance of connection, all woven with authentic Ghanaian language and traditions.

The Legend of Wyatt Outlaw: From Reconstruction through Black Lives Matter Uncovering the History of a Racist Murder to Set Right the Future

Allen and Boggs both sought to discover why Outlaw had been erased from mainstream history books. In The Legend of Wyatt Outlaw, they share what they found in artful detail and connect Outlaw’s story to the violence against Black people in Alamance and throughout the United States, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow, the civil rights era, and Black Lives Matter. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and their own personal stories, Allen and Boggs join the conversation begun by historian Peniel Joseph and activist William Barber II about a third Reconstruction in America, but they also offer ways to move forward for any community struggling with a history of racism.

About the Authors Sylvester Allen Jr. is a writer, composer, and director based in Graham, North Carolina. Belle Boggs is professor of English at North Carolina State University, and author of several books, including The Gulf and The Art of Waiting: On Fertility, Medicine, and Motherhood.

Running with Lions: The Doctor Who Chased Knowledge Across Continents

About the Authors

Princess Asie Kabuki Ocansey is a world-renowned theologian, engineer, author, White House Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and UN Women’s Leadership award winner. Motivated by the lack of African children’s storybooks when her daughter was born in the USA, Princess Ocansey began crafting her own tales, blending rich cultural heritage with universal values.

Both authors are American-trained engineers of royal African heritage, dedicated to igniting the spirit of ancient African fireside storytelling for a new generation.

Experience the magic of Ghana’s Volta River—where every child’s wish matters.

A Heartwarming Tale of Courage, Community, and Culture

Just One Wish – Wonders from Ghana’s Volta River: ISBN: 978-99883-9851-4 I. Published by Nekotech Center of Excellence. To order or for inquiries: info@nekotechcenter. org. For more information, visit www. wondersfromghana.com or contact info@wondersfromghana.com.

She continues to share culturally and spiritually enriching narratives through her writing and music.

Alamance County without knowing Outlaw’s importance.

Olufunmilola (Funmi) Serwa Babalola, also known as Ara Ẹni, is a Senior Software Engineer and emerging artist. Of both Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage, Funmi grew up co-creating stories and songs with her mother, nurturing a passion for storytelling that bridges cultures and generations.

The Legend of Wyatt Outlaw: From Reconstruction through Black Lives Matter: ISBN 9781469689999 | 296 Pages; A Ferris and Ferris Book published by The University of North Carolina Press A Ferris and Ferris Book, January 27, 2026 Wyatt Outlaw’s story was one of Black success: He was a Union League leader, business owner, and the first Black town constable and commissioner in Graham, a small town located in North Carolina’s Alamance County. But in 1870, Outlaw was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, setting off a dramatic series of events: more lynchings, a Republican-led “war” against the Klan, and a white supremacist crackdown on Black political power that continues today. As a child, Black activist, musician, and Graham native Sylvester Allen frequently passed the site where Outlaw was killed without ever learning his name. Belle Boggs, white and also from the South, taught high school in

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

Running with Lions, ISBN-13 (Paperback): 979-8897470716; ISBN-13 (Hardcover): 979-8897470730 – 224 Pages, Koehler Books, July 14, 2026 Before he became a thoracic surgeon in Denver, Dr. Pius Kamau was a boy in colonial Kenya chasing knowledge like his life depended on it—because it did. In ‘Running with Lions’, he retraces the perilous, breathtaking journey that carried him from Mau Mauera villages to European lecture halls and, eventually, to the operating rooms of Colorado. His journey is proof that education is both power and freedom. And his life is a reminder that resilience is truly a lifeline.

A review by Vera Idam, Publisher, Afrik Digest Editor’s note: This story was produced in part with the Colorado News Collaborative, a coalition that includes journalists from nearly 200 newsrooms — print, online, radio and television, for profit and nonprofit.

When I sat down with Dr. Pius Kamau, Denver’s own Kenyanborn thoracic surgeon and longtime newspaper contributor, I quickly realized that his story isn’t just about medicine; it’s about survival, courage, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge. His newly released memoir, Running with Lions, roars with the same energy that shaped his life: the hunger to learn, to rise, and to belong. Dr. Kamau told me there was never a single lightningbolt moment that pushed him to write his memoir. Instead, it was a slow burn—a progression of reflections gathered over decades. “I had been drafting different versions for more than twenty years,” he said. “When COVID came, I finally had the time to clean up my manuscript and get professional help.” The pandemic’s stillness gave him space to revisit the journey that began in colonial Kenya, where education was both a dream and a weapon against poverty and oppression. Asked what his single “burning truth” was, he said it was education as liberation. Growing up under British rule, Kamau saw firsthand how knowledge separated the colonizers from the colonized. “Poverty equals ignorance,” he told me. “Education equals enlightenment.” His memoir traces that pursuit—from a boy determined to learn, to a man who walked to Sudan seeking schooling, to a student who earned a scholarship in Nairobi and later studied medicine in Spain. Each chapter is a testament to resilience and the belief that learning could rewrite destiny. But Running with Lions isn’t just about books and classrooms. It’s about grit. Kamau recounts surviving a horrific car accident that left him severely burned and nearly ended his dream of becoming a surgeon. “It was painful to write about,” he admitted. “I watched my hand contract, and I thought my dream was over.” Yet, a compassionate English plastic surgeon restored not only his hand but his hope. “He told me, ‘Your hand will do what your mind tells it to do.’ That changed everything.”

The memoir’s title captures the spirit of his life: facing danger headon, whether it was a literal leopard in the forest or the metaphorical lions of colonialism, racism, and hardship. Kamau’s journey from a dirtpoor Kenyan village to a respected physician in Denver is a story of endurance and transformation. “I want readers, especially African immigrants, to know there’s always hope,” he said. “Work hard, stay honest, and never give up. Find your fertile ground and grow.” In revisiting his past, Kamau says he’s learned to appreciate himself more. “I like myself better now,” he smiled. “I understand why I do the things I do.” His memoir is both a recollection and a mirror reflecting the power of resilience, intellect, and belonging. Running with Lions reminds us that courage knows no color, and education, whether pursued in Kenya, Spain, or America, remains the most powerful roar of all.

About the Authors Pius K. Kamau, MD, thoracic surgeon and author, has written for HuffPost, Denver’s Dailies, and the Denver Gazette. He’s been published in NPR’s This I Believe, Marlo Thomas’s The Right Word at the Right Time, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book, and Medical Business. He also penned the mystery novel Doctor’s Date with Death. Kamau established African America Higher Education Partnership (AAHEP), a nonprofit that helps African women scientists to pursue graduate degrees in the US, and is the host of Never Again, the podcast of the Coalition Against Global Genocide and co-host of Roots and Futures, podcast of Metro State University of Denver’s Africana Studies.

The Prince of Brown: Finding Strength in the Story of Survival

In The Prince of Brown: A Fictional Memoir, author Arthur L. Jenkins introduces readers to Denzel Davis, a young Black queer man whose journey through the 1990s and early 2000s unfolds against a backdrop of family trauma, mental health struggles, homelessness, educational barriers and an ongoing search for identity and belonging. Published by Atmosphere Press in April, the 372-page debut novel blends fiction with the intimacy suggested by its “fictional memoir” designation, following Denzel through experiences that range from academia and incarceration to the ballroom scene and eventual self-reinvention.

A Story Rooted in Place Philadelphia is more than a backdrop to Denzel’s story. Jenkins, a Philadelphia native who grew up in the city’s Germantown neighborhood, places the city at the emotional and cultural center of the novel. Its neighborhoods, schools, streets and communities help shape Denzel and his understanding of the world around him. But his journey does not remain there.

One man’s journey through identity, trauma and self-discovery while exploring what it means to find dignity in one’s differences The Prince of Brown: A Fictional Memoir by Arthur L. Jenkins, Atmosphere Press, ISBN: 979-8-90174-116-0 I 372 pages, Paperback | $19.95 Some stories are about finding your place in the world. Others are about

surviving long enough to create one of your own.

The story moves through Brooklyn, New York; Newark, Delaware; and Los Angeles, California, tracing how migration, opportunity and circumstance can reshape a life while never completely severing the connection to home. Continued on Page 30

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Continued From Page 29

Through those changing environments, Denzel confronts the complicated experience of being both invisible and highly visible as a Black queer man—searching for acceptance while navigating spaces where race, sexuality and class influence how he is seen and how he sees himself.

From Trauma to Reinvention At the center of The Prince of Brown is a story about survival. Denzel carries not only his own experiences but the weight of generations before him. Family secrets and ancestral trauma intersect with fractured relationships, periods of homelessness, mental illness and struggles to find stability and selfworth. Yet Jenkins’ story is not presented solely through the lens of hardship. As Denzel moves through different chapters of his life, the narrative turns toward healing, artistry and reinvention. The experiences that once threatened to define him ultimately become part of a larger process of understanding

Jazz by Yaz

who he is and deciding who he wants to become. That transformation gives the novel’s title its deeper meaning. The “Prince of Brown” becomes more than a name. It represents Denzel’s reclamation of his own story—a declaration that the circumstances through which a person travels do not have to determine the value of the person who emerges from them.

Personal Story, Broader Conversations Although Denzel’s journey is fictional, the issues surrounding him are very real. Mental health, educational inequity, housing insecurity, family instability and the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth remain part of national conversations about how communities support people living at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities. Jenkins places those issues inside one man’s life rather than treating them simply as social problems. The result is a story that asks readers to consider what resilience

looks like when survival itself requires continual reinvention—and what can happen when someone who has spent years searching for acceptance ultimately begins finding it within himself.

About the Author Jenkins brings a background in both mental health and creative writing to his debut novel. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Widener University and a Master of Science in clinical mental health counseling from Gwynedd

Straight-ahead jazz on alto and tenor sax for events and recordings. www.riverstonejazz.com yasuo@riverstonejazz.com

| Denver Urban Spectrum - www.denverurbanspectrum.com - September 2026

Mercy University. He also earned an academic creative writing certificate from Community College of Philadelphia, where he was a multiple winner of the Judith Stark Writing Contest. Those intersecting interests—psychology, mental health and storytelling—provide an interesting foundation for a novel so deeply concerned with identity, emotional struggle and the human capacity to endure. With The Prince of Brown, Jenkins introduces readers to a character shaped by suffering but not confined by it. Denzel’s journey ultimately moves toward something larger than survival: the right to define himself, embrace his differences and claim ownership of the story that brought him there. ♦

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