Protest Marching Through Colorado - Wow Photo Wednesday

There's been a lot of talk about protest lately after Denver saw one of, if not the largest, protest in the city's 158-year history. The Women's March on January 21 was large, but it was hardly the first big protest the city or the state has seen. 

Coloradans have taken to the streets time and time again over the decades, in much the way the young men in this picture of the Boy's March in Trinidad in the early years of the 20th Century did. Our photo catalogers guessed that this photo was taken in 1914 or 1915 and, given the labor strife that culminated with the Ludlow Massacre in 1914, that's probably a spot-on guess. 

We don't know too much about the Boy's March, but if you zoom in and take a close look at the expressions on the boy's faces, you can tell they're very serious about what they're doing. Of course, it's pretty safe to say that these boys knew plenty of hardships during their childhoods and had plenty more rough times waiting for them when they were old enough to work in the mines. 

The Coal Strike of 1914 ended quite badly, as did a similar strike at the Columbine Mine in Serene, Colorado (near Lafayette), in 1927. Despite the long odds, the miners, and other active Coloradans, have pressed forward in support of causes ranging from the end of military conflicts; to equal rights for women and homosexuals; the right to simply live on their own; to smaller marches in support of causes near and dear to a single neighborhood. 

Take a look at the pictures in the gallery. Do you remember any of these events? Were your parents or grandparents there? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Western History Facebook page.