COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – February is Black History Month, and from educators to artists to community leaders, Black history has deep roots in the Pikes Peak region!
And that history is on full display at the African American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) of Colorado Springs.
Located inside the Westside Community Center in Old Colorado City, the museum is a treasure trove of artifacts spanning all of Colorado Springs’ existence.
Displays include the history of early Black settlers in Colorado, tributes to the first Black police officers and firefighters in Colorado Springs, local military history, and literally thousands of books.
“As you look around, you see all these books. And we have over 2,000 Black history books,” said Shirley McKnight, the president and CEO of AAHGS.
McKnight started the museum in 2003, carrying forward the work of the Negro Historical Association of Colorado Springs (NHACS), which had been founded in the early 80s to preserve and spread awareness of Black history in the Pikes Peak Region. (Read about the NHACS and the creation of the AAHGS here.)
“Well, I think I had this inclination of some kind ever since I was probably in high school,” McKnight said of what drew her to history and genealogy. “I knew that I had a higher calling, but I didn’t know exactly what my higher calling was. But this is what it turned out to be. I’m so glad that right now, in my life, I do know my purpose. And my purpose is bringing families together. And that’s what I do, through the work that I do, through genealogy that I do.”
Along with displays depicting regional history, the museum also holds items with a more personal meaning, like a quilt made of photos of local Black families calling Colorado Springs home today and a display dedicated to McKnight’s great-great-grandmother, who came to Colorado after she was freed from slavery,
These personal connections one reason McKnight does what she does: She wants to help local families preserve their own history. The other reason is to showcase how Black history is all of our history.
“We gave a lot of contribution here to Colorado Springs. There’s a lot of history about us and what we’ve done and the things that we have accomplished. You just have to take the time out and come here to the museum so you can find out that information from us. Like I said, this is a small room, but it sure is mighty and we have a lot of the information here.”
I asked McKnight what her favorite thing in the museum is.
“Probably the books. We’re still collecting books. As many as we can hold, as many as that we can put in here. We’ve got to have our books because they tell so many stories — and our stories and things like that just cannot die.”
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