Proponents of a new state law have secured the remaining $30,000 needed to kick-start the study of racial equity in Colorado. That means a committee can now be convened to help qualify and quantify the financial impact of slavery, racism and discrimination on Black Coloradans and the state’s economy.

Senate Bill 53, signed into law June 4, establishes a commission to direct History Colorado to conduct historical research across areas such as housing, economic mobility, education, health care and the criminal justice system before the group can create recommendations for corrective actions.

But the law came with no state funding. Advocates needed to raise $785,000 to pay for the first year of work during the racial equity study, because they said, the contentious bill would not have passed if its success had relied on state funding.

“My general reaction is overwhelming gratitude,” said Sen. James Coleman, lead sponsor of Senate Bill 53.

“Thirty-thousand dollars is not something small,” he said. “A lot of us can’t afford to give that away. But, specifically, I am really amazed and honored that the Black community has shown up in such a way to self-invest.” 

Early last week, the Denver Democrat told The Colorado Sun that proponents of the law would need to raise the remaining $30,000 to support the first year of work during the three-year study. 

Within three days, the group had reached its goal. 

On Wednesday, many Black Americans commemorated Juneteenth, the annual event that marks the date when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to take control of the state and ensure enslaved Black people were freed — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed Jan. 1, 1863. 

On Wednesday morning, a community leader, who Coleman would not name, hosted a fundraiser and asked affluent Black Colorado leaders to attend and consider donating to help support the work of Senate Bill 53. 

Coleman, who attended and talked about the bill’s intentions, said attendees committed to donating or finding the remaining money needed to fund the research.

“They went around the room, and said, ‘Between all of us, we can figure this out’ and they did,” Coleman said.

Some foundations and individuals gave $1,000 each at the event to help quickly meet the goal, Coleman said. 

The $785,000 raised so far was mostly donated by individuals and foundations and some corporate investors, Coleman added.

“Juneteenth definitely helped,” he said. “This is an amazing thing that we have leaders in our community who are willing to put their money where their mouth is.”

Senate Bill 53 describes a 14-member commission that must be convened by Sept. 1. The group will shape the three-year study that aims to determine how Black Coloradans have experienced and continue to experience racial discrimination because of harmful state systems, policies and practices.

John Bailey, director of The Colorado Black Round Table, was one of the first people to donate to the fundraising effort and showed up to the Wednesday event to contribute again, Coleman said.

Bailey, who has donated $3,500 to the effort so far, said he will give again, if necessary.

“We spend more money on the (Denver) Zoo, on orchestras — on a whole lot of stuff, that while enriching, doesn’t really solve a whole lot of everyday problems in the modern world,” he said. “The only way to achieve equity is to commit to being thoughtful and truthful about past indiscretions. This particular scenario is very important in Colorado.”

The legislation creates a plan to conduct necessary research that validates and confirms the tough reality many Black people experience, Bailey said, and the successful fundraising effort shows many Coloradans already support the goals of the racial equity study.

Despite the racial wealth gap, Black people have often taken the initiative to raise the money needed to fund the causes and organizations that work to create equality for themselves, Bailey said.

“Our folks are always making sure Black organizations have the dollars needed to do the things that need to be done,” he said.

The results of the research will also offer a historical explanation to help Coloradans understand why Black people are “sometimes mad, sometimes riot, and sometimes do other things that aren’t always too obvious to other people,” Bailey said.

“I’m hoping this will not only highlight who we are as African Americans but highlight African culture in a dynamic that has been oppressive, that has required us to create music and art and be intellectuals and outstanding athletes,” he said. “These are all manifestations of frustrations, to some degree, to prove to ourselves, and to other folks, that we are worthy.” 

Dr. Ryan Ross, president and chief executive officer at the Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado, donated to the fundraiser when leaders kicked off the effort more than a year ago and contributed again Wednesday, Coleman said. 

“What I’m hoping to learn from it, and get from it, is data necessary to make decisions that will provide access and opportunity for everybody to thrive and give the state the information needed to be supportive and provide funding and resources to maybe right wrongs from some of the sins of the past,” Ross said. “It’s really about equity. If everybody is thriving, the state is stronger.”

Ross has donated $6,000 to the fundraiser from his own funds and from his organization’s reserves and would donate again, he said.

Ross and Bailey were among the first five people to donate to the fundraiser, Coleman said.

“I believe because of their advocacy, we were able to raise the money,” Coleman said. “It wasn’t just them but those are a couple of folks who, in the last minutes, had been advocating for us to reach our goal.”

The fundraising effort to support Senate Bill 53 is far from over. 

CHIC Denver is already collecting money for years two and three of the study. 

The organization, which helps families break free of intergenerational poverty and violence, will deliver the first round of funding to the Black Coloradan Racial Equity Study Cash Fund in the state treasury department by July 1. The state will then provide that money to the parties listed in the fiscal note, including History Colorado. Then, the group can begin the research planned for the study, Coleman said.

Fundraisers will need to raise almost $420,000 to fund the second year of work, and just over $580,000 for the final year of work, Coleman said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Once the research is done, Bailey said he hopes the findings will be used in school curriculum, and perhaps become a model for other state leaders drafting legislation about reparations and finding options for corrective measures to address racial inequality.

“And from there, I’m hoping we can sustain this,” Bailey said. “In the midst of all this, somebody is going to get pissed off. So, we then have to figure out how to deal with getting over our personal pains, so we can move toward collective joy for all of us.”