Demetrius McDowell discusses growing up in Smoketown, early expulsion from Jefferson County Public Schools, the effects of incarceration on the spirit and psyche, being a father in jail, starting a business, early attempts at youth diversion and violence interruption, working at the YMCA, starting the nonprofit youth advocacy group Bosses Not Bangers.
These and other interviews were conducted by the Louisville Story Program and collaboratively edited with the participants authors between 2020 and 2023. The culmination of this collaborative work is the documentary book, “If You Write Me A Letter, Send It Here: Voices of Russell in a Time of Change.” This anthology of nonfiction documents the rich layers of history and cultural heritage in the Russell area of west Louisville, a neighborhood whose history is centrally important to the Black experience in Louisville.
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