The South Louisville Project 1900-1975 chronicles the history and development of the Black community in this neighborhood, located in the southern section of the city of Louisville. The focus will center on the companies, such as the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Churchill Downs, the two central organizations that attracted and employed Blacks to the area. The project will document the development and growth of families, education, and the churches. Additionally, the project will reflect the growth of the “mom and pop” businesses that were supported by the community and the relationships with the Whites in what was perceived as an integrated neighborhood. The role of the “N” Street Baptist Church, the prominently Black Church of the neighborhood will be examined.

Handling traumatic experiences in public history is a fraught undertaking, particularly when tackling racial issues in the United States. While these troubled pasts deserve the knowledge and attention of the general public, public historians must take care to not retraumatize attendants or coworkers, exclude members of affected communities in decision-making, or otherwise disrespect that which they intend to memorialize. This work, based on the research of a group of UofL students in collaboration with Oxmoor Farms, discusses the tactics that public historians through a range of institutions, including within Louisville, have utilized to handle traumatic histories, as well as past and present pitfalls.

In Fall 2023, Dr. Tracy K’Meyer’s University of Louisville Oral History Class worked with the Chickasaw Book Project, (CBP), to further the group’s efforts to, in the words of CBP member, Ms. Cheri Bryant Hamilton, “Finally tell our story.” Their story, gathered as oral histories from several members of varying ages from their African American neighborhood in the northwest corner of Louisville, touches on racial integration and the ensuing white flight that occurred, chiefly within the first three-quarters of the 20th century. What emerges is a story of Chickasaw as an exemplar of thriving perseverance, individually and collectively, in service to the ideals of American democracy in the face of nearly omnipresent bigotry.