Denverite: Monyett Ellington moved to Denver in 1938, before Black families like hers could buy houses east of High Street. She remembers a childhood when adults around her spoke in hushed tones about dangers the Ku Klux Klan posed to their community, about crosses burning in front lawns and about threats that the hate group might march Welton Street, through the center of Black life in the city.

Ellington is not affiliated with any particular group in Denver, but History Colorado asked her to consult with them after they decided to release a ledger of 1920s KKK membership in high-resolution, searchable detail.

Rather than an organizational background, she has personal history. She says she doesn’t know why they reached out to her, other than that she’s an involved citizen, and somebody probably passed her name to them.

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