Parkland (Louisville, Ky.)

Lloyd Alexander is a retired professor from Kentucky State University. He discusses his family history; his career and life in the Parkland area of Louisville; recounts what Parkland was like in 1952; and how he was received as one of the first Blacks to move into the 2800 block of Virginia Avenue. He discusses the business, education, and retail landscape of Parkland and the deterioration of the neighborhood. At a time, thriving business and retail establishments along Virginia Avenue and Dumesnil Street. Parkland was a middle-class neighborhood during the 1950s.

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.

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.

Transcript available.

Interview index available

Transcript available.

Sheila Brown grew up in the Parkland neighborhood and then lived all over the city. She was a child when the 1968 Parkland Riot occurred. She talked about how it changed her neighborhood. Brown was also among the first group of African American kids bussed in Louisville. She remembered the protest and taunts aimed at her and the other students.

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

Marilee Jones Casey is the daughter of William Jones, the first Black licensed electrician in Kentucky. She discusses her family history, her father's work and her own life.