Amplify Colorado: Community Narratives

In the social reckoning following the police killing of George Floyd, Colorado’s communities of color called upon local news media to do better. Do better at reporting with nuance and accuracy. Do better with overall representation in news coverage. Do better at understanding systemic barriers. And, do better with educating themselves about the history and current lives of our state’s communities of color. What unites them, what distinguishes them?

COLab helped lead conversations over the following two years with Black, Latinx, Indigenous and AANHPI communities and journalists who identified as members of these communities. Each group issued recommendations for more accurate, inclusive news coverage. This resource hub represents the start of fulfilling one of the recommendations: a way for journalists to educate themselves.

As one participant in Indigenous Voices community meetings said: “As soon as we get a local journalist kind of trained and up to par and they know what to do, and they know how to talk about it, they move, they leave to go to another station or to another state. And we have to start all over again.”

Elsewhere in the report accompanying the Indigenous Voices recommendations:

“Many participants’ most pressing request is that journalists — and all Coloradans — understand what makes Indigenous people in Colorado unique. The strengths and everyday life of Indigenous communities should be covered routinely and not just during Native American Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples Day, Thanksgiving or when topics like mascots, place names and holidays are in the public eye.”

The Amplify Colorado resource hub seeks to build a collection of research, studies and other reports by people of color for journalists and the general public. It is a starting point for deeper understanding and better reporting. If you have research, studies or other material that speaks to this mission, please reach out to us here.