Everybody’s Welcome, (or are they?)

Michelle finally decided to take some vacation this week. It is about time after all that has happened over the last 18 months. Gaia gave her a suggestion on where to go. A little remote spot of nature's peace and solitude so I promised not to tell anyone where she went. Michelle deserves a break, so do we all. So for this week's article I turn to another one of my favorite topics, Colorado history. Hope you enjoy.

Everybody's welcome, it is a cultural ideal for inclusiveness and welcoming our neighbors. When a new family moves into our neighborhood, my wife always bakes some of her amazing short bread and gives it to them as a welcoming gift. But as our world is starting to open back up after the Covid pandemic (that is for some but not for many others), it might be a good time to think about this common phrase and examine what it really means for each of us.

I want to start out with a local (Colorado Springs) history story about a woman named Fannie Mae Duncan. If we measure people by the size of their hearts, she was a giant. Let’s start out with a little context (from Wikipedia of course).

“Fannie Mae Duncan (1918-2005) was an African-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community activist in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is best known as the proprietor of the Cotton Club, an early integrated jazz club in Colorado Springs named for the famous club in Harlem. In 2012, Duncan was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. She was recognized for "her courageous stand fostered the peaceful integration of Colorado Springs."

Fannie Mae Bragg was born on July 5, 1918, in Luther, Oklahoma. Her parents, Herbert and Mattie Brinson Bragg, had worked as sharecroppers in Oklahoma. She was one of seven children, all of whom helped with the work. From an early age, Fannie Mae wanted to help at the farm stand and sell produce; her father encouraged this entrepreneurial inclination. In 1926, Herbert Bragg died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Her mother moved the family to Colorado in 1933. Five years later, she was the first in her family to graduate from high school; she attended Colorado Springs High School (now Palmer High School).

After she married Edward Duncan, Mrs. Duncan worked with the military in Colorado Springs during World War II. At Camp Carson (now Fort Carson), she opened a soda fountain at the facility established for African-American soldiers called Haven Club. Flip Wilson was stationed at the camp and Duncan said that she gave him his first chance to perform. She opened a United Service Organizations (USO) center, after convincing the city manager to issue her a business license, at a time when it was very rare for African-Americans, particularly African-American women, to own a business on base.

In 1948, Duncan opened The Cotton Club to serve people irrespective of their ethnic heritage. Her customers included soldiers and their brides. Among the notable people that played at the jazz club included Duke Ellington, Etta James, Lionel Hampton, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Muddy Waters, and Count Basie. At the time, hotels in the city would not serve African-Americans so she bought a historic mansion to provide lodging for performers and other visitors, including Medgar Evers.

It was standard practice for blacks in Colorado Springs to enter restaurants through rear doors and sit in balconies of theaters, (like the famous Burns Theater nearby). Duncan's business approach was that she wanted to serve people of color, while also serving white people. Denying whites admittance to the Cotton Club, she felt meant that she would be denying their constitutional rights. This raised objections among local authorities, but she took a stand and peacefully provided for integrated patronage of the club. One of the concerned individuals was I.B. Bruce, the police chief. Nicknamed "Dad", Bruce became a good friend of the Duncans and was successful in ensuring that there was no trouble at the business. Duncan worked out a deal with Bruce wherein patrons were free to mingle without interference, and in return Duncan tipped them off if she saw a customer they were looking for. To ensure safety, Duncan did not serve people who had too much to drink or were making trouble; she also hired her own security. To promote inclusiveness, she had a permanent sign in the club's window, "Everybody's Welcome" Due to urban renewal, the club closed in 1975 and the club at a new location was unsuccessful.”

“All are welcome” is also the motto of the church I go to on Sundays and I am sure you can find it in many churches, institutions, stores, bars, restaurants, etc. We all want to feel like we are good people, that treat everyone fairly and welcome all into our communities. So why do so many facts about us show a different story?

I have always wanted to write an article (it probably would take another book) titled “The Formerly United States of America.” The cultural norms that my parents taught me were that “Everyone’s Welcome.” But all we hear now is about inequality and division. There is the MeToo# movements providing perspective on gender inequality. The BlackLivesMatter movement does the same for racial inequality. Other groups add their stories of how Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, different sexual orientations, rural versus urban, College educated versus high school level education right versus left, all tell their stories of how unequal treatment has impacted their lives. That doesn’t square with the “Everybody’s Welcome” thought that most of us feel represents our viewpoints and beliefs. The United States feels more divided than united these days. Yes, the media has a role in amplifying these voices but if you listen to the stories there are things you don’t like to hear about us. The Diversity, Inclusion and Access program has run student surveys that tell stories of unequal treatment even at my own university.

I am not into Cancel Culture. Every figure in history probably some dark details about their lives and a lot of going along with the dominant cultural beliefs of their times. I am not about tearing down statues but providing context and education along with them and acknowledging what has changed and what still needs to be changed. We are a nation of real people not saints. There is a monument at the steps of the state capital in Denver that mentions a Governor John Evans and Colonel John Chivington who led the Third Colorado Cavalry on the raid at Sand Creek, Colorado in on November 29, 1864, and killed an estimated 500 Cheyenne and Arapahoe people, about two-thirds of whom were women and children. That is one statue I would like to tear down but that would be the wrong action. It would be better to learn that lesson in order to never repeat it.

It is true that history is filled with a lot of events, which famous people were involved, where the belief that “Everyone is Welcome” wasn’t the priority or even a set of moral guard rails. My wife has been doing some family history research over the last year. If you go back to my grandparents, seven of the eight families came to the United States in the late 19th century (when the big immigration from Europe happened) but one of those families came to the US from England in the late 18th century. In tracing their history through the mid-Atlantic states and into Kentucky and Illinois, we found census records where it is obvious that they had small farms and owned several slaves until after the Civil War. What does that say about me? History is history and I want to understand it not forget it. I want to learn the good, the bad and the ugly from that history and recognize that they did some good things and some not-so-good things and lived in the culture of the times just as everyone else did. That is not an excuse but context. Very few of us are angels.

We haven’t always lived a life as welcoming as Fannie Mae Duncan but we can be inspired by her legacy. I even want to give some credit to Sheriff “Dad” Bruce. Despite the obvious racial attitudes of his time in my home town, for a special person like Fannie Mae he went beyond his culture and did something good for his time. Our history is neither all good nor all bad (with a few exceptions) it is a bit of both. For anyone who knows me they know I love history (even geologic history which makes me a real rock geek). My goal is to understand the past, to help change me in to a better person. Looking forward I would like to say I want ‘Everyone to be welcome’ but I am a work in progress as well, so please be patient with me.