1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Colorado became a state in 1876. But the road to becoming the 38th star was hardly straightforward. In this episode of Lost Highways, the team follows the seventeen-year statehood story that finally brought Colorado into the Union. Taxes, railroads, gold, and Civil War politics all played a role. But the most consequential battle centered on the deceptively simple question of who got to have a voice in Colorado’s future. In 1865, just 137 Black Coloradans answered that question with a petition demanding the right to vote. Their organizing helped derail a prejudicial voting law, forced Congress to protect Black suffrage, and ultimately helped secure voting rights for African American men across US territories. It's a story of race, political schemes, competing interests, and stubborn resistance that finally brought Colorado into the Union, and shaped who we are today.&amp;nbsp; Lost Highways: Dispatches from the Shadows of the Rocky Mountains https://www.historycolorado.org/lost-highways <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/42536525/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ef8200/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/42536525