“History is not just something that happened long ago and far away. History happens to all of us all the time. Local history brings history home, it touches your life, the life of your family, your neighborhood, your community."
– Thomas J. Noel, author and historian
Civil Rights Driving Tour: Louisville, Kentucky
Reclaiming Our Dreams: Youth Leadership Institute
Saturday May 21, 2011, 9:30am-2:00pm
In Attendance:
Program Coordinators – Mikal Forbush and Ashley Jackson
College Mentors – Silvia Gozzini, Khotso Libe, and Jenna Williams
Tour Guides – Dr. Cate Fosl, Director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research (BI), and Amber Duke, BI Community Education Coordinator
Youth Leaders – Kahlil, Daishauna, Aaliyah, Terrance, Mikala, Bryson, DeVonte, Quintana, Tamia, DeAndre, Trae, Jonathan, Syndey, and JeVonde (and JeVonde’s mom!)
Our Driver! – Mr. Ron.
Louisville, KY – A group of 23 scholars, students, and community members set off on a journey of discovering and re-discovering our local civil rights history. The tour, created in partnership with the Louisville Convention Center & Visitors Bureau, Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, and the Muhammad Ali Center, was led by the Director of University of Louisville’s Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research (BI), Dr. Cate Fosl, and the Community Education Coordinator, Amber Duke.
 |
| Dr. Cate Fosl, director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. |
Fosl and Duke provided amazing historical context (via megaphone!). Also, Fosl read aloud firsthand accounts through oral histories from her book, "Subversive Southerner", and Duke shared her own family’s experiences of segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, as we rode the bus through downtown neighborhoods.
Starting out at the Shawnee Boys & Girls Club, the group gathered around in a circle. “Can we get a pep talk?” Daishana asked. We loaded up on the bus, driven by Mr. Ron, who shared firsthand experiences of segregation and sit-ins, offering our young people some advice and encouraging words for their active participation as agents for positive social change.
Khotso and Silvia passed out Flip cams to everyone, which students used during the tour to take video and photo footage of historic sites, recorded discussions with community organizers and educators, and captured their own voices, reflecting on their experience as they went.
Duke grabbed the megaphone, “Do you remember when you watched the movie, "Freedom Song", at the Overnight Retreat?...” The movie is about a group of young people who risked their lives to bring change to their Mississippi community and beyond, during the 1960s.
“We talked about the Civil Rights Movement more broadly; today we will talk about it locally. Follow along with a copy of the tour map,” Duke said.
Dr. Fosl began, “If this was 1911, our lives would be very different. Besides the things like MTV, and the internet, we would have racial segregation by law. Most spaces were reserved only for white people…Often the spaces reserved for African Americans were not as nice. This was not true everywhere, but very true in the southern states, especially in Kentucky, and Louisville.” She explained that there was a struggle to make change, “a movement where changes were made by people not that much different in age from you all.”
“When you think about the Civil Rights Movement, what do you think of?” Dr. Fosl questioned the group.
Students shouted out “MLK!”, “Rosa Parks!”, and “bus rides!” Exactly. "Public buses were segregated," Dr. Fosl said. "and in 1961, exactly 50 years ago, a group of young people - black and white - chartered a bus together, not so different from the one we’re on now. They decided, ‘we don’t care what they do to us, we’re going.' These were the Freedom Rides, in which people endured amazing violence and displayed amazing courage, with great healing that took place,” she explained.
Approaching Fontaine Ferry Park on Southwestern Parkway (stop 12 on the tour), Duke described the area as “kind of like the Kentucky Kingdom in its day. It was a big amusement park with lots of rides.
Dr. Fosl illuminated the idea that racism hurts everyone, when she explained that she went to the park as a child, but had no idea that blacks were not allowed in. "For white children, segregation was invisible, you just didn’t think about who was absent,” she said.
Dr. Fosl illuminated the idea that racism hurts everyone, when she explained that she went to the park as a child, but had no idea that blacks were not allowed in. "For white children, segregation was invisible, you just didn’t think about who was absent,” she said.
 |
| Fontaine Ferry Park was a protest site in 1961 and 1963, because African Americans were not allowed entrance. By the late 1960s, racial tensions swelled in surrounding neighborhoods. The park closed in 1969 and a sports complex was later built here. |
Driving through Chickasaw Park, we passed families having picnics and strolling down the walking path, kids playing basketball, and ducks on a pond, which led to a discussion on Environmental Justice.* The park's ponds are known for being contaminated. Many of the students snapped pictures of a sign, warning visitors not to consume any fish from the pond because of possible contamination.
The bus came to a stop at 4403 Virginia Avenue, and we all piled out to get a group shot in front of the former home of Anne and Carl Braden, who were among the earliest and most dedicated white allies of the civil rights movement in the South. People both young and old, from all across the country, spent time at the Braden’s home in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
Our next stop on the tour was a community center, dedicated to the memory of one of Louisville’s most dedicated social justice leaders and former pastor of the First Congregational Church, Rev. Louis Coleman, who passed away in 2008. Coleman was a pioneer in the civil rights movement, a voice for the voiceless, who fought tirelessly for greater access to opportunities and resources for minorities and women. He advocated for affirmative action, spoke out against police brutality, and fought against “environmental racism.”
The next stop was especially exciting for many of the students: the boyhood home of Louisville’s famous boxer, Muhammad Ali, who grew up in the Parkland area.
“Besides the fact that he was a boxer,” said Mikal Forbush, “does anybody know anything about Muhammad Ali?”
“Wasn’t he arrested for dodging the draft during the Vietnam War?” asked DeVonte.
In 1967, Ali was charged by the government for violating the Selective Service Act, his titles were taken from him, and he was banned from boxing. His decision to protest the Vietnam War was controversial, as some praised him for risking possible jail time to stand for his conviction, while others called him a traitor. In 1970, Ali won a legal battle, as the U.S. Supreme Court decided he was not guilty of draft evasion, and he was allowed to return to the ring.
Passing through the intersection of 28th Street and Greenwood Avenue, Dr. Fosl explained that it was the site of a civil disorder. On May 27, 1968, demonstrators gathered there to protest the reinstatement of a police officer that attached a black businessman. “Organizers stood atop a parked car to deliver speeches, calling on the community to take action,” she said.
Next, we passed the Western Branch Library, which was one of the first in the nation to allow black Patrons and remains an important resource for the African American community.
Driving down Chestnut Street, Dr. Fosl explained the next site, Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was an important gathering space in the struggle for civil rights since the late 19th century. Protesters gathered there as early as the 1870s to speak out against segregated seating in streetcars. This church was central to the victory over segregated housing ordinances in 1917, the battle against park segregation in 1924, and the fight for open accommodations and open housing policies in the 1960s.
A few blocks later, we passed the former home of Andrew Wade, a WWII veteran who challenged local realtors' unwillingness to sell to African Americans by asking the Bradens to help him purchase that house. The Bradens bought the home and transferred it to Wade’s family. White neighbors were outraged, shot out a window, and burned a cross in the Wade’s front yard. A few weeks later, the house was nearly destroyed by dynamite, the Bradens were called “communists” and faced sedition charges, and the Wades were never able to live in the house.
"We’re now coming up on the house of Murray A. Walls,” Dr. Fosl explained, “who was a leader in the movement to desegregate the city’s libraries, and pushed for the integration of the Louisville Council of Girl Scouts.”
The next two stops were especially key to our student group focusing on education for their community organizing and digital storytelling project: a historic school site. In 1882, the building became home to Kentucky’s first public school for Blacks, and one of the top all-black public schools in the 20th century, Central High school. The school was an important site for the development of early civil rights movement leaders, but has now moved to West Chestnut Street.
Simmons University on South Seventh Street opened in 1879 as the state’s first African American controlled institution of higher learning. In 1918, the school was renamed in honor of William Simmons, a college-educated minister and ex-slave. The property was purchased by the University of Louisville during the Depression-era, operating as Louisville Municipal College until the desegregation of the university in 1950. Simmons professor, Charles Parrish Jr. became the first African American to join U of L’s faculty.
Leaving the school, our driver, Mr. Ron, explained that we were coming up on the Old Walnut Street business district (6th through 13th Street on West Ali Boulevard). By the 1920s, Louisville’s black business district developed around Walnut Street (later renamed Muhammad Ali Boulevard). We passed a large building at 6th and Walnut, the longtime home to Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance Company (which eventually became the state’s largest black-owned business).
“Besides the fact that he was a boxer,” said Mikal Forbush, “does anybody know anything about Muhammad Ali?”
“Wasn’t he arrested for dodging the draft during the Vietnam War?” asked DeVonte.
 |
| Muhammad Ali |
Passing through the intersection of 28th Street and Greenwood Avenue, Dr. Fosl explained that it was the site of a civil disorder. On May 27, 1968, demonstrators gathered there to protest the reinstatement of a police officer that attached a black businessman. “Organizers stood atop a parked car to deliver speeches, calling on the community to take action,” she said.
Next, we passed the Western Branch Library, which was one of the first in the nation to allow black Patrons and remains an important resource for the African American community.
Driving down Chestnut Street, Dr. Fosl explained the next site, Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was an important gathering space in the struggle for civil rights since the late 19th century. Protesters gathered there as early as the 1870s to speak out against segregated seating in streetcars. This church was central to the victory over segregated housing ordinances in 1917, the battle against park segregation in 1924, and the fight for open accommodations and open housing policies in the 1960s.
A few blocks later, we passed the former home of Andrew Wade, a WWII veteran who challenged local realtors' unwillingness to sell to African Americans by asking the Bradens to help him purchase that house. The Bradens bought the home and transferred it to Wade’s family. White neighbors were outraged, shot out a window, and burned a cross in the Wade’s front yard. A few weeks later, the house was nearly destroyed by dynamite, the Bradens were called “communists” and faced sedition charges, and the Wades were never able to live in the house.
"We’re now coming up on the house of Murray A. Walls,” Dr. Fosl explained, “who was a leader in the movement to desegregate the city’s libraries, and pushed for the integration of the Louisville Council of Girl Scouts.”
The next two stops were especially key to our student group focusing on education for their community organizing and digital storytelling project: a historic school site. In 1882, the building became home to Kentucky’s first public school for Blacks, and one of the top all-black public schools in the 20th century, Central High school. The school was an important site for the development of early civil rights movement leaders, but has now moved to West Chestnut Street.
Simmons University on South Seventh Street opened in 1879 as the state’s first African American controlled institution of higher learning. In 1918, the school was renamed in honor of William Simmons, a college-educated minister and ex-slave. The property was purchased by the University of Louisville during the Depression-era, operating as Louisville Municipal College until the desegregation of the university in 1950. Simmons professor, Charles Parrish Jr. became the first African American to join U of L’s faculty.
Leaving the school, our driver, Mr. Ron, explained that we were coming up on the Old Walnut Street business district (6th through 13th Street on West Ali Boulevard). By the 1920s, Louisville’s black business district developed around Walnut Street (later renamed Muhammad Ali Boulevard). We passed a large building at 6th and Walnut, the longtime home to Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance Company (which eventually became the state’s largest black-owned business).
 |
| Mae Kidd (1904-1999) |
 |
| In 1965, MLK's younger brother, A.D. King, became minister of Zion Baptist Church and founded the KY Christian Leadership Conference, a local branch of the elder King's Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference. |
We drove past two more stops on the tour, the homes Willis Cole, the former editor and owner of The Louisville Leader, a civil rights-based black newspaper, and Lyman Johnson, a longtime Central High School teacher and NAACP leader who challenged the Day Law, which prohibited white and black students from attending the same school. In 1949, Johnson became the first black University of Kentucky student.
We ended at the Braden Memorial Center, purchased by the couple in 1968, after they became the directors of the civil rights group Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF). The center is also the longtime home to the Kentucky Alliance Against Racial & Political Oppression (KAARP), and a popular meeting space for anti-racist activists. Here, we reflected on the tour, asked questions of Alliance members, and enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal of chili cheese dogs, nachos, and fresh garden salad.
Civil Rights Driving Tour: Background
Whether you are from Louisville or visiting for the first time, we invite you to learn how the 20th century civil rights movement changed lives here at the South’s northern border–for Africa Americans, but also for whites & now for the new immigrants who are bringing greater cultural diversity in the 21st century.
Civil Rights Driving Tour: Background
Whether you are from Louisville or visiting for the first time, we invite you to learn how the 20th century civil rights movement changed lives here at the South’s northern border–for Africa Americans, but also for whites & now for the new immigrants who are bringing greater cultural diversity in the 21st century.
Read the following UofL Today story to learn about how the Braden Institute's Civil Rights Driving Tour came about!
“Braden Institute driving tour focuses on Louisville's civil rights history” by UofL Today — last modified Feb 10, 2010 01:01 PM
“Braden Institute driving tour focuses on Louisville's civil rights history” by UofL Today — last modified Feb 10, 2010 01:01 PM
The violence put the street on the map for local civil rights history. And that's why it is among 21 stops on a new self-guided driving tour developed by the University of Louisville's Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research (ABI).
The Wades were African Americans. They had one small child and another on the way, and wanted a home with a yard where their children could play. While they had come close to purchasing a nice, suburban ranch home before, the deals had fallen through when their race became known.
At the time, deed restrictions and lending practices in Louisville kept black families from being able to buy homes in much of the city, according to UofL associate history professor Tracy K'Meyer in her book, "Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South: Louisville, Kentucky, 1945-1980."
The Wades needed help to purchase the home of their choice and turned to a white couple, the Bradens, activists in Louisville's civil rights movement.
Since the Bradens worked with the black community to end segregation and with other like-minded white friends and colleagues, however, they were out of touch with the pervasive support in Louisville for segregation, wrote UofL associate professor and ABI Director Cate Fosl in her book "Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South."
And even though there was an African American neighborhood a quarter of a mile away from the home they purchased, they had crossed a line - so much so that authorities shifted blame from the perpetrators of the violence to the Bradens and Wades, Fosl said in "Subversive Southerner."
The people who threw rocks through the Wades' windows, shot into the house, burned a cross in the yard - and bombed the house - never came to justice, Fosl said. Instead the legal system accused the Bradens of being Communists. Carl was tried for sedition and sentenced to 15 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. His conviction was reversed in 1956 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all sedition laws were unconstitutional.
Tying the incident to Communism "diverted attention away from the real issue at hand - the inability of a black family to live peacefully in the home of their choice," K'Meyer said recently, and the violence and legal harassment that confronted the Wades and Bradens stifled the movement for residential integration for almost a decade. In fact, she said, housing segregation worsened.
Louisville has yet to realize the integration it might have experienced if the movement to more fully integrate its neighborhoods had progressed uninterrupted, both Fosl and K'Meyer said.
"There are few better instances in all of U.S. history that so dramatically demonstrate how Cold War 'McCarthyism' -- that anticommunist hysteria that made all dissent seem suspicious" -- helped white southerners who wanted to uphold legal segregation at the same time that federal actions were in the process of slowly dismantling it, Fosl said. "McCarthyism propped up racial segregation by questioning the loyalty of those who opposed it," she said.
The Wade home never was rebuilt, but motorists can learn of its role in Louisville's civil rights movement from a historical marker on the street. Markers provide information at several stops of the ABI driving tour.
One goal of the tour, Fosl said, is to provide "a wider understanding of our local history and how it connects to regional and national experience."
Louisville's civil rights movement was similar to those in other communities in the type of participants it drew. Their tactics - direct action, boycotts, use of the political system and persuasion - also were similar to those used in other communities, K'Meyer said.
But in Louisville, she continued, "there was no one dominant organization, strategy or personality."
Fosl said tour developers also want those who take it to understand more fully what life under past racial restrictions was like and "why and how African Americans and their white allies organized together to change laws and practices." It is a way "to more solidly anchor" the events and places in local memory and "to give visitors a fuller picture of what Louisville was and is today."
"We want to honor the movement's leading participants in particular, but also to lift up the importance of collective struggle in bringing about needed improvements to our city, she said.
And, as in the case of the Wade dynamiting, to come to terms with what Fosl said the civil rights movement did not achieve.
"We still have a lot of work to do to achieve true racial justice in the United States and in Louisville today," Fosl said.
Brochures of the driving tour are available at ABI, on the second floor of Ekstrom Library on Belknap Campus. More information on the Wade incident, including books confiscated from the Braden home and used as evidence of their Communist involvement, are on display at the institute.
Tour Stops:
- Muhammad Ali Center, 144 N. 6thCharles Anderson, 600 W. Jefferson: marker is on steps of Hall of Justice
- Historic School Site, 550 W. Kentucky
- Simmons University/Louisville Municipal College, 1018 S. 7th
- Old Walnut St. Business District (6th-13th on W. Ali Blvd.)
- Mae Street Kidd, Old Mammoth Life Insurance, Corner of 6th & W. Ali.
- Zion Baptist Church, 2200 W. Ali.
- I. Willis Cole, 2317 W. Ali.
- Lyman Johnson Home, 2340 W. Ali.
- Braden Memorial Center, 3208 W. Broadway
- Buchanan v. Warley site, 37th St. & Pflanz (vacant lot)
- Fontaine Ferry, 230 Southwestern Pkwy.
- Chickasaw Park, 1200 Southwestern Pkwy
- Braden Home, 4403 Virginia Ave
- Rev. Louis Coleman Community Center at First Congregational Church, 3810 Garland Ave
- Muhammad Ali Boyhood Home, 3302 Grand Ave
- 1968 Civil Disorder, S 28th St & Greenwood Ave
- Western Branch Library, 604 S 10th St
- Quinn Chapel, 912 W Chestnut St
- Open Housing Pioneers–the Wade Home,S Crums Ln & Clyde Dr
- Murray Atkins Walls, 2105 Lexington Rd
Freedom Riders
For more background on the famous Freedom Rides, check out "Freedom Riders" on KET, Monday (5/16) at 9pm.
Episode description: From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives for simply traveling together on buses and trains in the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson's documentary is the first feature-length film about this courageous band of civil-rights activists.
Rating: [TV-PG] (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Upcoming Airdates on KET2: Wednesday, May 18 at 3:00 am EDT and Sunday, May 22 at 9:00 pm EDT
Past Airdates on KET2: Tuesday, May 17 at 1:00 am EDT, and KET: Monday, May 16 at 9:00 pm EDT
First aired: Monday, May 16, 2011 (excluding any air dates prior to June 1999)
More Resources!
Click here for additional information about Louisville, Southern, and U.S. Civil Rights History, check out some of the following films, books, and websites!
No comments:
Post a Comment