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BOISE Boise Police Department officers on Tuesday arrested Terry Wilson, 37, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Boise and former Boise State University adjunct professor, after police said they believed him to be involved in the vandalism of an Abraham Lincoln statue in Julia Davis Park.

The statue, called Seated Lincoln, was defaced with red chalk paint on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month. The chalk paint meant to signify blood was not permanent, and the statue sustained no permanent damage. Feces and signs were also left around the statue, but activists who organized the protests previously told the Idaho Press they had no involvement with the feces left at the scene.

Wilson was injured in an altercation with police after an officer approached him on Tuesday with an arrest warrant for a misdemeanor vandalism charge. Police said Wilson fled inside a residence and resisted arrest.

Wilson said his arrest at the home of his childrens grandmother in Boise was unnecessarily violent. He said police entered the property, forced him outside, and held him on the ground. Wilson, who is a Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor and has a port in his chest, said he was thrown to the ground in front of his wife and children, who began to videotape the incident.

The Black Lives Matter activist and criminologist was worried the impact would rip the port open. His family indicated to the officers during the arrest that Wilson had cancer and is still sick. Medical records show he was given a CT scan on his head and spine, and had X-rays taken on his shoulder and hip. Wilson said he has bruises on his chest and is sore, has a hip contusion, and shared a photograph of a gash across his shoulder.

A medical report completed after Wilsons arrest on March 23

At the Ada County Jail, Wilson said he was denied blood clot medication, which he was prescribed less than 10 days ago following a blood clot diagnosis, as well as his pain medication. Ada County Sheriffs Office said Wilson was booked at the jail after he was taken to the hospital and medically cleared.

A laceration on Wilsons shoulder resulting from his March 23 arrest

He was not in jail overnight and spent just over three hours in custody before being released, sheriffs office spokesman Patrick Orr said.

He added that the classification process for inmates who are going to be assigned to the jail or the standard medical evaluation was not done because he was bonding out, and that medication has to be checked by health services staff and confirmed by a medical provider before inmates get access.

Wilson was released just before midnight on March 23 after posting $900 bond, according court records and Ada County. Wilson said he was not able to take his medication until 12 hours after his scheduled dosage time.

According to Wilson, the arresting officer did not identify himself and did not indicate he had a warrant before the making the arrest. Boise Police contested this account, stating that an officer arrived to serve the warrant, causing Wilson to reenter the home, which qualifies as resisting arrest, which then caused the officer to ask for backup, stating he was in pursuit.

Wilson said he counted six uniformed police officers and several others in plain clothes, and Boise PD confirmed that multiple officers responded after the first officer on scene called for backup. There was no foot pursuit I was dragged out of the house, Wilson said.

In his report of the encounter, Boise Police Officer Connor Burch wrote, I shouted again that he had a warrant, and he quickly entered the residence. I entered the home, as I was in fresh pursuit, and became engaged in a struggle with Wilson, who actively resisted my efforts to take him into custody. After our altercation spilled out of the residence, I notified him several times that he was under arrest; but he continued to resist by tensing his muscles, pulling away from me, and trying to escape. Eventually, Ofc. Anderson and I were able to gain control of him and place him into handcuffs.

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Wilson was charged with misdemeanor vandalism as well as with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia and resisting arrest, according to court records.

Wilson said he was carrying a cannabis vape pen on him which he uses for treatment with cancer in remission and alleges he is personally acquainted with Burch the arresting officer, who he attended a criminal justice program at Boise State University with. The university confirmed Thursday the officer was a student in its criminal justice program.

I was with my kids and my family, and they are now seeking mental health support because of what happened, said Wilson, adding that his son expressed thinking his dad was going to die. I am innocent and I plan to contest these charges, he said in reference to vandalism and resisting arrest.

Wilson acknowledged being a medical marijuana user however Idaho law makes no exceptions for such use and said he will accept whatever consequences come after the charges are reviewed by a jury of his peers. He is being represented by an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild.

Possession of marijuana under 3 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. Misdemeanor paraphernalia charges also carry up to a one-year sentence, while resisting arrest is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. Misdemeanor vandalism is punishable by up to one year in prison.

During the arrest, according to the police report, an officer located a firearm in Wilsons fanny pack. Wilson said he is licensed to carry the pistol and keeps it for safety. He referenced a federal court case out of North Carolina in which members of an alleged weapons production ring with connections to neo-Nazi groups had moved to Boise to stockpile weapons and train in the mountains. According to federal court records, two group members had surveilled a Black Lives Matter rally on Boise States campus last summer and discussed shooting those protestors. That case, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, is ongoing.

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Black Lives Matter activist charged with vandalism injured during arrest - Idaho Press-Tribune

Fourteen people in Minnesota have been selected as jurors in former officer Derek Chauvins murder trial for killing George Floyd, ending a more than two-week process in which they explained their views on Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, the protests after Floyds death, and defunding the Minneapolis Police Department.

The jurors identities will be kept anonymous through the trial, but according to the court they include eight white people, four Black people, and two people who identified as more than one race.

Among them is a retired Black grandmother in her sixties, a white nurse in her fifties, two Black managers in their thirties and forties who immigrated to the US, a white auditor and a Black youth sports coach in their thirties, two single white mothers in their fifties working in healthcare, a white chemist and a white social worker in their twenties, a multiracial woman in her twenties, and a multiracial woman in her forties. The court selected a 15th juror Tuesday, a white man in his twenties, in case one of the 14 seated jurors drops out before opening arguments begin on March 29.

During the selection process, there were concerns that excessive publicity about the case, especially the citys $27 million civil settlement with George Floyds family, would prejudice prospective jurors. Hennepin County district judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the trial, dropped two jurors who said they could no longer be impartial after hearing about the news of the settlement.

The defense, prosecution, and judge had to determine whether prospective jurors could be fair and impartial. The bystander video showing Floyd on the street with Chauvins knee on his neck sparked international protests for police accountability and racial justice and led to a mass reckoning with systemic inequalities throughout society.

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder. The three other officers involved in Floyds death will be tried together in August.

To determine their biases, prospective jurors were asked to explain their views which they filled out in a 16-page questionnaire before jury selection began on significant and contentious topics in the country.

The jurors opinions, given under oath, provided a fascinating insight into what a cross section of residents in Minnesota which became a hub of police brutality protests last year thought about Floyds death, the aftermath, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system.

Most people who did not get picked expressed strong views about the police and racial justice issues or appeared to be very knowledgeable about the case.

Chauvins attorney, Eric Nelson, used his strikes to dismiss prospective jurors who believed Chauvin was culpable in Floyds death and who wanted police reform. Prosecutors used their strikes against those who were very pro-police.

The jurors who were selected appeared to hold more passive and neutral opinions about many of the same topics, ascribing their views to either a lack of knowledge or personal experience.

Nearly all of the selected jurors had somewhat negative or neutral views of Chauvin, while a few mentioned Floyds checkered past and skeletons in his closet. Many felt favorably about Black Lives Matter as a statement but not as an organization, and most were favorable or neutral about Blue Lives Matter. All the jurors said they respected law enforcement and most disagreed with the idea of defunding the Minneapolis Police Department. Several believed that the protests after Floyds death negatively affected their communities in terms of the destruction of property and rioting.

Ultimately, all the jurors had to unequivocally state that despite their opinions they could as Chauvins attorney described it become a blank slate to serve on the jury.

These are some of the opinions of the 14 jurors who will judge one of the most significant police prosecutions in recent history.

Jurors impressions of Chauvin and Floyd after watching the video

All the jurors said they had either a somewhat negative or neutral impression of Chauvin based on clips of the video and news reports. Many said that their negative opinion of Chauvin was based more on the fact that a person died during the incident, and not on their personal views about him.

I dont think [Chauvin] had any intention of harming anyone, but somebody did die, one juror, a Black youth sports coach in his thirties, told the court.

Nobody wants to see somebody die, whether it was [Chauvins] fault or not, said a woman in her twenties who identified as more than one race.

A single white parent in her fifties said she had sympathy for Floyd as well as the officers accused of killing him.

No one wants to take someones life if that is what happened so thats where the empathy comes from, she told the court. She felt that Chauvin was innocent until proven otherwise.

Several jurors said they didnt have all the details about what happened before or after what the video showed and didnt trust media reports to provide the full picture.

There are two sides to every story, a Black grandmother in her sixties told the court.

Most of the jurors had a neutral opinion of Floyd, saying they didnt know enough about him. At least four white jurors brought up allegations of drug use and domestic violence to suggest that Floyd had a checkered past.

One woman had a somewhat negative opinion of Floyd because his record wasnt clean and he abused drugs at some point, she wrote in her questionnaire.

While Floyd didnt deserve to die, the woman said, I dont believe he is completely innocent.

A single white mom of two teenage boys wrote in her questionnaire that Floyd was not a model citizen.

He may have had more skeletons in his closet than most, but he did not deserve to die, she wrote.

Jurors opinions on Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter

Most of the jurors had somewhat favorable views of Black Lives Matter as a statement but not as an organization. Several jurors said they supported the BLM movement within the context of the idea that all lives matter.

I dont love the Black Lives Matter organization, said a white chemist in his twenties who was the first juror to be seated. I do support the message that every life should matter equally. I dont believe that the organization Black Lives Matter necessarily stands for that. I do think that the phrase and the movement stands for that.

He said that he didnt see Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter as mutually exclusive, adding, the whole point of that is all lives should matter equally and that should include police.

One juror, a white man in his thirties, said he supported Black Lives Matter in a general context but disagreed with some of the ways the groups members have gone about it.

The woman in her twenties who identified as more than one race said that she liked the idea of what Black Lives Matter was supposed to stand for but thought it had been turned into a propaganda scheme by companies just to get you to buy their stuff.

The white single mother in her fifties checked that she had a somewhat unfavorable view of Black Lives Matter in her questionnaire. When questioned about it in court, she said she wasnt sure why she selected that, adding, I strongly believe all lives matter.

Maybe I was thinking that sometimes they were taking it too far, she said. The woman suggested that the movement started because Black people maybe felt that they were never seen or never heard, adding, I dont believe that to be true, but I dont know because Im not them.

The juror also said that when people say Black Lives Matter, she perceived them as saying that others lives dont matter. She said that if someone told her Black Lives Matter, I would probably tell them that all lives matter.

The woman did not know Blue Lives Matter was related to police officers. I took that to mean everybody else, she said.

A white social worker in her twenties felt neutrally toward both movements, saying, I believe Black lives matter as much as Latinas, police etc... I dont think one is more important than the other.

The four Black jurors had favorable views of Black Lives Matter, while three of them also felt favorably about Blue Lives Matter.

I am Black and my life matters, the grandmother wrote in her questionnaire. With respect to Blue Lives Matter, she wrote, Everyone is important and my family member is a police officer.

When Chauvins attorney asked her if she agreed with the premise that all lives matter, she said yes.

A Black IT manager in his thirties who immigrated to the US 14 years ago wrote, I believe all lives matter, but I think Black lives matter more because they are marginalized.

He was also favorable toward Blue Lives Matter, writing, Cops need to be safe and feel safe to protect our community.

A Black man in his forties who also immigrated to the US was favorable to both because he believed every life matters.

A white woman in her forties who works in insurance wrote that while she believed people of other races are treated unfairly, she did not personally get involved to support the cause of Black Lives Matter. She had a very favorable opinion of Blue Lives Matter, writing in her questionnaire, I would be terrified if our police departments were dismantled.

Jurors opinions about the impact of protests in the Twin Cities after Floyds death

While some jurors believed there were positive aspects to the protests after Floyds death, especially in bringing awareness about racial justice issues, many felt that the impact was negative because of the damage to communities and local businesses.

Chauvins attorney, Eric Nelson, frequently mentioned rioting while questioning prospective jurors about the protests and asked them if they could differentiate between the two.

A white woman in her forties said the protests had a positive and negative impact on the Twin Cities area, as some things led to rioting and some people brought awareness through protests.

The Black grandmother said her community had been affected by the protests because so many stores were looted and destroyed. She said her brother was unable to get his medications delivered through the post office. The only positive impact of the protests, she said, was that people came together to help each other and their local businesses.

The Black man in IT management said that while people in his community understood why people were protesting, they were not OK with the looting.

The Black youth sports coach said the protests had the potential to have a positive impact but that he hadnt seen any changes so far.

The single white mother in her fifties believed that while the protests had brought attention to real issues, she felt the destruction of businesses was unnecessary. When Chauvins attorney asked her if she thought the people protesting were also responsible for rioting, she said the majority werent, but some were.

Another white woman in her 50s said the communities in the Twin Cities area took a beating from the protests. She said she was scared that the riots would spread to her neighborhood.

Jurors opinions on law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and defunding the Minneapolis Police Department

Most jurors said they respected and trusted law enforcement, agreed that police made them feel safe, and disagreed with the idea of defunding the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).

Both the Black men who immigrated to the US said they strongly disagreed with defunding the MPD.

While I necessarily might not agree with the police action in some situations, I believe that in order for police to make my community safe they have to have the funds to do that, one of the men said.

The other man, whose house had been previously broken into, said that if the police were defunded they wouldnt have been able to come and help him. He believed that defunding the police was more of a political statement.

The Black sports coach said that in some instances the police didnt make him feel safe, recalling an incident when he witnessed some officers slam a young man to the ground.

But I also know some great guys, he said, referring to officers he knew at his gym. He disagreed with defunding MPD because he didnt have enough information about it to form an opinion.

The white woman in her forties who works in insurance said that defunding the MPD would terrify her and would not work out well.

Just look at the riots, she said. I dont think it seems to solve problems.

A white social worker in her twenties also strongly disagreed with defunding MPD, saying, My understanding from that overall movement is getting rid of the police in general, and I do not agree with that.

Several jurors somewhat agreed that the police discriminated against Black people and other minorities, basing their opinions on what they saw on the media. Some felt that the media exaggerated or sensationalized such incidents. But the Black youth coach said the media couldnt possibly cover the extent of discrimination in the system.

Both the Black grandmother and a white woman in her fifties who advocates for homeless people felt that the bias against Black people and other minorities in the criminal justice system was driven more by economic factors and not by race.

The white woman believed that police treated Black people and white people equally based on her personal experience.

Ive seen incidents where police and minorities were involved and I didnt see them treat them any differently than anybody else, she said.

One of the single mothers in her fifties said that as part of her advocacy work in healthcare she felt there was an inherent systematic bias against Black and Native communities, but added that not all police are bad.

A couple of the jurors felt that, if something negative happened to people who didnt cooperate or comply with police, then the people most likely had themselves to blame.

If you dont comply something needs to happen to resolve the situation, the homelessness advocate told the court.

Jurors opinions on use of illegal drugs

Chauvins defense is set to focus on Floyds use of drugs and preexisting medical conditions as contributing factors to his cause of death. The trial judge allowed the defense to introduce evidence from Floyds previous arrest in May 2019, when he ingested drugs during the incident.

During jury selection, prosecutors tried to ascertain if jurors would be biased against people who use illegal drugs. While most jurors said they wouldnt judge a person for abusing narcotics, one juror, a white woman in her forties, had a negative view of Floyd based on his use of drugs.

She said those who struggle with addiction arent bad people but that she would be cautious about trusting them. The single white mother in her fifties said she was anti-drug and believed that those who use drugs are making bad decisions.

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This Is What Jurors In Derek Chauvins Trial Think About Black Lives Matter, Defunding The Police, And The Protests For George Floyd - BuzzFeed News

GODWIN HEIGHTS, Mich. At Godwin Heights Middle School, 7 girls are part of a group called "Girls for Change."

7th Grader at the school, Arianna Mckuhen tells us, "Girls for Change means to me like, girls can change the world! Girls can do anything a guy can do."

These empowered girls meet once a week to learn about social issues.

In 2020 some of the students took their education to the streets, attending Black Lives Matter protests and community clean ups in Downtown Grand Rapids.

While some of the girls were helping to clean up in May, their principal Bradley Tarrance noticed an artist on the street corner painting an exhilarating mural.

The name of that artist is Jamari Taylor, and together they hatched a plan to bring students' summer experience on the streets, to winter work in the hallways.

"So we linked her up with our girls for change group," explains principal Tarrance."Then we just started brainstorming... how can we tie art into history? Into writing, into reading, all of these pieces... Then the girls came up with the idea of the mural."

The girls have been enamored with the process of creating a mural in their middle school hallways depicting diversity.

6th grader, Amahria Dillard tell us, "I've always wanted to be an artist, and I've always wanted to paint like her (Jamari)."

It took Jamari six weeks to teach the girls how to paint like her, and more importantly how to paint the women they look up to.

Their teacher and the artist Jamari Taylor says; "So students, during the brainstorming process, they kind of pitched their idea of different things they wanted the community to be aware of."

She continues; "Right now, a lot of the Black Lives Matter Movement is going on, and one student wanted to talk a little bit about immigration, while one student wanted to support the LGBTQ community. So then we all just did a little bit of research, to find those women who are out here and empowering the community, and and that's how we chose the faces."

The faces featured on the mural at Godwin Heights include Alicia Garza, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Marielena Hincapie, an immigration lawyer from Colombia.

There's also Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Marsha P. Johnson, all diverse, powerful women.

Diverse women, for a school full of diverse kids.

About 60% of students at Godwin Heights Middle School are Hispanic, 30% African American, and the rest a mixture of white and refugees.

"We need more pictures like this in schools and the community because it makes them just feel appreciated here. Nobody's gonna judge me or anything. So it feels like a safe place to a lot of people," says Amahria.

Physically seeing diversity in their own hallways is creating a sense of pride at Godwin Heights Middle School.

So Jamari and the girls encourage you to really think about this project.

How can you demonstrate the strengths of diversity in your community too?

Jamari leaves us with this, "It's very, very empowering. It really pushes me to do more. I'm hoping that this will inspire other schools to maybe be considerate of Okay, what are other ways that we can help students here?."

Principal Tarrance beams with pride and concludes, "Our future's bright, our future is darn bright with these girls in charge of it!"

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Godwin Heights "Girls for Change" create diversity mural with BLM artist - Fox17

The Union Square rally was organized to form solidarity between the two communities, which share similar sufferings but have had a complex relationship that presented itself clearly at the event, according to Sing Tao Daily.

Photos courtesy of Sing Tao Daily

This story was originally published by Sing Tao Daily on March 22, and has been slightly condensed. Translated by Rong Xiaoqing.

A rally against anti-Asian hate crimes drew close to a thousand people to Union Square on Sunday. Among the many protests held in response to the shootings in Atlanta that caused eight deaths, including those of six Asian women, this one was jointly organized by young Black and Asian activists to form solidarity between the two communities, which share similar sufferings but have had a complex relationship that presented itself clearly at the rally.

The balmy weather helped draw a huge crowd of participants from all racial groups, with Black and Asian attendees making up the majority. Signs with words like Say no to anti-Asian hate and Hate is the virus were ubiquitous, and many held boards on which Asian lives matter and Black lives matter were written side by side.

Speakers from both communities emphasized that racism and white supremacism are their common enemies. One of the organizers of the event, a Black actor and screenwriter who goes by the name COFFEY, led the crowd to chant together in rhythm: Asian lives matter. Black lives matter. Your life matters. Our lives matter.

A lot of people dont believe in coming together. The first thing they do is the label out Blacks, and Asians too, as criminals. When [a] white supremist did this, they say he has a mental illness. Hell no! said COFFEY. We want you guys to live because we want to live. Thats why we are here.

Power Malu, an organizer and partner of Running to Protest, called for participants to stay together to keep fighting against stereotypes, even when the media attention wanes. He quoted Grace Lee Boggs, the Chinese American civil rights leader who married Black activist James Boggs and fought for equal rights for Black people until she passed away in 2015. The time has come to grow our souls, to grow our relationships with one another, to create families that are loving and communities that are loving, to bring the neighbor back into the hood, Malu quoted.

In a candid and powerful speech, Dao-Yi Chow, a Chinese American designer and one of the organizers of the rally, directly addressed anti-Black racism in the Asian community. The institutions that led to the murders highlighted by the BLM movement are the same that led to the shootings in Atlanta, said Chow.

We have to recognize our own anti-Black racism for decades, Chow added. We cannot be safe until everybody is safe.

The speeches received roaring cheers and reactions. Yuyi Jin, president of the Association of Guizhou, a township organization for Chinese from Guizhou province, said Black Americans have richer experience in civil rights protests and that the Black Lives Matter movement has offered a demonstration for Asian activists to follow. The most important thing is not the conflicts between different communities but the challenges of living in the U.S. for all, Jin said.

To Jie Li and Hang Chen, app-based taxi drivers from Fujian Province, anti-Black racism exists in the Chinese community but is not widespread. But they did notice that the Chinese community didnt stand up in large numbers during the BLM protests last year, either. Thats because the protests then were accompanied by some riots, and many Chinese didnt want to be seen as they were supporting violence, said Chen. Both vowed to support causes of the Black community more often. (City Limits note: While there were serious incidents of violence in a few areas of the city during last summers protests, the majority of protests were peaceful).

But not everyone feels the chasm between the two communities will disappear overnight. I have never seen a real solidarity. Its always that Black people lay the ground and others come to grab the spotlight, said Darryal Dashiell, who is Black and works in the movie and TV industry. Asians have achieved success in this country. What Ive seen more often is that Asians open shops in the Black neighborhoods and treat Black customers badly. If these protests can help us to put aside our differences and focus on our common interest, its going to be great. But I cannot see the hope now.

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In Wake of Atlanta Shooting, Black and Asian New Yorkers Rally Together Against Hate - City Limits

Aisha Ahmad-Post, executive director of the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, poses for a portrait at the University of Denver on Dec. 15, 2020. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

My first (job) interview was the week the pandemic shut down the world, said Aisha Ahmad-Post during a Zoom call, an I-know-I-know smile punctuating the seeming absurdity of that fact. She got the job, and her start date as executive director of Newman Center for the Performing Arts was Aug. 3.

Playwright and director Idris Goodwin, too, began his job as the pandemic surged and waned, surged and waned (sort of) and the streets were populated with citizens reiterating what should have been a no-brainer, that Black Lives Matter. He now directs the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

Hired in 2018, Caitlin Lowans had a little more time under her belt as the artistic director of Theatreworks before the pandemic changed everything. The notable Colorado Springs company was on the eve of staging An Iliad, its sixth show in her first full season of programming, when all hell broke loose.

This month marks the year anniversary of the moment when the gathering arts began to crumple under the weight of COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, under the stewardship of Ahmad-Post, Goodwin and Lowans, the Newman Center, Theatreworks and the Fine Arts Center have stayed the course sharing performances, almost entirely in virtual fashion even as they have course-corrected. Each has been doing the work she/he embraced when they undertook their gigs: building community even in the midst of a community-bedeviling pandemic.

One of the highpoints of the Newman Centers 2010-21 season was supposed to be a visit by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. It still was a highlight, as the March 5 virtual performance of Marsalis Democracy! Suite, by the famed jazzman and a septet gamely proved. Was it live? Not quite, but it was memorable.

This fall I started having some conversations with the Jazz at Lincoln Center team about a virtual performance, Ahmad-Post wrote in an email. At the time, we were gearing up for the election season and the Democracy! Suite was particularly fitting. As Wynton will tell you, jazz is all about listening, responding, harmonizing, point and counterpoint. Maybe we could all use a reminder about how to be in dialogue, in conversation.

Ahmad-Post, a classically trained musician turned arts honcho, has known of the Newman Center since her time in New York City, when she was producing the New York Public Library systems Live! artists series.

It has all the things that are exciting to me when I think about the role of a performing arts center, when I think about the arts in a regional metropolitan center, she said. Ahmad-Posts goals go beyond maintaining the high-profile tug of the acoustically impressive Gates Auditorium that lure artists of Marsalis caliber, but also support homegrown but globally known creatives like choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson and her dance ensemble. It really has its own thing going on, so what should that look like and what should our conversation with the national and international community look like?

The pandemic has given her room unasked for, to be sure, but valuable just the same to start answering those questions.

Before grabbing the reins at Newman Center, Ahmad-Post had proven she could guide an arts organizations grandest designs while nurturing its deepest values, helming the opening of the Ent Center at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Ent is home to an art gallery, Theaterworks and an Artists Series.

The ambition of that project was enormous, says Ahmad-Post, who asked, How the Center could be part of the Colorado Springs resurgence and renaissance, especially in the arts.

That Ahmad-Post, Goodwin and Lowans share a relationship to the states second-largest city isnt lost on any of them. And the work theyve done has forced arts-loving Denverites to rethink any aversion to that drive south down Interstate 25. I think Colorado Springs is on the precipice of something really big with the arts and culture sector, Ahmad-Post said.

As for the Newman Center, beyond maintaining the high-profile tug of the acoustically impressive Gates Auditorium, Ahmad-Post intends on deepening the conversations between audience, venue and artists: giving local audiences more of a sense of their role in that equation.

I think theres a unique role for an arts center. How do you shape what a community is? How do you build empathy? How do you share stories that are highly specific and also universal?

Goodwin is no stranger to the Rocky Mountain West. He had been a professor at Colorado College for six years. During that time, his reach extended beyond the classroom: As a playwright and director, hed helmed productions at Curious Theatre Company and had his work performed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

When the Black Actors Guild mounted a socially distanced but also virtual production of his hip-hop drama Hype Man last September, it was one of the few plays to be staged for an in-person audience during the 2020 fall season.

Being a professor was a great launch pad and foundation, he said of his time at CC. But I developed a real appetite for doing things in the civic space.

In 2018, he took a job as the producing artistic director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, Ky. The organization introduces youngsters to the arts.

Goodwin and his family were living in Louisville when Breonna Taylor was killed by police. Being there this summer, during that (shooting) and also working in the cultural and civic space for two years its been a very surreal set of months, he said.

This American moment and his role in influencing the direction of a well-regarded multidisciplinary arts organization challenge him in ways he feels hes been moving toward his whole and varied career.

To be in the arts is really advantageous because were in the humanity business, were in the empathy business, the storytelling business, said Goodwin.

I came into my (job) interview basically saying, Are we just a building with some objects in it? Or are we more than that? Are we a conversation? Are we a lifestyle? Are we a cultural engine? Thats what I came in with. So then when we had to shut things down, it was a great opportunity to dig into that conversation.

An Iliad had been scheduled as the sixth show of Lowans first full season of programming, and was to open on March 12.

I was excited about it, said Lowans. Especially for the Springs, because of telling a story of war in a community, many of it comes from the military and veteran community.Lowans has become even more keen on expanding the communities that Theatreworks speaks and listens to.

In the intervening months, Lowans and Theatreworks juked and tweaked. In October, they presented monologist Anna Deavere Smiths House Arrest: A Search for Character In and Around the White House, past and present, having paired eight directors with eight performers for Zoom rehearsals.

For the last two weekends of February, Theatreworks experienced the fruits of all that pivoting. The Mitten: a Midwinter Puppetry Fable, created by JParker Arts and Katy Williams Designs, brought together a lovely, diverse group of puppeteers (across the race, gender, theatre discipline, level of experience spectrums), Lowans wrote in an email. And the warm response from the audience made me hopeful for the interdisciplinary adventurousness of audiences to come. The show sold out.

An Iliad is back on the companys slate for a late spring/early summer production in 2021. Whether it will unfold indoors, outdoors or virtually has yet to be confirmed. Before that, Theatreworks is providing two more pieces in its Sunday series of free virtual readings: Kate Hamills adaptation of Little Women, (April 11) and Aubergine by Julia Cho (May 16).

Lisa Kennedy (lkennedywriter@gmail.com) is a former film and theater critic for The Denver Post.

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Is Colorado Springs' theater scene on the cusp of something big? - The Know