Serving the community since 1926
WEEK OF JUNE 27, 2024
VOLUME 97 | ISSUE 30
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A hankering for the harmonica
A new Colorado law will study the harms of slavery But only if supporters raise almost $800K on their own BY TATIANA FLOWERS THE COLORADO SUN
chmann. Also called a mouth harp or mouth organ, although it doesn’t sound much like either, the pocketsized instrument is played with a combination of blowing and ‘drawing’ (inhaling). The instruments are inexpensive and easy to learn. No ability to read music is required. The new instrument became wildly popular. Soon Germany was dotted with harmonica factories. From 1900 to the 1920s, German harmonicas poured into the United States to meet the swelling demand.
A bill creating the Black Coloradan Racial Equity Commission was signed into law June 4. But supporters must raise $785,000 to prove there is strong community support for what the law directs History Colorado to do — assess and quantify the financial impact of slavery, racism and discrimination on Black Coloradans and make recommendations for corrective measures. The group is about $30,000 short of reaching that goal by a self-imposed deadline of July 1. “This is not us using public dollars for something other folks didn’t think we needed a study on,” said state Sen. James Coleman, a Black Denver Democrat and lead sponsor of the law. “We had a big fundraising effort this year, and at this point, we’re short about $30,000. I feel strongly we’ll be able to raise the rest of that money to begin implementing the bill.” A similar bill, House Bill 1327, which passed in 2022, included $618,611 in state funding for History Colorado to investigate abuses at a federal Native American boarding school at Fort Lewis, in southern Colorado, and others like it statewide. This year, the governor signed House Bill 1444, which provided $1 million to fund the Federal Indian Boarding School Research Program until the end of 2027.
SEE HARMONICA, P14
SEE NEW LAW, P6
Thirteen of the 65 harmonicists with the Mile High Harmonica Club posed for a portrait at a recent meeting. The club meets twice a PHOTO BY TIM COLLINS month and welcomes new members, from beginners to experts.
Founded in 1994, the harmonica Davies, who is a past president of Members of Denver’s Mile club is celebrating its 30th birthday SPAH, said he expects “non-stop year. The club now has about jamming.” High Harmonica Club share this 65 members, but it originally sprang a small group of enthusiastic An invention from Germany catches fire how the small instrument from students under the tutelage of SwalBy many accounts, the harmonica low Hill Music instructor Paul Da- was invented in Germany in 1826 by has a mighty impact vies. instrument-maker Christian BusBY KIRSTEN DAHL COLLINS SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON PARK PROFILE
It’s just a little oblong tube filled with flexible metal “tongues” that vibrate when you blow into it. But members of Denver’s Mile High Harmonica Club seem to find endless joy in their instruments. Along with the fun of making music together, club members also credit the humble harmonica with improving their social lives, making them smarter and even helping people with lung disease breathe easier.
“The first meeting officially gathered at my house,” said Davies. “We have all become very good friends.” Today, the harmonica club meets twice a month at Historic Grant Avenue, 216 S. Grant St., a former Methodist church built in 1908 that is now used as a community center. Once a year, however, club members go on the road to attend a national convention with other harmonica-lovers from all over the U.S. This year, the Society For the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH) convention will take place from Aug. 13-17 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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