The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery hosted a historic homage to Black and African American culture in Fort Collins Friday, Feb. 20. What was meant to be a walking tour of the historical homes and landmarks of Black residents within Fort Collins turned into an enlightening presentation and archive tour within the museum itself. 

In honor of Black History Month, the Museum of Discovery hosted “Without Apology: Black History and Civil Rights in Fort Collins.” Due to cold weather, the walking tour was changed to a presentation.

The presentation covered Hattie McDaniel, Mattie Lyle and the Birdwhistle family, among many more. The tour was meant to go through the neighborhood around Washington Park to visit where these prominent Black residents lived in Fort Collins, ending at the Museum’s local history archive, which featured artifacts the Fort Collins community has gone out of its way to save and preserve. 

Jim Bertolini, a senior preservation planner with Fort Collins’ Historic Preservation Services, led the presentation.

“This year, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 150th anniversary of the state of Colorado,” Bertolini said. “As part of that, we’re trying to commemorate both Colorado and national stories to define what being an American is all about.”

The presentation left space for the audience to tell their own stories and answer Bertolini’s questions.

Hattie McDaniel, a Hollywood actress who appeared in over 300 films in her life, moved to California after living in Fort Collins for a brief period. While in California, she fought against racial covenants in the subdivision of her neighborhood and won.

Mattie Lyle and her husband, William, moved to Fort Collins from Kansas. Both were college-educated with teaching degrees and licenses but were not allowed to work as teachers in Fort Collins. Instead, they were forced to take up jobs as janitors.The Lyle family included a long line of Civil Rights activists; Mattie Lyle’s great, great uncle was one of the plaintiffs in the first Civil Rights cases.

The head of the Birdwhistle family was Charles Birdwhistle, a pastor for the African Methodist Episcopal. The family often gave sanctuary to traveling Black citizens who were unable to find other lodgings due to their skin color.

“It’s important for people to know that we always have work to do (in order) to tell broader stories.” –Lesley Struc, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery archive curator

Maren Bzdek, historic preservation manager for Historic Preservation Services, offered insight to the meaning of this tour.

“It is really easy for people, without seeing physical representations of these stories, to think that (Fort Collins) was a mostly white community,” Bzdek said.

She further explained how saving these homes and buildings are what keep individuals’ stories alive.

“If we don’t save the stories of the working people, the people who are underrepresented in our history … (in) the stories we tell today, then we’re not telling the full story,” Bzdek said.

As the presentation came to a close, the audience was led to the museum’s local archives, which are run by Lesley Struc.

“It’s important for people to know that we always have work to do (in order) to tell broader stories,” Struc said.

Walking through the archives was Lara Montagne, a presentation attendee and lifelong learner. She talked about what prompted her to come to this event. Growing up in California and then moving to Fort Collins was a big shock for her, as the level of diversity was very different from what she was used to.

“I would love to know more about Fort Collins’ history but specifically the Black history and other stories that don’t seem to be well known or told,” Montagne said. “I just knew there had to be more than what meets the eye.” 

The Museum of Discovery is holding many more events like this one throughout the next several weeks.

“Events like this are very important,” Bertolini said. “It calls attention to stories that have not been spoken about as much.”

Reach Elizabeth Musil at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.