DUS x KGNU Metro - May 2024

[00:00:00] Support comes from Community Food Share, a food bank fighting hunger in Boulder and

[00:00:04] Broomfield counties by providing food directly to families, seniors, students and others.

[00:00:09] More information can be found at communityfoodshare.org.

[00:00:15] Support comes from Tangerine restaurants with locations in North Boulder, Old Town Lafayette

[00:00:19] and Downtown Longmont, providing traditional morning fare and lunch with Mediterranean

[00:00:23] and Tex-Mex twists as well as espresso coffee drinks. More information and menus can be

[00:00:28] found at tangerineeats.com. Hello KG and new listeners and welcome to Expanding The Narrative

[00:00:47] on Metro, a show by Denver Urban Spectrum that amplifies the voices and stories of the community.

[00:00:52] I'm your host, Brittany Winkfield. Whether you're tuning in for the first time or

[00:00:57] you're a loyal listener, thank you for being a part of this important conversation.

[00:01:02] We're on a mission to tell stories of underrepresented groups within Colorado.

[00:01:06] Our focus celebrates diversity on a multimedia platform known as Denver Urban Spectrum.

[00:01:12] Here to tell us about the May issue is managing editor Ruby Jones.

[00:01:18] Hello, hello this is Ruby Jones. As we transition further into spring and closer to summer,

[00:01:23] the May issue of Denver Urban Spectrum is filled with informative and inspirational stories

[00:01:29] about important people and events happening around the Denver Metro area

[00:01:33] and throughout the country. This month we recognize Asian American,

[00:01:37] Native American and other Pacific Islanders Heritage Month as well as the day of awareness

[00:01:42] for missing and murdered Indigenous people on May 5th. Diversity is an integral part of our

[00:01:47] community reporting and we've highlighted the unique challenges and experiences of people from

[00:01:52] all walks of life. We also pay tribute to mothers this month in a celebration

[00:01:56] of mothers throughout Colorado communities. Our cover story this month is about John

[00:02:01] Bookhart, an attorney who has assisted in the development of some of the city's impressive

[00:02:06] public facilities. In addition to mothering the community for decades, Ms. Bookhart serves on

[00:02:11] the board of several community organizations contributing her financial and legal expertise

[00:02:16] to the enrichment of science and cultural arts programs. Later in the show you'll have an

[00:02:21] opportunity to hear an excerpt from my conversation with Ms. Bookhart in the most recent episode

[00:02:26] of Spectrum Talk with Ruby. Another mother we're recognizing this month is 103-year-old

[00:02:31] William A. Brown, a Denver-based centenarian. There are several exciting programs taking place

[00:02:37] in May such as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance's Spring Concert which Harold's mother's day

[00:02:42] and celebrates landmark progress made toward the renovation of the historic dance facility.

[00:02:47] The iconic choreographer and founder of the internationally renowned dance company

[00:02:52] Cleo Parker Robinson herself will also participate in a conversation event held by the Black Resilience

[00:02:58] and Colorado Fund which will discuss the legacy of five black ballerinas in Harlem,

[00:03:03] highlighted in the book The Swans of Harlem. Robinson will be joined by Carlia Shelton-Benchman

[00:03:09] educating the community about artistic expression throughout history. Another book being

[00:03:14] highlighted this month is Wesley Learns About Real Estate, the latest in the Wesley Learns

[00:03:18] series that provides financial literacy lessons for children. Authored by local financial analyst

[00:03:24] Prince Dites, Wesley Learns About Real Estate is a collaborative effort with former Denver

[00:03:28] Broncos Hall of Famer, Terrell Davis and his children highlighted in the important lessons.

[00:03:34] The May issue of Denver Urban Spectrum is filled with information and education

[00:03:38] with letters about health legislation, racial equity legislation and sports including coverage

[00:03:44] of Chauncey Billups' journey from Denver to the NBA Hall of Fame. Stay tuned for more.

[00:04:14] I never chased stats and cared if I got 20 points, 15 assists. I just wanted to make sure my team won

[00:04:25] and our best players looked like they were the best players and to get an honor like this is

[00:04:31] incredible you know without having to chase those stats and things like that so that's what

[00:04:36] I'm really most proud of you know everything I ever accomplished in the sport whether it was

[00:04:42] making it to the NBA or making being an all-star or being a champion and now this I did it the right

[00:04:49] way you know and for the right reasons. Among the people that you've been able to share this with

[00:04:54] and I know for the most part you keep it pretty quiet until this morning what's been the most

[00:04:58] meaningful conversation or most meaningful moment that you've been able to share about this?

[00:05:03] Yeah I think to be honest with you um with my parents you know we talk about the sacrifices

[00:05:09] that were made along the way. My parents are at the top of that list and in my wife to be honest

[00:05:16] with you we've been together since 17 years old she had to make a lot of sacrifices as well

[00:05:22] you know my daughters, my kids you miss so many things along the way trying to chase this

[00:05:28] dream and chase this thing so just talking to them and having those conversations it just

[00:05:35] makes it all it's made it all worth it you know. And well deserved Chauncey congratulations

[00:05:40] Chauncey Phillips a member of this 2024 Hall of Fame class for the Naysmith Memorial Basketball

[00:05:46] Hall of Fame. Prince Dykes is the president of the Global Children Financial Literacy Foundation

[00:05:52] and he is making it his mission to prepare America's future leaders for lives full of

[00:05:57] financial success. Here's Prince Dykes on the purpose behind creating three different books

[00:06:03] with hopes that each one will help educate young people. I wrote this and wrote the first book in my

[00:06:09] basement but I started with a YouTube channel my son his name is Wesley so that's where you get to

[00:06:14] start the storyline of Wesley learns and things like that but um you know me being originally from

[00:06:20] Georgia so I went back to my hometown in Georgia uh Burk County Middle School being very supportive

[00:06:24] they actually gave us a day March 16th is Children's Financial Literacy Day we went out to DC to

[00:06:30] Jolof Boys and Girls Club the Boys and Girls Club here we also did the Community Financial Literacy

[00:06:36] Night at Mission Valle in elementary school hopefully I didn't butcher the school name but uh

[00:06:43] thanks to you know Prince the principal Andre and Charles who put that together

[00:06:47] but just we just went around and just started from place to place to place and

[00:06:51] now I don't know it's probably like seven Boys and Girls Clubs here in Denver

[00:06:55] schools down in Georgia and schools out in the Maryland area and the Virginia area.

[00:07:00] Hall of Fame running back to Terrell Davis launching the book Wesley learns about real estate at the

[00:07:07] Broncos Boys and Girls Club of course real estate is what he chewed up a lot of is a Hall of Fame

[00:07:13] career with the Denver Broncos unfolded. It's a really easy read man it's really fun for kids

[00:07:18] to get involved and learn about finances what we know is that listen everybody can't be a

[00:07:23] NFL player you can't be a you know a singer or whatever but I think we all could go pro in money

[00:07:30] and I think that's what we're trying to teach them right like when you get money here's how you

[00:07:33] invest here's how you balance you you know you look at your money here's how you budget here's

[00:07:38] how you save all those things and um all these these crucial sort of lessons and skills that

[00:07:44] we're trying to teach in this book would serve these children when they grow up and be adults.

[00:07:49] Listen to the investor show with Prince Dykes on expanding the narrative podcast network at

[00:07:54] Denver urban spectrum dot com. Don Buchhart grew up in Denver and started practicing law after

[00:08:01] graduating from the University of Denver. She's a distinguished attorney at Butler Snow LLP

[00:08:07] a law firm that provides a full range of business and litigation services to international

[00:08:12] clients. She is part of the public finance tax incentives and credit markets group and her

[00:08:19] influence is seen throughout Colorado communities. For years Ms. Buchhart has represented businesses

[00:08:25] and municipalities negotiating deals that have elevated several public facilities throughout the

[00:08:31] city of Denver. She also sits on the executive board of multiple nonprofit organizations and

[00:08:37] foundations such as the Metropolitan State University of Denver Foundation where she

[00:08:42] recently donated one million dollars to support the speech language and hearing sciences program.

[00:08:49] Having overcome personal challenges Ms. Buchhart continues to press forward as an influential

[00:08:55] well-respected professional. Here's a clip from my conversation with Ms. Buchhart.

[00:09:01] I used to love to play golf um I had I acquired a terrible disease in 2015 called

[00:09:09] acanthamema which destroyed my eyesight. I've had 17 eye surgeries to try to fix it

[00:09:17] but you know I do like to walk around with my dark glasses because they do look cool.

[00:09:22] They do?

[00:09:25] But it has been a really interesting road. I went golfing um I just wanted to go out and see if

[00:09:35] I could hit a ball or two and King Harris has a off tournament through the F-worth Foundation

[00:09:41] every year in August I think it is and so I went and he said you got hit a ball this year and I said

[00:09:47] I'm going to try King but I was nervous and I didn't know if I could connect with the ball.

[00:09:53] I didn't know if I you know I had tried a couple years ago to swing and it didn't work so well

[00:09:58] so uh very interesting story and this is how golf works I think so I'm riding around a friend

[00:10:05] of mine uh Robbie Jones flew in from Houston she said I'll catty you you can do this so she

[00:10:13] cattyed me and she was driving the cart and we were waiting in line to hit a ball and um

[00:10:20] the golf marshal was sitting there in his little golf cart and he said so what are you ladies up

[00:10:26] to and I said well I'm just out here today trying to see if I can hit a ball but I'm

[00:10:32] really scared I lost my vision and I don't know and he said well how blind are you and I said well

[00:10:39] I'm before and I said that means and he said I know what before is he said I was an occupational

[00:10:46] therapist for blind veterans oh my gosh and he taught them all how to golf blind wow I was like

[00:10:55] what and so he told us where to go and um supplied some tips and I started hitting those balls and I

[00:11:05] was actually connecting and I said wow I can do this you know if I have a caddy I can do this

[00:11:13] you know you need a caddy to say you know to sort of show you how to address the ball and to

[00:11:18] help you get the right club and to get you positioned but other than that I mean I said I can play this

[00:11:25] game I can't see where the ball goes but I can hear it that's good wow well I'm sorry about your

[00:11:34] illnesses and everything that you've gone through but talk about resilience I mean yeah I think

[00:11:39] it's so courageous that you're still so active and that you're willing to get out there and

[00:11:44] try to do the things that you love still and enjoy them absolutely absolutely I think we all have to

[00:11:51] we all have to do that you know we can't be defined by our limitations can we and um once we learn that

[00:12:00] and we kind of grab a hold of that and you know get that inward confidence I think we're set

[00:12:09] how would you advise young people to prepare for a career in finance law and how would you advise them to

[00:12:18] have some of the confidence that you've shown throughout your career and your life

[00:12:22] sure oh boy I've got a lot of advice so the first thing I would say of course keep your grades up

[00:12:30] you know just even if you have to even in high school discipline yourself take that extra

[00:12:38] hour and and you know rather than just hanging out with friends or something do a little extra reading

[00:12:46] to take this take that extra step make that extra mile and make it count do the same thing

[00:12:54] in college and then you can get to law school easily if your college grades are wonderful and

[00:13:01] you're thinking law school is super expensive which it is you know get a scholarship keep your grades

[00:13:07] up and get a scholarship and then when you're ready to start practicing understand and know

[00:13:16] there is not a deal in the world that has ever been done with one person

[00:13:20] hmm there's always at least two so relationships relationships relationships

[00:13:29] build them know your trade you know know your craft be good at what you do but

[00:13:35] always be good to people always be good to people and stay in touch because they're

[00:13:41] they're going to be your lifeline ultimately Asian American native Hawaiian and other Pacific

[00:13:49] Islander designation contains over 50 ethnic groups who speak more than 100 different languages

[00:13:55] representing 75 countries across Asia and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia Micronesia

[00:14:02] and Polynesia there are efforts such as the Colorado Lotus project that uplift the voices

[00:14:08] and experiences of AAN HPI communities here's digital media manager Melavie Melvin talking

[00:14:16] with community member Amy Mai on the challenges and opportunities facing AAN HPI people living in

[00:14:23] Colorado um so I'm original from Thailand refugee camp I came here with my aunt and my cousin back in

[00:14:33] 2017 so it's been seven years almost eight years that I'm here in Colorado and after I came here

[00:14:43] about um two year and a half my mom and my three little sisters follow along it was hard decision for

[00:14:52] me but you know I have to look out for my future if I keep living in the refugee camp I I don't know

[00:14:59] if I would have the you know the strength education that I'm having today um so but yeah

[00:15:07] I love it Colorado here I love I love that here have more a better education than what is offer in

[00:15:14] refugee camp. Mai is in honor for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as a former

[00:15:21] community navigator and of course uh someone who's who left their home to come start a new life here

[00:15:28] um what advice would you give to other you know people other individuals other organizations

[00:15:35] that are seeking to support the Asian American and native Hawaiian Pacific Islander refugees

[00:15:42] and immigrants that are coming and trying to navigate health care or even housing um so my

[00:15:51] advice would be speak up you know stand up for yourself many members are afraid to speak up

[00:15:59] stand up even complain for themselves you know they were just everything they would just knock on

[00:16:06] their head and you know just accept that I can't do this I can't do that you know they they're

[00:16:12] powerful than me even if we say it nothing gonna change those are like just label in their head

[00:16:20] in their mind so I would say like just speak up you know um voice our voice are our powers right

[00:16:28] one voice can't change anything but many voice would change something you know if you come together

[00:16:36] everyone in the community come together and demand it demand to the city demand to the

[00:16:42] you know um to the council something will happen you know they need to change something

[00:16:47] if we come together as the one voice

[00:16:52] Miguel is this situation complicated or easy?

[00:17:06] You don't need to understand Spanish to comprehend the difficult situation people like Miguel and his

[00:17:13] family and what appears to be hundreds if not thousands of Latin American immigrants who have

[00:17:18] made their way to Aurora and hopes of finding a better life Denver Urban Spectrum reporter Laquan

[00:17:26] Smith took to the streets of Aurora's high point neighborhood to examine Miguel's plight

[00:17:33] and other undocumented immigrants facing an uncertain future in a land they hope to call him

[00:17:39] where are you from and why did you come here knowing it would be difficult for your family to survive

[00:17:58] he came from Venezuela because he wants a better quality of life for his family

[00:18:02] the Aurora City Communications director said they have no idea how many new immigrants have

[00:18:07] recently arrived in the area after being bussed to Denver nor does the city have any plan budget

[00:18:14] or ability to try and positively impact the situation how are you earning money and where are

[00:18:21] people sleeping?

[00:18:38] Okay, there are 13 people sleeping in a room he's been working doing odd jobs mainly shoveling snow

[00:18:47] meanwhile people in the suburban neighborhood are having mixed reactions on the sudden

[00:18:52] influx of immigrants and the impact is having on this community

[00:18:57] um kind of on the fence about it I am I'm a little compassionate but at the same time

[00:19:03] I feel like we already have enough of our own people that need help

[00:19:07] you were talking about you know the way that you view the world I ask you how you felt about this

[00:19:11] and you mentioned your politics yeah I'm a Republican and how do you feel about the immigration

[00:19:17] situation here? I don't know don't care for it because it's just illegals illegally crossing

[00:19:25] the border and thousands of them count others are trying to help some residents are doing

[00:19:31] whatever they can to try to assist in the situation passing out food clothes and offering

[00:19:36] to hire people to do odd jobs to help the immigrants obtain the resources they need to survive at

[00:19:42] least for the moment we were out here sharing clothes but that's not the biggest part of it

[00:19:48] we came to see what we could do to make a difference so asking people specific things

[00:19:54] that they may need and why are you doing this? Because if I was in that position

[00:19:59] I'd want a hand up not a handout

[00:20:15] so the people of Aurora have been very cooperative and very helpful and supportive

[00:20:22] the evolving immigration situation in Aurora remains hectic yet hopeful it's a situation

[00:20:28] where cultures and community are trying to find a way to make it work together one day at a time

[00:20:36] for the Denver Urban Spectrum this is the coffee network Rod Coffee and the Kwame Smith reporting

[00:20:46] according to the Justice Department there are at least 4,000 unsolved missing persons cases

[00:20:51] involving people who are Native American and alarmingly indigenous women are 10 times more

[00:20:56] likely to be murdered and women of any other ethnicity making it the leading cause of death

[00:21:03] I think the way that my family looks at you know life death it's a circle and yet for many people

[00:21:12] it might only be half a circle because they haven't been able to complete that process

[00:21:17] I think there is a way for the state to become more involved the way politics runs today

[00:21:25] we are a government within a government we have tribal sovereignty so we get the opportunity to

[00:21:33] go to the table and let them know that you know this is an important part of who we are

[00:21:40] we have our tribal lands and we need your help

[00:21:46] along the walls are the faces and names of dozens of missing and murdered indigenous

[00:21:50] relatives I believe our oldest case that we have on the list is 1979 their stories are what

[00:21:56] drove the missing and murdered indigenous relatives task force to create the office of

[00:21:59] liaison in the department of public safety which aims to solve these cases Donna Christian

[00:22:05] is part of that task force and to continue to do the research to uncover more missing and

[00:22:10] murdered relatives and to support those families to find answers today they're

[00:22:15] celebrating the creation of the new statewide office in most circumstances nothing has been

[00:22:20] done with these cases for 10 years or more Raven payment helped create the legislation she says

[00:22:25] they've identified 55 missing and murdered indigenous relatives in Colorado the state only

[00:22:30] recognizes 17 since contact we have known what it's like to be marginalized and to be missing

[00:22:36] and murdered she says law enforcement in the past has been unprepared when responding to

[00:22:40] these cases Raven says these cases have been ignored this office starting to do this work

[00:22:46] to bring some healing will allow us to not just survive but to actually thrive I don't know

[00:22:52] an indigenous person that hasn't been personally touched by this epidemic and this problem

[00:22:57] Daniel Seawalker is also part of the task force her aunt was murdered last August in Denver

[00:23:02] she is a remembered and loved individual her name was birdie Seawalker and it was my dad's

[00:23:08] she says this new office will help them investigate cold cases as well as identify

[00:23:12] relatives that have gone missing it's really going to have to be a voice in a seat of position

[00:23:16] of power that's going to be able to raise and elevate these issues on a level that hasn't been

[00:23:21] raised before a kente express has served Denver as the premier source of Afrocentric merchandise

[00:23:29] since 1991 the retail store is part of the city's history an ongoing cultural story offering

[00:23:35] authentic African goods and high quality personal care products that cater to the unique needs of

[00:23:41] the community however like many small businesses the challenges of post-covid era inflation and

[00:23:47] decreased sales are threatening to shudder the beloved store located on park avenue west between

[00:23:54] champa street and kurda street on the southern border of the historic five-point district

[00:23:58] a kente express has stood the test of time despite nearby gentrification population increases

[00:24:04] and economic fluctuations the store has been a staple for the black community and the source of

[00:24:10] specialty goods along with imported African artifacts jewelry home goods and accessories

[00:24:15] the business offers signature hair and skincare products beautiful artwork created by black artists

[00:24:21] incense oils holistic herbs and guinean apparel imported directly from the motherland

[00:24:27] in 2020 when businesses around the world were faced with sudden closures due to the

[00:24:32] coronavirus pandemic a kente express was heavily impacted for over 30 years the store's business

[00:24:38] traffic has relied on personal face-to-face interactions the inability to serve regular

[00:24:43] customers for several months was a devastating blow in an attempt to navigate the changed

[00:24:49] economic landscape the business's website was updated to offer online ordering and allow

[00:24:54] loyal customers to purchase their favorite products now four years after the start of

[00:24:59] the pandemic business still hasn't returned to normal despite supply chains finally being restored

[00:25:05] to pre-covid era functionality inflation has affected everyone for small businesses hit hardest

[00:25:11] by the pandemic the effects are detrimental many people are opting to purchase products from

[00:25:16] companies like amazon and big box stores due to convenience and smaller retailers are

[00:25:21] struggling to compete for a kente express the strongest edge over competitors is its

[00:25:27] ability to provide hard-to-find products that meet the needs of black and african americans in

[00:25:32] the mile high city yet without the support of the community the treasured retail space may not

[00:25:38] survive much longer a sales dwindle tax debts are piling up and inventory is low a kente express

[00:25:46] needs your help to overcome the damaging effects of cobit and inflation in addition to

[00:25:50] returning to the store and shopping for your home personal and apparel needs please consider

[00:25:56] a donation to ensure that the special cultural space continues to thrive well into the future

[00:26:03] save the day and join us for a night of comedy spoken word music and dancing at dimford urban

[00:26:10] spectrums anniversary celebration and brazil and b harris's retirement party on october 19th

[00:26:16] featuring national recording artist such a portion of the proceeds will be donated

[00:26:24] to the ruth void elder abuse foundation the dimford urban spectrum is more than a newspaper

[00:26:30] it's a community institution we invite you to join us as we honor the legacy of this

[00:26:35] influential publication and the community it serves please visit dimford urban spectrum

[00:26:41] dot com for more information and subscribe to our newsletter be sure to check out upcoming

[00:26:48] events on dimford urban spectrum dot com and add yours for free i'm britney winkfield

[00:26:54] thanks for listening until next time stream this episode on kgnu dot org and dimford urban

[00:27:00] spectrum dot com slash podcast