History Café at Overland Trail Museum to Explore Black History Feb. 25

The Overland Trail Museum in Sterling will host a History Café focused on Black History in Colorado on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m. The event is part of the museum’s new Echoes of Colorado series and is billed as an engaging morning program for the community.

"The Overland Trail Museum invites you to its next History Café on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m., featuring a program focused on Black History in Colorado," the museum announcement says. This is the second program in the museum’s Echoes of Colorado series for 2026. "This engaging morning program will explore just a few of the stories, contributions, and lasting impact of Black Coloradans throughout the state’s history."

Guests are invited to enjoy "coffee, muffins, and history in a welcoming, informal setting." Organizers note that History Café programs are popular and space is limited. "Reservations are required. To reserve a spot, please call the Overland Trail Museum at 970-522-3895."

For Logan County residents, the program offers a low-barrier chance to connect local learning with wider state conversations about race, memory, and civic life. Museums and cultural programs increasingly serve as modest economic drivers for small towns by drawing visitors, supporting nearby businesses, and providing educational content for schools and community groups. The Echoes of Colorado series aims to keep such engagement local through repeat programming over 2026.

The Sterling program sits alongside a wave of statewide Black History Month and longer-term exhibitions. History Colorado’s "Moments That Made US" traces 800 years of U.S. history and notes that "Black history is woven throughout the exhibition with powerful objects like a first edition copy of the abolitionist-inspiring book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Jackie Robinson’s baseball bat ... and a drum kit belonging to Five Points jazz and be-bop drummer Shelley Rhym." History Colorado also highlights that when Colorado territory proposed a constitution in 1865 it sought to strip Black men of voting rights and that "more than a hundred Black community leaders organized and signed a petition, delaying Colorado’s statehood" until Congress acted to prohibit territories from denying voting rights on the basis of race.

Regional offerings include the traveling "Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History" exhibition at El Pueblo History Museum, which runs Jan. 19, 2026 to Jun. 19, 2026 at 301 North Union with admission listed as Children & Members Free, Adults $10, Seniors $8. Colorado State University’s Black/African American Cultural Center is hosting month-long events under the theme "Woven Roots: 100 Years of Commemoration, Lifetimes of the African Diaspora," and other cities are staging performances, virtual tours, and free museum exhibits through February.

For Sterling residents, the History Café is a practical way to take part in these statewide observances without traveling. Space is limited, so reserve by calling 970-522-3895; the program’s informal format and morning refreshments make it accessible to seniors, teachers, and families looking to add local context to classroom lessons or community conversations.