As of the 2010-2014 American Community Survey, 77.5% of Denver's population reported white ancestry. Non-Hispanic whites made up 52.9% of the city's population according to the survey, up from 51.9% of Denver's population in the 2000 Census.
According to the 2010 Census, approximately one-third of Denver's population consists of Hispanic or Latino people. 31.8% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.[5]
The City of Denver has established the Denver American Indian Commission to promote better relations between First Nations people and the wider community.[7] The annual Denver Pow-Wow in March is one of the largest in the country and hosts traditional First Nations dances, attracting First Nations People from across the US and Canada, as well as many non-First Nations people.[8]
The Black American West and Denver
Many of the early inhabitants to settle the city were of African lineage, especially those who had escaped slavery. African-American mountain manJim Beckwourth homesteaded land in what is now Denver in 1863.[9] In honor of these frontiersmen, Paul Stewert created the Black American West Museum in Denver.[10]
The Five Points neighborhood is historically associated with African-American culture in Denver.[11] In the 1940s through the 1950s, jazz clubs in Five Points provided popular venues for famous African American musicians.[12]
Denver's first African-American mayor, Wellington Webb, served in that office from 1991 to 2003. The current Denver mayor, Michael Hancock, elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015 and 2019, is also African-American, as are former city councilwoman Allegra "Happy" Haynes and Denver police chief Robert C. White. Former Denver First Lady and State Senator Wilma Webb led the successful movement to adopt Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a state holiday, long before it became a federal holiday.
Asian-American Denver
Chinese people first arrived in Denver in 1870, and settled in a neighborhood known as "Hop Alley" along Wazee Street ("Wazee" is said to be a Chinese name).[13] Denver was the scene of a deadly anti-Chinese riot in 1880.[14]
In the city of Denver, the largest populations of Jews are found in the West Colfax and Hilltop neighborhoods.[15][failed verification] The heritage of many generations of Jewish Denverites is very visible in the city, and its many landmarks (several prominent synagogues among them). Denver is also home to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center.[16] Famous Jews from or who lived in Denver include Golda Meir. The weekly news paper Intermountain Jewish News is published from Denver.
