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Week of January 5, 2023
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DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 7
MCA Denver spotlights southern Black heritage Polis commutes 4 inmate sentences The Dirty South exhibit runs through Feb. 5
Denver trooper included
BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Every morning when Nikki Swarn goes to work at the radio station, she is greeted with the smiling faces of Black creators, all who share their stories on the airwaves about how R&B and hip hop music has impacted their lives and inspired their art. As a person of color, Swarn, the general manager and program director at 104.7 The Drop, is impacted daily by the positive representations of Black music, art and other media artists. Swarn believes that it is important to highlight positive narratives of people of color. “It is all about dignity, respect and recognition of the contributions we have made, not only to American culture, but cultures around the world,” said Swarn. “We are a diverse people with beautiful, important stories that must be told. There’s nothing like seeing ourselves, our cultures, our power depicted in uplifting stories of encouragement that solidifies our value and our voices.” The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, in collaboration with Swarn’s 104.7 The Drop, are hosting the museum’s latest cultural exhibit, “The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture and the Sonic Impulse.” The exhibit runs through Feb. 5 and explores the aesthetic legacies and traditions of Black culture in the South as seen through the lens of contemporary Black musical expression. The exhibit, originally organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, has worked its way around the United States highlighting southern Black culture. It is wrapping up its nationwide tour in Denver. “The Dirty South exhibition is a reflection of the profound influence
JESSE PAUL AND SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN
to display and close out the tour of this phenomenal exhibition — so fitting as we stand in the illustrious light and history of Five Points, the Harlem of the West.” Nora Burnett Abrams, the Mark. G. Falcone director at MCA Denver, shared why the partnership with 104.7 The Drop is so special for the exhibit and for Denver. “104.7 The Drop is so much more than an incredible radio station — it also serves as a dedicated community advocate and champion of cultural life in this city,” Abrams said. “It is an honor to be
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis cut short the prison sentences of four inmates and pardoned 20 people, including a former Colorado State Patrol trooper who guarded the state Capitol and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge after pointing a gun at a passing driver near the Denver building in 2021 while he was on duty. The former trooper, Jay Hemphill, pleaded guilty in Denver earlier this year to misdemeanor menacing. He was sentenced to a year of probation. Polis commuted Hemphill’s sentence and pardoned him. “You served the State of Colorado with honor and distinction for twenty-six years, serving and protecting five different governors,” Polis wrote to Hemphill. “You made a mistake in a brief instant when you thought you were under threat, and no one was physically harmed.” According to an arrest affidavit for Hemphill, the woman said she was driving her truck near the Capitol and attempting to make a right turn onto East 14th from Sherman when Hemphill crossed in front of her vehicle, pulled out his gun, pointed it at her and started to yell. The encounter was captured on video. “I was afraid I was going to get shot,” the woman told Denver police. The affidavit says Hemphill, who had worked at the Capitol since January 1998 and was a constant presence in the building before the incident, reported the encounter to a Colorado State Patrol sergeant. Hemphill started working for the
SEE SPOTLIGHT, P6
SEE SENTENCES, P4
Basin Street Blues, 2014, Bisa Butler (American, born 1973), cotton denim. COURTESY OF CLAIRE OLIVER AND IAN RUBINSTEIN
African American southern culture has had on America. The vehicle of hip-hop, the exploration of social justice, the Black body, religion, cultural values, and more are enveloped throughout this poignant moment in history. So often stories from people of color have been left out of positive narratives in many forms of media, art and entertainment,” said Swarn. “We are so proud to partner with the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver as we re-define contemporary art and celebrate a social movement that feeds the soul, tells our truths and our diverse story. We are proud to be the only city west of the Mississippi
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 7
CITY TO THE SLOPES Initiative aims to help city kids make tracks
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