Art

Louisville native Elmer Lucille Allen discusses growing up attending African American schools and later working in mostly white environments. She worked at Brown Forman for 31 years. She didn't begin working as an artist until she attended art classes at UofL in 1981. Allen also mentions her connections to the Louisville Art Workshop and years spent travelling with sculptor Ed Hamilton along with her photographer husband.

Bill Allison, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, acted as an appeals attorney for one of the Black Six defendants, Ruth Bryant. The Black Six were a group of five men and one woman who were prosecuted for inciting rebellion during the Parkland Uprising of 1968. Allison also represented the Black Panthers in Louisville and in Memphis, Tennessee. In this interview, Allison speaks about cases he was involved in involving government repression and retaliation against Civil Rights activists and how he became involved in that work through the Southern Conference Educational Fund, serving as SCEF's lawyer from 1969 to 1974.

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.

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.

Harold Berg grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended elementary and secondary school. His parents had come to the US from Russia. Berg's father attended trade school and worked as a plumber in New York. Harold came to Louisville to attend the University of Louisville for his pre-medical and medical education. Berg received his MD and completed his internship before being drafted in the US Army during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater as a surgeon and after the war returned to the US to complete his residency in surgery. Since 1951 he has practiced in Louisville. Berg is also known for his work in mosaics, examples of which were on display at the Jewish Community Center and the School of Medicine at the University of Louisville at the time of the interview.

Bibbs describes growing up in the California neighborhood in Louisville, teachers who mentored him in elementary and secondary school. He talks about Richard Hunt’s influence on his work, and his love of making public art. He discusses the “Firefighter's Flame” memorial, the ladder motif he uses in his work, the things he has learned about metalworking, the need for continued maintenance of public art. He also talks about the piece “Boogie Chillin’”, the developments in the Russell neighborhood, his teaching philosophy, the Commemorative Bridge piece for the Kentucky Human Rights Commission, the changes in public art he’s witnessed, the experience of what it takes to get a commission, what considerations he makes when taking on a job and he reflects on the role of public art in the community and debates about confederate monuments being removed.

Interview with Ray H. Bixler, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Louisville, concerning the university as he saw it in 1948, the Department of Psychology and its changes during his tenure, and desegregation of Louisville's public accommodations and housing, as well as student unrest on campus during the 1960s and 1970s.

Mary Boklage discusses her family history and her interests in the arts and folk recreation.

Civil rights activist and journalist Anne Braden talks about her early years as an activist in Louisville from 1947 through the early 1950s. The focus is on the intersection of the labor movement and the civil rights movement, including integration within labor union. Topics include Braden's career as a reporter, the Farm Equipment Workers Union, the Progressive Party, and the beginnings of the movement for integrated hospitals in Louisville.

Dr. Alicia Brazeau earned her MA (2007) and PhD (2012) in the English department at UofL. As an MA Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) from 2005-2007, she held the position of writing consultant at the University Writing Center (UWC) under the guidance of former Director Carol Mattingly. Brazeau then returned to the UWC, where she served as Assistant Director from 2008-2012, while pursuing her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition. In her Assistant Director role, she was also responsible for running the Virtual Writing Center. She recalls the leadership challenges that occurred in the wake of Mattingly’s departure from the UWC, and how utilizing Mattingly’s approach toward constant reevaluation of practices contributed to her success. These leadership experiences also inform her current work at The College of Wooster, where she has served as Writing Center Director since 2012. She discusses the problems faced by having an entirely new staff when taking on this role, and how her reliance on the mentorship she received at the UWC allowed her to learn from her mistakes and create a strong foundation for her current program. Brazeau then discusses how she leans in on the interdisciplinary experiences she had at the UWC to inform how she assists writers and consultants from a variety of backgrounds. Finally, she describes the reward of learning from the students she tutored, and how those interactions helped her become a better instructor.