Africa

Transcript available.

Mervin Aubespin (b. 1937 in Louisiana), a reporter for the Courier-Journal, talks about his path to the Civil Rights movement starting in Alabama and then in Louisville; Louisville during segregation; housing discrimination; and white flight. As an activist, Aubespin participated in marches, sit-ins, voter registration and organization for public accommodation, open housing, and to integrate Fontaine Ferry. Aubespin was originally hired by the Courier-Journal an artist, one of the first Black employees there. He covered the Parkland Uprising but did not get a byline or credit for his work. He then attended an intensive program at Columbia University to produce Black journalists and had a successful career as a reporter for the Courier-Journal, specializing in covering topics of interest to the Black community. Regarded as an expert on racism and the media, Aubespin is a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and was given the Ida B. Wells Award for his efforts to bring minorities into the field of journalism. Aubespin was also the founder of the Louisville Association of Black Communicators.

Louisville journalist and civil rights activist Mervin Aubespin talks about his days as a student at Iowa, his brief stint as a middle school shop teacher, and his time as an active member in civil rights protests including those outside department stores which did not allow Black people to try on clothes. He then earned a position at the Courier-Journal, first on the art team and then as associate journalist and chief recruiter. This work allowed him to travel to many places. Merv also discusses his involvement with the Louisville Art Workshop. He identifies as an artist who incorporated painting into a life full of other responsibilities including work and family.

Urban Axman is a 50-year-old white man who was a long-time resident of the Parkland area (1927-1959). He grew up in the first graduation class of Flaget High School in 1945. He discusses his family history, boyhood years and remembrances of the Parkland area. He noted the impact of church membership and social gatherings in the area.

Delores White Baker (1929-2012) speaks about her childhood in the West End in Louisville and her experiences living in New York and other southern states where she became increasingly aware of the prejudice around her. The focus of the interview is on Baker's experience of the intersection of the arts--particularly dance and theater--and race in the Louisville community. Baker was active with the West End Community Council, which focused on open housing, school integration, health and welfare, and the arts and helped shape the West End after a certain amount of white flight from that area. Baker's focus was on the arts. She started ballet and dance classes for children and organized drama and theater productions. She was director of the city-wide Arts and Talent Festival that took place annually in Chickasaw Park and highlighted local talents in the visual arts, music, dance, theater, etc. She was also involved with the Genesis Arts organization that provided classes for disadvantaged children in the community and the Pigeon Roost Theater players, a black West End based theater group focusing on poetry, music, and drama. Baker emphasizes the importance of exposing children to culture, her thoughts on the state of the Black community in Louisville, the anti-racism movement, and her relationships with local churches.

Barker shares her memories of her childhood and early adult years at Sheppard Square. She talks about Grace Community Center, mentioning many teachers by name, includig Fred Stoner. She remembers a childhood filled with physical ctivity, much of it spent outdoors. To Barker, Sheppard Square was "a great place to live" where neighbors knew and supported each other and corrected one another's children. Her father worked for the maintenance department of the Louisville Housing Authority. She talks about the changes in the complex, including an increase in single-family homes and a decline in property maintenance.

Henlee Barnette talks about his experiences witnessing racism and acting as an advocate for racial equality. He formed Clergy for Open Housing and participated in civil rights marches. He talks about the Southern Baptist involvement in civil rights, particularly in Louisville, Kentucky.

Beard discusses nearly twenty years of service on the board of directors of Red Cross (Community) Hospital. He covers changes in the character of the board, divisive issues, and the importance of the institution to the Black community.

Goldie Beckett discusses her life as well as her husband's experiences as alderman in the city of Louisville in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Mrs. Beckett briefly describes her early life and education, including her graduation from Kentucky State College. Mrs. Beckett had a career in education, but also worked with her husband, and for her brother, in the undertaking business in Louisville. She speaks of the Walnut Street area before Urban Renewal. Mrs. Beckett's husband, William Washington Beckett, was elected alderman in 1951 and served until 1961. In this time, he played a role in the integration of the fire and police departments, the parks, and public accommodations, and in developing a Human Relations Commission. Mrs. Beckett discusses her husband's contributions and the civil rights movement in general (both in Louisville and more generally) and gives her opinion on the roles of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the African American church.

Dr. Bell is a Black physician and relates the limitations placed upon him because of his race. He was interviewed concerning his opinions and experiences in relation to the history of Blacks in Louisville.