Anywhere you look around the Five Points neighborhood there is history; that history is in the buildings, the streets, and the stories of the people who call the area home, reports the Denver Channel.
The area is a historical-cultural district, one of only two in Denver, and has been recognized for the important role it played in the African American community in the city.
The area has also been through a lot, from segregation to the KKK to redlining to busing and more.
Throughout good times and bad, this neighborhood and its neighbor in North Park Hill have stuck together and even voted together. The two neighborhoods have even been placed in the same legislative districts for decades.
“People who have represented this area, as I can remember from my childhood to this time, have been people who have lived in the neighborhood, who’s been a part of the neighborhood, who have attended the schools in the neighborhood,” said Charleszine Terry Nelson, longtime resident and the senior special collections and community resource manager at the Blair Caldwell African American research library.
Every 10 years, though, the state goes through a redistricting process as updated U.S. Census numbers are released.
The goal of redrawing the congressional and legislative boundaries every decade is to ensure there are roughly equal populations in each district so that people receive equal representation in their state and federal governments.
Historically, though, redistricting has also been a point of tension and uncertainty in minority communities.
“When African Americans hear about redistricting, we automatically get a little bit of anxiety due to gerrymandering,” said Jameka Lewis, a senior librarian at the Blair Caldwell African American Research Library. “Redistricting has been used as a tool for voter suppression.”
