The Black Panther Party (BPP) in the 1960’s is known by many, but not always in a positive way. They are / were seen as a violent terrorist group that was feared by many people in the white community. However, their intentions and actions are rarely spoken about truthfully.
Read MoreGrowing up in North Denver, I have watched gentrification blossom over the past years. Gentrification is when the character of a poor urban area is altered by more affluent people moving in. This changes all aspects of this neighborhood and makes it new. An example of this is changing the Northside to the “Highlands.” The problem with gentrification is that it usually results in the absolute uprooting of a community and a people.
Read MoreWarning: This article contains mentions of torture, death, sexual misconduct, and abuse. Please read at your own discretion.
Hocus Pocus. Double, double toil and trouble. Abracadabra. Expeliarmus. Bippity Boppity Boo. I’m sure you’ve all heard one or more of these phrases before. The above phrases are in connection to witchcraft and sorcery seen in different forms of media including books, movies, television, and entertainment industries. What are now known as common, everyday phrases that are populated throughout the year, primarily in the time of Halloween, the origins of these phrases all lead to the Holy Bible.
Read MoreThis photo is of a place called Old Saint Charles in Missouri. It is a historic area where the city is preserving the old value it has. Although it is just one photo, it is significant to me, because what you are seeing was built by African Americans in the early 20th century. Today, the area is surrounded by wealthy, white people. This is a common trend we see today where African Americans built areas but are taken over by the white majority. Many beautiful things we create are taken from the original creators, and others are given the credit. I want people to be more aware of accurate history and not marginalize certain stories.
Read MoreYear after year, the American Revolution dazzles young elementary schoolers with stories of heroic battles and paintings of the Founding Fathers’ voluptuous wigs. However, no unit is complete without a segment about the famed Liberty Bell, the symbol of resounding freedom and everlasting justice.
Except…it’s not.
What the Liberty Bell really represents is an agglomeration of poor engineering, shoddy attempts at repairs, and a hardworking public relations team that has manipulated the narrative for over two hundred years.
Its functional failures started at the beginning of its inception in 1751. The Pennsylvania Assembly commissioned a bell for the Pennsylvania State House, but the bell cracked upon its first test ring, causing it to be melted down and reformed into a new one. While theoretically more functional than its predecessor, the overwhelming criticism surrounding the sound of the new bell forced it to be recast again.
With the sound fixed, the new leaders of the Liberty Bell Public Relations Team (unknowingly or not), gathered a multitude of fictionalized stories about the important role the Liberty Bell played during the American Revolution. The most famous story is that the bell rang to signal the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, although this was a fictionalized tale written by George Lippard. In 1846, the bell attempted to leave another mark on history by ringing on George Washington’s birthday, only to promptly crack irreparably forever. An attempt to repair the bill using a technique called “stop drilling” ended up creating a new, larger crack that further marred an already damaged surface.
Yet even so, the bell served as a symbol for both the Abolitionists and Women’s Suffrage movement. What better way to imprint something into the American consciousness than making it a mascot? For the Liberty Bell enthusiasts, this was certainly a win. Their poorly-engineered, faulty, non-functional shoddy excuse of a bell had ingrained itself into American history textbooks everywhere.
Now, the bell resides in the National Historical Park of Pennsylvania, smugly basking in the attention it receives from gullible tourists and visitors, who fail to realize what it truly is: a hunk of scrap metal.
From a small mining town to a cultural and economic stronghold of the United States, Denver’s ever-changing landscape reflects the shift in its role as a city throughout history. Below are historical photos of Denver from the late 1800s and early 1900s and photos of the same location in 2022. These photos are separated not by space, but time. This is the making of a city.
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