Braden, Carl, 1914-1975

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.

Ira Grupper was born in New York City in 1944. Before moving to Louisville in 1969, Ira was involved in rent strikes in New York and he took part in the civil rights movement all over the South with the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). In this interview, Ira talks about his personal friendship with Carl and Anne Braden, whom he worked alongside as part of the SCEF (Southern Conference Education Fund). Other topics include Ira's work as a commissioner and eventual Vice-Chairman of the Louisville and Jefferson County Human Relations Commission. He talks about being a staunch advocate for workers rights and an improvement in labor conditions. He also discusses his involvement with the busing situation during the 1970s and his role as an outreach spokesman who went to white communities to attempt to persuade them to support desegregation in the local schools.