Poverty

Tony Heitzman, born in 1931 in the Highlands area of Louisville, was a pastor and priest in the Louisville area beginning in 1957 as well as a community organizer. In this interview, Heitzman discusses his working with the Neighborhood Youth Corps, the Community Action Commission and his full time job working in neighborhoods dealing with poverty. Topics include: working in the Russell neighborhood as a community organizer, the push to get a new building for Taylor Coleridge school, the church's reaction and actions following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Louisville riot and the influence it had on his work, his time as a coordinator for the West End Catholic Churches, the Poor People's campaign through Louisville and the role that he played in it, and his time on The West End Team Ministries. Heitzman discusses his time working from 1971-1979 as the pastor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary church in the Parc Duvalle area. Finally, he concludes his interview discussing the impact of the War on Poverty on race relations and the impact of self determination and awareness on those in the Russell area.

Snead focuses on childhood memories of being eager to move out of public housing. He recalls knowing he was poor and witnessing crime in the neighborhood. Residents looked out for one another and children were subject to correction by parents other than their own. He recalls hot apartments during the summer when the brick walls sweated and residents retreated outdoors, and wearing his brothers' hand-me-down clothes. He recalls the "strong black women" in the community and is frustrated by people who stereotype residents of public housing as one-dimensional welfare recipients. Snead approves of plans to demolish the complex. He talks about taking his son to Sheppard Square.