Racism issues in the valley: Part 1

Facing the illusion. Crested Butte addresses racism in a predominately white community

[ By Laura Yale ]

Sun slants through the lineup of buildings on Crested Butte’s Elk Avenue, turning cottonwood fluff into floating sparkle. The surrounding hillsides glow green and rise up into red-hued peaks, some of which still hold bright, white snow. It’s a real-life snow globe scene, and Chloe Bowman stands at the center of it, suspended in the surreal. She stares at 200 of her community members lying on the hot pavement in front of the post office with signs in hand that read “Black Lives Matter.”

Twenty-six-year-old Bowman was born in Colorado Springs to Ghanaian parents and has been a resident of the Gunnison Valley since 2012. With the help of friends, she organized a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Crested Butte on June 27 and was shocked by the turnout.

The event occurred 33 days after George Floyd died of asphyxiation under the knee of a police officer. His death sparked one of the largest movements in U.S. history. Between 15 million and 26 million participated in Black Lives Matter demonstrations in thousands of cities and towns across the country, including many rural, majority-white areas.

Like Gunnison County, where, according to 2019 Census estimates, 87 percent of residents identify as white, 9.6 percent identify as Hispanic or Latinx and .6 percent identify as Black or African American. For comparison, the 2019 Census estimates for residents in the U.S. are 60.1 percent white, 18.5 percent Hispanic or Latinx, and 13.4 percent Black or African American.

As it has in countless communities across America, the movement was offering a critical opportunity to examine the social realities in Gunnison County. Bowman understands her community’s desire to remain open-minded and rebellious, and that locals pride themselves on fiercely taking care of each other. She recognized the opportunity for people to reinforce these values by standing up for her and other people of color in the valley. However, she said, “The silence here was deafening.”
While Bowman had never considered herself an activist, she felt it was time to address the much-avoided topics of racial injustice and privilege within the community, and no longer wanted to tolerate Gunnison Valley as a “refuge” from racism.

“We get to pick and choose what we care about, that’s the blessing of being here,” Bowman said during her speech at the rally. “But here in this little world we choose to live in, it’s more important to talk about the trails that you’re biking than the heavy stuff on the news. This community has a heart that bleeds… Why is this bleeding heart on reserve for us and only us?”
Bowman says racism in the Gunnison Valley occurs in many forms, from uncomfortable stares to backhanded compliments like “You are actually very articulate,” to active discrimination, like not getting a job because someone distrusts the color of your skin even if you are more qualified than other applicants. She says visitors and residents of color have shared frustration at repeatedly getting pulled over by the police for no apparent reason or being followed around in retail shops under suspicious eyes. The illusion that “We don’t have racism here,” Bowman says, makes it even more painful “because it is so easily disguised and excused.”

Racial injustice resides in the historical foundations of the valley, making it harder to articulate or see clearly today. For example, the lands residents live, work and play on were violently stolen from the Ute people, who were forcefully relocated when white settlers arrived. Or the fact that in the U.S, due to accumulated discrimination and lack of access to opportunity, the net worth of a typical Black family is $17,150, approximately one-tenth of the wealth held by a typical white family. In Crested Butte, for example, the median property value is nearly $700,000, thus making it nearly impossible for many Black families to even consider living here.

Still, the community is generally friendly, welcoming and non-violent, which is part of the reason Bowman has fallen in love with it and wants to stay. The peaceful protest in Crested Butte, accompanied and supported by local marshals, contrasted sharply with footage of police in riot gear that same day intimidating people at a Denver vigil for Elijah McClain (another unarmed Black man killed while in police custody). What shelters the valley from harsher realities of racism is also what makes it the perfect place to have tough conversations around race.

Elizabeth Cobbins, who organized the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Gunnison, has similar, complex feelings around the privilege that comes with living in the Gunnison Valley. As a Black woman, she says that even though she doesn’t have white privilege, she benefits from and is protected by it here. Yet when the whole country was talking about George Floyd and this community was not, she had to act. “I was like, no, I live here in Gunnison, too, I won’t be silent just to make people feel comfortable,” she recalled.

Cobbins said because the valley does not have a space where racial conversations are common, she had no idea how people would receive the event. When several hundred people arrived, including the entire Gunnison city council, leaders from Hispanic and Latinx communities and local business owners, she thought, “Do you see the amount of allies you have here? There are people in this community who want to do the work.”

The demonstrations in the Gunnison Valley have resulted in small successes and conversations that have rippled out beyond what Cobbins and Bowman ever imagined. A collective soul-searching amongst local elected officials, organizations, businesses and residents has ensued.

Next week, Yale looks at what other action the community has taken with the issue of race in the valley.

Laura Yale is a documentary film producer and writer based in Crested Butte. She echoes stories of community and landscape and the inevitable intersection of the two.