Guest Lecturer: Kathleen Esmiol

In the 1870s, Black families were drawn to Colorado Springs, where the city’s visionary founder General William Jackson Palmer established integrated public schools and job opportunities that offered equal pay for equal work. Black businesses prospered. Sadly, the tide turned with Palmer’s death in 1909, and Blacks struggled against the shifting dynamics of the times.

In 1933, a charismatic Black teenager arrived in town with her widowed mother and six siblings. Escaping the poverty and despair of Dust Bowl Oklahoma, young Fannie Mae Bragg excelled in school and became an indomitable force as an adult. Welcoming mixed audiences to her Cotton Club to enjoy the finest Black artists of the day, Fannie Mae Duncan left an indelible imprint on Colorado Springs’ history.

Free for members and $10 for guests. Winter lectures will take place  in the main Church building in the Fellowship Hall as opposed to thePeel House. Entry is on the East side of the building on the alley.