Denver Urban Spectrum readers are grateful to "Bee"
Every month, Denverites look forward to reading the Denver Urban Spectrum.
For 37 years, the publication has been dedicated to "Spreading the News about People of Color."
Co-founder and Publisher Rosalind "Bee" Harris is preparing to pass the torch for this Denver institution.
It's hard to imagine Denver without the Urban Spectrum.
Harris recalls designing the first issue in 1987: "Checked with the printer, it's going to cost $1,100 to print. The publication went out. We got $1,102 worth of advertising. And that's how it started."
"We didn't know what we were doing," said Harris, who started her career as a graphic designer.
"I just knew that I could lay it out. And quite frankly, I've been fortunate enough to do that every month for the last 37 years," added Harris.
If people were talking about it -- the Urban Spectrum was documenting it.
Raising awareness of the AIDS epidemic.
"We put condoms in half the publications," said Harris. "AIDS was running rampant as well, and especially in the Black community."
Putting a face on domestic violence. In a March 1999 issue, portraying a woman in a wheelchair.
"It resonated with people, and people needed to see those stories so that if they were suffering, that they could get help," Harris said.
Recording the 1993 "Summer of Violence" embodied in the story of young Broderick Bell.
"He was 6 years old. He peeked up to see if everything was okay. And that's when the bullet hit him right in his head, right in the middle," said Harris.
And the impact of giants such as Colorado state Rep. Wilma Webb, and marathoner-philanthropist Essie Garrett.
"We have stories. The stories need to be told. The history needs to be recorded," said Harris.
Evolving to digital and video podcasting, Harris is handing the reins at Urban Spectrum to editor Ruby Jones.
"She is taking it by storm. She is learning everything that I have learned over the last 37 years in the last several months," added Harris.
After four decades of empowering and lifting others, Bee Harris has made her mark, and the Denver Urban Spectrum's loyal readers are thankful.
Bee Harris is not done working, though. She will now focus on growing the Ruth Boyd Elder Abuse Foundation, named in honor of her late mother. It aims to ensure the safety and care of aging adults.
