DENVER — Historical past Colorado is spearheading a state-wide survey of Inexperienced Ebook websites with hopes of nominating a number of of the locations to the State and Nationwide Registers of Historic Locations.

The Inexperienced Ebook was important for a lot of Black People who lived within the period of segregation. It served as a journey information and included accommodations, eating places, grocery shops, fuel stations and different locations the place Black individuals might really feel protected visiting. These locations had been then known as Inexperienced Ebook websites. The books had been revealed by way of 1967 and can be found on-line right here.

In December, the Nationwide Park Service (NPS) introduced greater than $1 million in Underrepresented Neighborhood Grants for tasks throughout the nation, together with in Colorado. Of that whole, Historical past Colorado’s State Historic Preservation Workplace (SHPO) was awarded $74,998 for a statewide Black American journey assets intensive survey, or a survey of Inexperienced Ebook websites within the state.

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SHPO is now main the cost to host group conferences and accumulate tales of journey from Black People to refine an inventory of 40 Inexperienced Ebook websites. It is going to nominate not less than three of these websites to the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations.

As of 2020, 8% of areas on the Nationwide Register represented communities of shade or ladies. In Colorado, that dropped to solely 5% of properties, based on Historical past Colorado.

The primary of SHPO’s group conferences is about for Oct. 24 from 4:30-6 p.m. on the Fort Warren Library in Denver. A second assembly is scheduled for Nov. 1 from 5-6:30 p.m. on the Penrose Library in Colorado Springs. A remaining assembly will probably be deliberate for someday in early November in Pueblo. The conferences will probably be a protected area for individuals to share their experiences.

Terri Gentry, Historical past Colorado’s engagement supervisor for Black communities, stated it’s essential for individuals to attend these conferences.

“A lot of this historical past has been invisible or discounted or dismissed and solely maintained by phrase of mouth or within the reminiscence of elders,” she stated. “Coming collectively like this enables us to recollect and protect our previous whereas additionally declaring that our historical past issues and deserves to be a part of the nationwide document.”

These conferences come within the wake of an preliminary survey plan, which was accomplished utilizing a State Historic Funds grant, stated Patrick Eidman, Historical past Colorado’s chief preservation officer and deputy state historic preservation officer.

The group conferences will “take us a lot deeper into learning particular person websites throughout the state of Colorado,” he stated.

“I believe this undertaking particularly — it is actually essential to speak to folks that skilled this historical past as a result of we’re not speaking, you realize, tons of of years in the past. This was fairly latest,” he stated.

Gentry stated there are a variety of issues that occurred to Black folks that solely their group is aware of about. These tales had been handed alongside by way of oral histories earlier than individuals handed away.

“We nonetheless have some of us which have had precise experiences,” she stated. “And I believe it must be positioned within the platform that discusses American historical past. It is not Black historical past — it is American historical past. So we have to have a look at all of those a number of views on experiences and what’s transpired since the USA turned the USA.”

Eidman stated it’s critical for Colorado’s stock of historic locations to raised characterize Coloradans whose histories had been marginalized, obscured, or erased, particularly as a result of the overwhelming majority of properties marketed within the Inexperienced Ebook have been misplaced or demolished.

“This undertaking is an unimaginable manner for us to make headway into equitable illustration in our State and Nationwide Registers of Historic Locations whereas additionally exploring how African People tailored and persevered regardless of widespread racism and racially motivated violence,” Eidman stated.

This Inexperienced Ebook websites undertaking may even contribute to Historical past Colorado’s Colorado Heritage for All Program, which goals so as to add historic designations to 150 unrecognized historic assets that inform the tales of marginalized communities by the top of 2026, based on Historical past Colorado.

The work is funded by an Underrepresented Neighborhood Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the NPS. It is the third time Historical past Colorado has acquired this grant.

Since 2014, NPS’ Historic Preservation Fund has awarded $5.75 million by way of the Underrepresented Communities Grants program to diversify the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations by way of surveys and nominations, based on NPS.