Boulder | Museum exhibit tells story of racism at Lafayette pool

The Museum of Boulder will host a new exhibit by the Lafayette Arts & Cultural Resources Department titled “Racism and Discrimination at the Lafayette Swimming Pool — 1934.”

This historical exhibit examines the events in Lafayette from the 1930s, when the first Lafayette municipal swimming pool was built as a “White-trade Only” facility. The exhibit will feature extensive research and photographs.

It will highlight Latina Rose Lueras who fought for civil rights and justice and brought a lawsuit against the city, despite her efforts evoking backlash from the local Ku Klux

Klan and white supremacists.

There will be an opening reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets are available on the Museum of Boulder’s website at museumofboulder.org/ exhibits. Members of the Museum of Boulder attend exhibit openings for free.

The exhibit won the 2021 Caroline Bancroft Award from History Colorado when it was being featured at the Collective Community Arts Center in Lafayette and the American Association for State and Local History National Conference.

The museum will host a panel discussion from 5:30 to 7 p.m. July 21 to discuss the work underway to document a lost part of local history and to share steps taken to create safe, equitable and inclusive ways to honor the history. The panel will feature Melissa Hisel, director of the Lafayette Public Library; Logan Vargas, teacher and descendant of Rose Lueras; Madi Vargas, Latino outreach coordinator for Lafayette Arts & Cultural Resources; Frank Archuleta, area historian and activist; and Rachel Hanson, program manager for Lafayette Arts & Cultural Resources.

Tickets for the panel are available on the Museum of Boulder’s website.