Published February 2010 Vol. 13 Issue 1
On the north eastern plains of Colorado, just off State Highway 34, a small ghost town surrounded by sage and dry soil sits like a dilapidated signpost of African American heritage in the West. The town of Dearfield, founded in 1910, was one of several black settlements in Colorado established so African Americans might have a place of their own, free from persecution, in the U.S.
Denver’s 10-year plan has accomplished a lot since it started in 2005, but can it keep up with growing poverty?
by Tim Covi
photographs by Ross Evertson
Looking at him now, you can still vaguely make out the silhouette of Bruce Wright’s youth. He sits in a dimly lit chair in his homey ground floor apartment, shadows rolling across the walls from passing cars. Barrel chest, heavy hands, his history of work and wander is etched subtly into him like a living tattoo. A hoarse cough shakes his body for a minute and pulls us out of his story about the past. He has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He sips water from an old plastic coke bottle and regains composure. His eyes are meek and honest as he takes us back to Arizona, California, Oregon.
Bruce Wright photo by Ross Evertson "I was living off and on in hotel rooms, just kickin' it around wherever I could, you know. I spent quite some time sown at 11th Avenue Hotel. I started out at $10 a night just for the bed."
text by Margo Pierce
photo by Adrian Diubaldo
Christie Donner, Executive Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, works at her desk
When a street cop says that simply throwing criminals in jail isn’t the way to protect the public, it’s worth listening. And when that street cop has worked his way up to a top position in the Colorado Department of Corrections, it carries that much more weight.