A new exhibit about Aurora’s Black history will open at the Aurora History Museum this summer, and there are two ways for community members to suggest what gets included in it.
First, a community roundtable is scheduled at 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Aurora History Museum. It will be moderated by Adrian Miller, who served as co-project director and lead curator of an exhibit in Boulder that closed in Sept. 2025.
“Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History: 1840’s - Today” was on display in Boulder for two years, closing in Sept. 20205. The Aurora exhibit will focus on the city’s Black history.
“It is intended to broaden understanding of Aurora’s Black history and bring forward the voices of people who have shaped the city,” said Keith Outcelt, the museum’s education curator.
He said the museum staff is looking for Aurora’s Black residents as well as people with related anecdotes and ephemera to broaden and deepen what’s included in the exhibit.
In addition to the roundtable, there is an online survey where people can make suggestions. Questions they can answer include: “Are there specific locations in Aurora that hold deep meaning for you or the Black community; places where important cultural, social or historical moments took place?” and “When you think about Black history in Aurora, what people, places, organizations or events come to mind as being especially important or influential” The survey will be open until Spring, 2026.
One example that’s already come from members of the community pertains to a Black cowboy named Henry Lewis, who hasn’t received much historical shine.
“His ranch was in what is now Aurora. His ranch was a stopping point for cowboys on the pro rodeo circuit. He was really helping to provide a place for Black cowboys to stay,” he said, adding that they’re still learning about this character in Aurora’s Black history and haven’t collected photos or dates yet.
“This really is an introductory piece for us, to make sure we are doing research into what the community thinks is important,” he said of the roundtable, where people can offer ideas of what should be a part of the exhibit, including their own local lore and items.
So far, in addition to what the museum staff has gathered, “what exists of the exhibit is what we are borrowing from the exhibit in Boulder, but we really want to fill that out with what we find out at the roundtable,” he added.
Scott Williams, director of the Aurora History Museum, said the idea to put on such an exhibit was formed after seeing the exhibit in Boulder.
“We got in touch with the creators of the exhibit; we got a tour of the exhibit, and at that point, there was an NEH grant that the Museum of Boulder was taking the lead in bringing in different partners for this traveling exhibit idea. The grant didn’t happen because the new administration got rid of that funding, but [the exhibit] was going to happen either way. We made that commitment at the end of 2024.”
With funding from the museum’s budget, the new exhibit, whose possible title will be discussed at the roundtable next Wednesday, will be up from July 14, 2026, through November 7, 2026, according to Williams.
