A Century of Black History Commemoration: The Groves Family and Fannie Mae Duncan

During the opening reception, local musician Charles Lumpkin will speak about Black History Month and play the Black National Anthem on his saxophone.

John Groves (1840-1902) and Louisa Divers Groves (1861-1943) were born in Virginia and Missouri, respectively. The son of a plantation owner and an enslaved woman, John soon showed his intelligence and was educated at a time that was illegal. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Sometime between 1886 and 1891, John and Louisa relocated to Manitou Springs, where they raised their family. Among their children: Harry Augustus (1891-1978), father of Harry Edward Groves (1921-2013), who would study at Harvard and become a respected law professor at universities around the nation.

Fannie Mae Duncan was renowned as the founder and owner of the Cotton Club in downtown Colorado Springs, where her motto was “everybody welcome.” Her portion of the exhibit will include photos taken at the club in 1955.

Fannie Mae Bragg was born in Alabama in 1918. Her family fled Alabama after a racially motivated murder and settled briefly in Oklahoma, Eventually, the family moved to Colorado Springs and Fannie Mae found work at the Manitou Spa. She married Ed Duncan in 1939 and the couple purchased a two-story building at 25 W. Colorado Ave. that would become the Cotton Club. Performers including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Flip Wilson, Etta James and B.B. King appeared there over the years to entertain audiences of all races.

The exhibit also will feature Charlotte Rickert’s short film, “The Groves — Uncovering the Black Heroes of Manitou Springs.”

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