African American Civil Rights Network
The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library is home to a museum and research collection devoted to the African American experience in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West, in addition to a circulating collection. The library is in Denver, Colorado’s historic Five Points neighborhood, one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods and a popular African American community in the early 1900s. It is named for Omar Blair, the first African American president of the Denver school board, and Elvin Caldwell, the first African American member of the Denver city council. Blair-Caldwell Library holds several collections, including the papers of former Denver mayor Wellington E. Webb, the city’s first African American mayor, and his wife. Additionally, the library houses a variety of primary sources, like photographs, manuscript collections, letters, and diaries from local civil and political leaders, African American businesses, churches, schools, and social organizations.
Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.