Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 10:30 a.m. (Denver time), City & County Building, room 391
The Finance and Business Committee met on September 29, 2026, with one briefing and three consent items. The briefing was a presentation-only update from Council President Pro Tem Shontel Lewis on a labor acknowledgment focused on the forced, uncompensated labor of enslaved Africans and their descendants. Lewis reported on two community open houses (September 15 and 16), saying participants consistently opposed broadening the acknowledgment's scope, and announced she could not move forward with an amended, broader version. Several council members commented, with one noting he would continue doing labor acknowledgments at his own district meetings. No action was taken; the three consent items moved forward to the full Council.
0:06 It's time for this biweekly
0:07 meeting of the finance and
0:08 Business Committee of Denver
0:14 City Council. Join us for the
0:17 finance and business
0:21 Committee. Starting now
0:27 Good morning. It's Tuesday,
0:31 SEPTEMBER 29th 2026. You have
0:33 tuned in to the finance and
0:34 business committee. I'm Chris
0:35 Scientists under a city
0:36 council representing District
0:41 10. I've defended agenda, has
0:43 one briefing and 3 consent
0:43 item. So, colleagues, if you
0:45 don't pull those consent items
0:47 off before the end of the
0:48 meeting, they will move
0:50 forward to the full before we
0:52 give our briefing, let's have
0:53 a round of introductions. Do
0:58 we have any one-on-one? Yes,
1:01 do part have shot district
1:05 Well, hello, distinguished from District 6.
1:12 Anyone else All start to my
1:12 left high as 7 against all
1:15 speech councilmember at large.
1:16 Good morning. Diana Romero,
1:18 Campbell, Southeast Denver
1:19 district 4 chandeliers
1:27 district, All right. This is
1:28 your opportunity to talk about
1:30 5, 26, 14. 24 a lever know
1:34 update. Thank you so much.
1:34 Last 20 in tradition, I just
1:35 think area, senior aide to
1:37 come. Some of us and we will
1:41 get into the site. So. Good
1:42 morning. So I understand this
1:43 is a rather unusual pastor for
1:46 an item to take when it's in
1:49 committee. But today is a
1:50 presion presentation only on
1:51 the labor acknowledgment. And
1:53 I want to give you an update
1:54 on the conversation that we
1:55 had with our stakeholders over
2:02 the past month. So here is the
2:03 initially right knowledge to
2:03 make their way back to
2:05 fitness. In late JULY. I'm not
2:05 going read it because I'm sure
2:08 you all have seen it. But this
2:11 was co-created by community
2:13 reflected experiences the
2:16 experiences says forced labor.
2:18 And I'm willing easily
2:21 distracted. I'm really
2:22 translate the middle passage
2:23 of built this country. And
2:25 that was a lens that we
2:28 created this labor acknowledge
2:30 him MAY received the language
2:34 from counseling plan which he
2:36 sent over after the Finviz
2:39 meeting about the labor
2:40 acknowledgment, ultimate
2:42 became the basis for that
2:42 continues. Take holding
2:44 conversations about the labor
2:45 acknowledgment that we had.
2:46 And so we did have the
2:49 opportunity to circulate I did
2:50 want to share it with us. In
2:51 fact, I did want to propose
2:53 language as well that we
2:54 receive from council PRESIDENT
2:56 And Rivera Campbell. We did
2:57 not use this language to
2:59 stakeholder in conversations
3:02 as we received it last
3:02 Wednesday afternoon. But we do
3:04 want to include here to
3:05 provide a full accounting of
3:07 the language that we did
3:08 receive from other council
3:10 members. And so I want to
3:12 thank the councilmembers for
3:12 sending over the ultimately,
3:17 which is that they provide it.
3:18 Just a reminder, he's a
3:19 coalition that we work with in
3:21 crafting the original
3:22 acknowledgment. We work
3:24 stakeholder, the amended
3:25 language that came from
3:26 Townsend as well. And so these
3:29 groups did have. Eyes on the
3:30 labor acknowledgment from
3:31 council planned, but not the
3:38 one from council PRESIDENT.
3:41 Following our previous
3:42 community committee we hope to
3:44 office our style community
3:45 conversations on SEPTEMBER 15
3:48 and SEPTEMBER. 16th. These
3:50 were intentionally and these
3:51 were intentionally informal
3:53 spaces where people could drop
3:53 in lists and participate leave
3:57 as they saw fit across both
3:57 conversations. We heard a
3:59 clear and consistent message
4:00 from participants across
4:02 generations and economic
4:04 backgrounds that there was no
4:05 desire to expand or change the
4:06 scope the late great knowledge
4:10 meant. And do. And what we
4:13 heard was that that the
4:14 specificity of acknowledgement
4:17 matter to them. And so this
4:19 ignite the acknowledgment
4:21 particularly consequential
4:24 part of American history. The
4:24 force in uncompensated labor
4:26 of enslaved Africans and their
4:28 descendants naming the
4:29 specifically does not diminish
4:30 the experiences of other
4:32 communities whose labor was
4:34 explaining, nor does it
4:35 diminish the importance of
4:36 acknowledging those histories
4:37 and their own right. And that
4:40 we had the opposite. And so
4:42 participants expressed concern
4:43 that grouping distinct
4:45 histories together under a
4:46 bride category, a past
4:47 injustices. What risks
4:50 diminishing all of different
4:50 communities experienced
4:53 different systems of
4:54 exploitation, exclusion,
4:56 displacement and violence. And
4:56 those histories deserve the
4:58 dignity imprecision of
4:59 knowledge for what they not
5:00 flagged into a single
5:04 narrative we also heard a
5:06 desire for solidarity with
5:08 sure. And so community members
5:10 wanted this history recognizes
5:12 a stand-alone issue while
5:14 expressing a willingness to
5:15 stand alongside other
5:18 community seeking the same
5:18 specificity and recognition
5:21 for their own histories. And
5:22 finally, we have that
5:22 specificity matter not only
5:24 because of our past, but
5:27 because of what we intended to
5:28 do next. This acknowledgment
5:29 is largely symbolic. It begins
5:32 with acknowledgment alone. Its
5:33 value is also creating a
5:35 foundation for action for
5:36 understanding how the legacy
5:39 of slavery continues to inform
5:40 present-day disparities and
5:42 for connecting that
5:42 understanding to practical
5:43 policy, conversations from
5:45 state level efforts around
5:46 reparations to local work,
5:47 addressing home ownership and
5:49 wealth building. When we the
5:51 history, we risk diluting our
5:52 ability to clearly identify
5:54 the arms. We're trying to
5:55 address and the policies
5:57 necessary to address them. The
5:58 message we heard from
6:01 community was very clear
6:01 recognizing this history
6:05 specificity it does not
6:06 prevent recognizing others. We
6:08 not have to choose between
6:09 specificity in solidarity and
6:15 we can and should do both.
6:16 Finally, based on the feedback
6:17 that we did receive, I
6:18 determined that I could not in
6:21 good conscience move forward
6:21 with an amended version of the
6:22 labor acknowledgements with
6:24 that problem, that body in its
6:27 scope. Ultimately there MAY be
6:29 council members who choose to
6:31 pursue a different different a
6:32 broader acknowledgment in the
6:33 future. And they are clearly
6:35 entitled to do so. But as you
6:37 just heard, that there's very
6:40 little appetite within the
6:41 coalition that we for, an
6:42 acknowledgement that dilutes
6:43 effort was intended to
6:43 the specificity of what this
6:48 recognize. And so if council
6:49 members choose to pursue
6:49 something, rather future at
6:50 would simply ask that the
6:51 approach that that work with
6:54 the same intentionality bike
6:55 listening. First of the people
6:56 whose histories and
6:58 experiences they seemed to
6:59 acknowledge because what we
7:02 heard was a real hunger for
7:05 well-meaning but broad
7:05 specific recognition, not a
7:06 statement about share not an
7:09 attempt to fit fundamentally
7:10 fundamentally different
7:12 histories underneath what
7:13 umbrella, acknowledgment that
7:15 had has the courage to name
7:16 what happened to whom it
7:17 happened and how the
7:18 consequences of that history
7:20 continue to reverberate today,
7:23 too. And speaking personally,
7:23 I do believe that our
7:26 liberation is bound up to one
7:27 another. But year liberation
7:28 does not require shared.
7:29 Stories are shared histories.
7:31 It does mean and has never
7:33 meant. It does not mean has
7:35 never meant that we must The
7:36 differences between has
7:37 collapse are distinct
7:38 experiences into one story in
7:40 order to stand and solidarity
7:43 with one another.
7:49 And in fact, I believe the
7:51 opposite. We have to
7:52 understand the difference is
7:54 how we arrived at this moment.
7:54 If we're ever going to
7:55 understand what liberation
7:58 requires us requires of us.
8:00 Now, solitary does not require
8:01 state We can recognize the
8:02 specificity of one community's
8:05 history was standing fully and
8:06 unapologetically alongside
8:07 another community seeking
8:10 recognition. And it's on. And
8:11 perhaps that is the part of
8:11 the work before us not
8:13 creating want to and brighten
8:15 up whole every injustice but
8:15 creating a city courageous
8:19 enough to tell you, took those
8:20 history's truthfully and
8:22 committed enough to act what
8:24 those histories teachers teach
8:25 And so with that, I'll open it
8:28 up for questions. If anyone
8:29 has also lot, decided what
8:35 questions I think the
8:36 presentation council PRESIDENT
8:37 Pro supposed get us. Thank
8:43 just want make sure her Duke
8:43 you, MISTER Chair. And so I
8:47 arrested withdrawing this.
8:49 Those great yeah, and that was
8:50 based on the feedback that I
8:53 had heard from the communities
8:55 that once again, we didn't
8:56 circulate council PRESIDENT's
8:56 language because we received
8:57 it too late to circulate it.
8:59 But we did with counsel and
9:03 plans language and they the
9:04 collision wasn't interested
9:04 and the broadening of the
9:09 scope of that language. I
9:10 guess. And more than anything,
9:12 I just have I just I want to
9:16 thank you for. You know,
9:17 standing in your values and
9:19 bringing this piece of this
9:22 policy proposal forward. And
9:24 I'm very appreciative of that
9:25 community members that were
9:29 engaged in that process. You
9:30 know, as I said before, like
9:33 this is something I would have
9:36 fully supported understanding
9:38 exactly the words that you
9:39 said. I don't think I can say
9:40 any in the end when we talk
9:42 about, you know, the different
9:43 types struggles between the
9:45 different groups. We know like
9:49 our country when it was built
9:51 upon. And Ted, how many
9:52 different groups have
9:54 suffered? Injustice over
9:57 entire being. But it doesn't
10:00 mean that we have to wrap them
10:04 all up into one package
10:06 because each experience is is
10:07 different different points of
10:09 time, different types of ways.
10:10 And it's important that they
10:11 are recognized and individual
10:15 ways. And at the same time.
10:20 When we come together to.
10:22 Ida's injustices. That's where
10:24 you know, there is there is
10:25 more power in numbers and
10:27 working together in those
10:27 ways. But recognizing
10:28 individual histories, I agree
10:32 is absolutely important. So
10:33 again, I thank you for
10:34 bringing this. If there is any
10:36 effort going forward, let me
10:40 know. I'm happy to to lend
10:42 support and again, appreciate
10:43 a lot of that energy time and
10:46 work that and the community
10:47 put into Thank that thank
10:48 Shouldn't think you MR.
10:49 CHAIRMAN, thank you. MADAM
10:55 PRESIDENT, thank you for the
10:57 presentation and walking I am
11:00 I didn't know about SEPTEMBER
11:03 15th and open houses or I get
11:07 into house. But like those
11:07 open sessions that you I would
11:09 made an effort to be able to
11:10 be present or to be able to
11:13 connect in way for me. It's
11:17 also a I. It's thinking
11:18 hearing what you're saying.
11:19 But does you know, including
11:21 other committee, other
11:23 communities to a labor and
11:26 lessen the impact of another
11:27 community's history. And I
11:29 think that's what I'm hearing
11:31 and in your in your statement,
11:32 but also thinking about or
11:36 does it strengthen it? And for
11:38 me, if anything, it
11:39 demonstrates how
11:40 interconnected are struggles
11:45 country success has been
11:45 are. This country? This
11:48 founded on the force. Laver of
11:51 African-Americans. And it just
11:52 continued from the Chinese
11:52 people who built the right to
11:55 built the railroads. But it's
11:57 also forced out of their homes
11:58 and to the press at a program
12:04 where? The U.S. Highly
12:06 dependent on agricultural for
12:07 little or no compensation.
12:10 Today. We continue to see how
12:11 industries depend on
12:13 undocumented immigrant labor
12:14 because it is seen as cheap
12:17 labor and immigrants are not
12:17 protected to the same manner
12:19 of those with citizenship
12:22 status. So by having a labor
12:24 acknowledge thank labor
12:24 acknowledgment rent every
12:27 Monday meeting and should be
12:28 reflective of the city's
12:29 history. The past the present
12:30 exploitation of workers and
12:31 our current efforts to enhance
12:33 the quality of life of
12:34 dendrites and future
12:36 contributions of labor. And as
12:38 a body. So I take to heart
12:41 what you're saying and
12:45 thinking recognizing and and
12:45 and and having the
12:46 acknowledgement and it was
12:48 labor and acknowledgement. So
12:49 really my thoughts and
12:53 thinking and approach was
12:56 based on what does that mean
12:57 for labor for in the past. But
13:00 also today I saw the
13:05 inclusivity multiple,
13:06 struggles folks of people
13:07 within labor as part of this
13:10 larger narrative and story to
13:11 take an opportunity not only
13:12 to acknowledge the past, but
13:13 also to really embrace what
13:16 that means for us as a city in
13:17 the future and of our current
13:21 state and how that impact has
13:25 has been represented. So I'm
13:28 not opposed to a labor
13:28 acknowledgment. I would just
13:29 like to be able to have
13:32 something that we could rest
13:33 and think about that
13:36 representation moving forward.
13:39 So respect stakeholder on that
13:42 you did on also had multiple
13:45 conversations when folks what
13:48 would they want to see in a
13:49 labor acknowledgment? Multiple
13:52 groups of all ages and what
13:53 that means for council. I also
13:57 heard from councilmembers you
13:58 know, having a process that
14:02 included included And in that
14:02 narrative, I feel like we've
14:05 got externally to talk to a
14:08 number of people, but to have
14:09 that internal conversation is
14:10 something that we also might
14:12 want to consider moving
14:14 forward as So thank you very
14:16 much. We're not considering
14:18 anything moving forward. I
14:19 think that's did this
14:20 conversation its not to be
14:21 litigated with me. It was the
14:23 coalition of folks that I told
14:24 you when you all postponed it
14:25 for a month and you asked me
14:25 to go back to them to
14:26 socialize something