Urban renewal
2583
Elmer Lucille Allen grew up in the Russell neighborhood in the 1930s and 40s. Allen described the neighborhood in the days before urban renewal in the late 1950s. She attended Madison Street Junior High School and Central High School during segregation. She attended Louisville Municipal College, the African American arm of the University of Louisville. After the Supreme Court desegregated schools in 1954, UofL closed Louisville Municipal College and Allen went on the Nazareth College (now Spalding University). She became the first African American chemist at Brown-Foreman.
2605
Mr. Burton reflects on growing up in Russell, happy neighborhood, Old Walnut St., destruction of Urban Renewal, Rahn Burton, musician brother, played with Roland Kirk, working at Brown Foreman, starting the club, buying the building, fellowship of the club, community outreach, food giveaways, Easter, COVID, contracting COVID.
These and other interviews were conducted by the Louisville Story Program and collaboratively edited with the participants authors between 2020 and 2023. The culmination of this collaborative work is the documentary book, “If You Write Me A Letter, Send It Here: Voices of Russell in a Time of Change.” This anthology of nonfiction documents the rich layers of history and cultural heritage in the Russell area of west Louisville, a neighborhood whose history is centrally important to the Black experience in Louisville.
978
In this interview, Mr. Cole discusses his early education in Louisville, working for his father�s newspaper the Louisville Leader and describes what it was like to be the child of a prominent figure in the community. He describes his father physically and tempramentally and reflects on attendance at the Louisville Municipal College and urban renewal.
2606
Mr. Edwards talks about purchasing land in west Louisville for a public garden, the mental and physical benefits of gardening, growing up in west Louisville, the effects of urban renewal on west Louisville, Breonna Taylor, civil rights actions in 2020, the effects of COVID, political and racial violence on public health in west Louisville in 2020, Cabbage Patch, life as an educator and father.
These and other interviews were conducted by the Louisville Story Program and collaboratively edited with the participants authors between 2020 and 2023. The culmination of this collaborative work is the documentary book, “If You Write Me A Letter, Send It Here: Voices of Russell in a Time of Change.” This anthology of nonfiction documents the rich layers of history and cultural heritage in the Russell area of west Louisville, a neighborhood whose history is centrally important to the Black experience in Louisville.
1158
Mr. Goodwin, a nursery owner and local historian from Louisville, Kentucky, discusses his ancestors and other African Americans who lived in the Petersburg / Newburg area. He describes the relationships of various African Americans with white slaveowners, and the efforts blacks made to build their community following slavery. He describes his own efforts to develop his community through the location of library in Newburg and the Petersburg Historical Society's programs, as well as his fight against urban renewal. He also talks about his own career in the nursery business.
1184
Mr. Hammond, a small business owner and real estate agent, discusses his childhood, education and life as a young adult living and working in Louisville. He talks about being a small business owner, the impact of urban renewal on the black business district, Small Business Administration loans, and his belief in the potential of young people in his community. He describes the opportunities of black real estate agents, talks about busing, gives his views on affordable housing for low-income families and concludes the interview with a discussion of his desire for greater participation by African Americans in community development.
2502
This interview was conducted in 1979 as part of a series on African Americans in Louisville. It is cross-listed here as part of the Joe Hammond Series. Mr. Hammond, a small business owner and real estate agent, discusses his childhood, education and life as a young adult living and working in Louisville. He talks about being a small business owner, the impact of urban renewal on the black business district, Small Business Administration loans, and his belief in the potential of young people in his community. He describes the opportunities of black real estate agents, talks about busing, gives his views on affordable housing for low-income families and concludes the interview with a discussion of his desire for greater participation by African Americans in community development.
2596
Katheryn Higgins is a second-generation Russell resident who still lives in the West Chestnut home her parents purchased in 1946. Higgins discussed the impact of urban renewal and disinvestment on the community.
2590
Manfred Reid is a longtime Beecher Terrace resident who sits on the board of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority. Reid discusses being a real estate agent in West Louisville during the time white families were fleeing to the suburbs. He also discusses urban renewal and redevelopment of Beecher Terrace.
1193
Mrs. Smith, a former nursing home owner and administrator discusses her childhood in Russellville, Kentucky, moving to Louisville at age twelve to tend to an aunt, her early marriages and divorce, establishing a nursing home in her home and her efforts to establish a church.
