A Colorado Panorama

This column tells the stories of the people whose faces appear on “A Colorado Panorama: A People’s History,” a twoblock-long tile mural on the southeast side of the Colorado Convention Center.

Inspired by Howard Zinn’s groundbreaking book, “A People’s History of the United States,” the mural was created by artist Barbara Jo Revelle in 1989 to celebrate those who rarely make it into the history books, but who have nonetheless had a profound impact on the history of our state.

This week we’re featuring profiles of Emily Griffith and Dalton Trumbo.

When Emily Griffith was 16, her family moved from Ohio to a farm in Nebraska. To support them after her parents became too ill to work, she began teaching elementary school.

Eventually, the family moved to Denver where Emily taught at a school in Five Points. In the evenings, she would offer free English lessons to adults, many of whom were impoverished immigrants.

This led her to the idea of opening a school where working adults could learn practical job skills. In 1916, the Denver Opportunity School was born.

Griffith retired in 1933. She moved with her sister to a cabin near Nederland where, in 1947, both women were found murdered. Emily Griffith Opportunity School remains open to this day, offering practical classes “For all who wish to learn.”

Born in Montrose and raised in Grand Junction, Dalton Trumbo moved to Los Angeles with his parents in 1925. He landed a job at Warner Brothers and became one of the most successful screenplay writers in the industry.

Like many intellectuals of his day, Trumbo was a member of the Communist Party. He and nine other Hollywood luminaries were summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. All 10 refused to testify. Charged with contempt of Congress, Trumbo served an 11month prison term and was blacklisted by the major studios.