By: David Conde
It was early August and I was eagerly waiting for my 17th birthday on the 15th so that, with my parents’ permission, I could join the United States Air Force. My last major get together with my friends was an all night ride along the towns north of Denver including Erie, Dacono, Frederick, Puritan, Longmont and Lafayette, where we sat on the hood of our car to see the sun come up.
I knew those mining and agricultural towns well from the work with my family to establish church missions in the area. My relationship with them was different from the towns like Wiggins, Fort Lupton, Roggen and Brighton where we lived and worked in the beet and cucumber fields.
Recently, I was invited to a book “launch and reception” held by el comité de Longmont as a second edition of We, Too, Came to Stay, A History of the Longmont Hispanic Community (first published in 1986 and completed in this edition) a book that seeks to balance the view of Longmont’s history by including the Latino perspective and family sto- ries as a framework for a more complete picture of the area.
“Longmont was founded in 1871 by a group of people from Chicago, Illinois.” It was originally called the Chicago-Colorado Colony and was the first planned community in Boulder County.
As part of Longmont’s Centennial celebration, the St. Vrain Valley Historical Association published, They Came to Stay: Longmont, Colorado 1858-1920 (January 1, 1971). The work left out much of the contributions of the Latino community and their association with the land, beginning long before it was America.
The St. Vrain Historical Association narrative also stops before the events that brought the Kux Klux Klan into power in the community for much of the 1920s. This culminating period can be illustrated by a picture in the Latino book that depicts a sign in the front part of a business establishment that says, “We Cater To White Trade Only.”
El Comité de Longmont was organized in 1980 after 2 Latino teens were shot by the police, a familiar story in today’s America. The activism exhibited by the organization and its movement in Longmont has a special flavor and characteristics that I found in my time in New Mexico.
An example is the language used to refer to the people. The Chicano Movement mostly employed the politically charged term “La Raza” whereas the book refers to them as “La Gente” which appears to be less political and more social and familial.
The Latino Longmont story and El comité’s activities are not only designed to fight injustice but also to bring Latinos and non-Latinos together in the name of building a better future for generations to come. This goal is expressed in the mission of the organization which is “to facilitate communi- cation and understanding within the community to improve social justice, education and economic status for Latino and non-Latino members of the community.”
Congratulations to El Comité de Longmont for the publication of We Too, Came To Stay and what it means to empower people by telling the truth. Telling our story rein- forces the values found in them.
Longmont, a city of almost 100,000 and a Latino community comprising almost 25 percent of the population has changed a lot since I visited it before leaving for military service. Its voice is the voice of leadership and opportunity for partnerships and progress.
El Comité de Longmont is there for you at 303-651-6125. You can also reach them at elcomite@elcomitedelongmont.org.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of La Voz Bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
