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Black history is Colorado Springs history at the Pioneers Museum

Black History Month: Reflecting on the stories of ancestors
Posted at 6:58 AM, Feb 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-02 13:53:13-05

COLORADO SPRINGS — Pieces of Black history can now be seen at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, but museum staff told News5 they want people to pay a visit to learn that Black history is Colorado Springs history.

One hundred and fifty objects make up the newest exhibit at the Pioneers Museum, celebrating 150 years or the city's sesquicentennial. Among them are several displays that tell the story of African-American figures who helped shaped this community.

For instance, Lulu Stroud Pollard was born in raised in Colorado Springs. She moved away to start her career but came back in the late 70s and wanted to know where Black history was being kept and preserved in the Springs.

When Pollard realized not enough was being done, she helped start the Negro Association of Colorado Springs, a group that began collecting photographs and memorabilia.

When you come into this gallery you can read her oral history and also hear her voice through a technology application.

"You can stand in front of her story, and you can hear her tell her own story, in her own words," said Leah Davis Witherow, Curator for the Museum. "Nothing's more powerful than hearing someone tell their own stories."

Pollard donated the objects she and others collected over the years to Pioneers Museum, and those objects can be viewed as well.

If you'd like to go to the Pioneers Museum, please know that you have to make a reservation before you visit. For info, click here.