Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Colorado history

Fighting for a country that doubted them—but never broke them
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, National

Fighting for a country that doubted them—but never broke them

By Vince Bzdek | Denver Gazette In his 99 years on the planet, Ken Akune has been sorted into many bins. The first was Nisei, the term for second-generation Japanese Americans born in the United States. Akune had lived in both the United States and Japan and his family was divided between the two. The second bin was “evacuee.” That was the term given to 18-year-old Akune, his brother Harry and 7,000 other Japanese Americans shipped out to the Granada Relocation Center in Colorado at the start of World War II because of worries about their loyalty. Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 forcibly removed them from their home on the West Coast to a remote plain of sage and dust in southeastern Colorado, known simply as Amache. “I was mad, jealous, whatever you want to call i...
Gotlieb: You know you’re from Colorado when… 
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Gotlieb: You know you’re from Colorado when… 

By Dorothy Gotlieb | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Former legislator and longtime Denver public servant Dorothy Gotlieb has compiled this list of Colorado quirks and cultural touchstones. You might laugh, nod in agreement – or want to add your own. Over the years, there have been several versions of a “You Know You’re from Colorado When…” list. The following is just one of the latest.  Everyday observations You ask someone you meet, “Where are you from?” You recognize FIVE seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter – and Construction! Your side of the street looks like a winter wonderland, but there’s no snow on the other side of the street. You are pretty sure that you have seen a bank, a carwash, and/or a dispensary on every block. You know that “Mile Hi...
The COvid Chronicles: How fear and force reshaped Colorado
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The COvid Chronicles: How fear and force reshaped Colorado

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board How Polis and the powers-that-be permitted the COVID-19 pandemic to pervert Colorado's pioneer spirit It's one of the more ubiquitous storytelling styles in legacy corporate media — anniversary time pegs. In editorial meetings, reporters and editors look at a calendar, see what historic newsy event(s) are upcoming that originally occurred 5, 10, 25 years ago, and put into proper historical perspective said event on the respective anniversary. So, we thought here at Rocky Mountain Voice, with our exploding audience in the evolving media landscape, that we would do the same – bringing a historical spotlight on a topic that impacted all Coloradans, Americans – and just about every human on planet earth.  That topic? The government and m...