Parkland Oral History Project

Elmer Lucille Allen discusses general information about her life, including her educational and working career. She received degrees from University of Louisville and Spalding University. Her early childhood education was during segregation. Her working career included time at Brown Forman, where she was the first African American Chemist. Allen explains how her teachers shaped her adulthood. She discuses general information about her adult life, including her husband and children. She provides her and her children's experiences in school and the discrimination they faced. Allen discuses what she believes the boundaries of the Parkland neighborhood include. She discusses the riot of 1968 (she notes people destroying the neighborhood) and compares it to the riots in Ferguson Missouri. Allen describes the Parkland neighborhood after the riot, and notes the persisting negative stereotypes of the West End. Allen describes past segregation in Louisville, including parks and funeral homes, and the discrimination of African American's by businesses. She notes the progression of Louisville in general. (Interview index available.)

Transcript available.

Transcript available.

Interview index available

Transcript available.

Discusses 1968 Parkland Uprising and neighborhood history (emphasis on Shively race relations during the 1960s and 1970s). Interview index available

Interview index available

Interview index available

Talks about the riots occurring right outside of her home and discusses growing up in Parkland, still living in her childhood home and how the neighborhood has evolved for both good and bad over the decades. She starts by providing background information regarding her family, living in the projects and then later in the home she still lives in. Analyzes the differences between protesters and rioters. Interview index and summary available

Janice Ervin discusses her experience as a teacher in Indian Trails and the discrimination she faced. She notes this time as a happy time, and recalls lesson she learned as a teacher. Ervin notes the role of her mother shaping her decision to become a teacher. She instilled the need of education onto her two daughters. Ervin also talks about her siblings’ and their careers, her funding at the University of Michigan. Ervin discusses the boundaries of the Parkland neighborhood and notes it as being a nice neighborhood prior to the riot. She recalls the riot of 1968 (describing the period as a time of civil unrest), and notes her experiences demonstrating during the 1960s and 1970s. Ervin discusses organization of the rally and the damage after the riot. Ervin notes the impact the riot had on West Louisville, including the initial feelings of fear and the removal of many businesses in the area. Ervin discusses the Black Six and their trial. She recalls them being seen as heroes to the community. She provides her general feelings about Louisville after the riot (her desire to leave), as well as the perception of others (the West End being seen as undesirable). Ervin notes the after effect on Parkland today. (Interview index available.)

Henry Goodrow grew up in the West End of Louisville, Kentucky. He attended St. Columba Catholic School and Flaget High School in Louisville. He served in the Marine Corps (1956-1959) in Puerto Rico and North Carolina. He attended the University of Louisville and Bellarmine University for undergraduate education. His past employment included factory work at Bryan Williamson, salesman for Donnellson Bakery, National Life and Insurance Company, and the Louisville Water Company. A retired Middletown firefighter, he currently is an instructor for Region 6 of the Kentucky Fire Commission. Henry Goodrow speaks about growing up in the West End of Louisville, Kentucky. He describes the Parkland neighborhood’s past industries, businesses, shops, and demographics. He tells of the cause and results of the Parkland Riot. He discusses white prejudice against blacks in the 1950s and 1960s. He describes negative perceptions of the West End and contemporary challenges that Parkland faces. He concludes with thoughts on what is needed to improve Parkland. (Interview index and summary available.)

Gregory Grigsby was born in Louisville and has lived here for most of his life. He moved out of town to go to different schools but otherwise has lived in Louisville, in different neighborhoods, and considers Parkland to be his home. He has worked as a computer consultant, astrophysicist, and astrologer. He was living in Parkland during the uprising/riot of 1968. Talked about his life and experiences in Parkland, how the geographic boundaries have changed over time, the issue of housing, political conflicts (white government vs. black government), etc. He has memories of the whole uprising as being exaggerated and blown out of context. (Summary available.)

Professor Ira Grupper was born in New York City and lived there his whole childhood. He moved to Georgia and then Mississippi to participate in civil rights protests and organizations. He was jailed twice in Mississippi for his involvement and moved to Louisville in 1969 to work with the Bradens. He has lived in Louisville ever since and has held a couple of appointments in government: Human Relations Commission (1980-1986) and Metro Louisville Human Relations Commission (appointed by Mayor Fischer). He currently teaches at Bellarmine University and considers Louisville to be his home. Although he was not living in Louisville during the 1968 uprising he is well informed of the events and national climate of racial tensions during the time. He has a specific and firm view of Louisville as being a segregated city, then and now. He shares ideas for how the city can become more inclusive and integrated and briefly outlines the transformation of industry and business in the city. (Interview index and summary available.)

Interview index available

African American former Louisville City Councilwoman Cheri Hamilton, born in 1950 in the Russell neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. Mother was an activist and role model for Hamilton’s activism. She discusses her experiences dealing with racism in Louisville while growing up, as a protester and later as a government official. She also notes the influence of her mother and her activities on her own activism. Interview index and summary available

Interview index available

Interview index available

Transcript available

Interview index available

Transcript available

Interview index available

Transcript available

Born in Louisville, Murphy has lived in the West End and Newburg neighborhoods. She grew up in the African American area of the Parkland neighborhood nicknamed Little Africa. Since her mother died when Murphy was young, her aunt, Mamie Kent, and grandmother, Willie Blanks, raised Murphy. Her family temporarily evacuated to St. Louis, Missouri during the 1937 Flood. She received her primary school education in the three-room Parkland Annex and the Virginia Avenue School. She attended Madison Street Junior High School and Central High School, African American schools. Her family was a member of the Pleasant View Church. After World War II, whites increasingly moved north out of the Parkland neighborhood. Murphy’s family moved to Catalpa Street, a mixed street. Murphy was at home during the Parkland Riot but had her clothing stolen from the laundromat. Murphy had 10 children, all of whom graduated from high school. Some of her children went to college, including Pamela Osborne. In 1995, she moved to her current home. Frances Murphy describes being raised by her grandmother and aunt. She discusses their employment at a widow and orphans home and school called Masonic Home on Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. She recounts the tragedy of the Flood of 1937. She discusses her education and teachers in African American only schools. She describes the physical conditions of the homes in Little Africa during her childhood and improvements overtime. She names former businesses and stores in Parkland. She tells of the immediate and long term changes for Parkland brought on by World War II. She recounts the white areas of Parkland and the businesses that blacks could not enter. Murphy speaks of the feeling of safety in the neighborhood and community activities when she was growing up. She tells of her love for books and learning. She recounts how her family acquired food, ice, and coal. Murphy’s daughter, Pamela Osborne, speaks of the Parkland Riot. Interview index available.

Pamela Osborne speaks of growing up in the Parkland neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. She mentions community activities, businesses, schools, and religious institutions. She compares the quality of education she received in Newburg to that in Louisville and how that impacted her decision to support desegregation. She admits her regrets of how desegregation hurt African American students and her frustrations with how African American males in particular are discriminated against in schools. She discusses how her mother wanted Osborne and her siblings to be well educated. She speaks of the decision to attend college and her experience at Murray State University. She describes her career path working with students in the Job Corps and as Director of Medical School Admissions at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She highlights the similarities in the students that she worked with, despite their polarized socio-economic backgrounds. She describes the demographics of Parkland when she was growing up. She speaks about why she feels continuing to live in the West End is important. She points out the inaccuracies of negative, overgeneralized portrayals of the West End and the media’s tendency to only focus on the negative stories. She speaks of the negative impact of the Parkland Riot on the businesses and community members. She discusses contemporary problems in Parkland and the West End, including absentee landlordism and abandoned homes. She highlights recreational activities for children when she grew up. She stresses the importance of the former Parkland Library for her and her sadness when it closed. She concludes with changes to the neighborhood that have caused it to deteriorate from the everyday, community and family focused area that she remembered growing up.

Interview index available

Interview index available

Interview index available