Timeline of the history of African American experience in Louisville, KY. Produced by a graduate student, the timeline of Louisville chronicles of growth of the city while spotlighting the West End and the 1968 Parkland Uprising in particular. This interactive timeline features maps, videos, embedded websites, pictures, audio tracks, and much more to provide the user…
A podcast series featuring memories of the Parkland neighborhood. The Spring 2015’s Digital History Class at the University of Louisville worked with original oral histories from 1977 and from 2014 to create a series of podcast covering a wide range of topics and issues surrounding the history of Parkland. The students’ podcast series, Parkland Files:…
A digital story analyzing the changing grocery and business culture in Parkland from 1950 through 1980, as well as the changes in neighborhood population.
A map-based prezi that connects neighborhood memories to the narrator’s own place in Parkland.
Like other urban areas and neighborhoods in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the demographics of Parkland shifted. Prior to 1960, Parkland was home to working, middle-class families . Many of residents owned and operated businesses in the neighborhood. As such, the residents in Parkland found the services, conveniences, and groceries they needed on a daily basis within a few miles of their homes. However, as the growing Civil Rights debate of the 1950s escalated, many of the residents began moving to the newly-established suburbs to, as they saw it, flee from the social strife they saw coming to their neighborhood.
In the linked Prezi presentation, Exodus: White Flight and the 1968 Parkland Uprising, Digital History students Chris Burns, Wes Cunningham, and Danny Michael spotlight the shift in Parkland’s White Flight demographics.
The Parkland History Project has partnered with some young Louisville historians. Fifth graders at Breckinridge-Franklin Elementary School created totem poles and wrote poems engaging the topic of the 1968 Parkland Uprising. Each student group chose a community member or activist interviewed by the Parkland History Project oral history collection and constructed a totem dedicated to their life, activism, and community efforts. The corresponding poems shed light on the many struggles, hopes, and dreams each activist faced and still faces in their pursuit of social equality.
Pictured here is the community celebration of the students’ efforts in commemorating the May 1968 Parkland Uprising, when the students recited their poems to the crowd and describing their individual totems. We have reprinted selected poems here:
Merv Aubespin
All I want is for somebody to have a better life.
All I want is for somebody to have equal rights.
All I want is for somebody to learn about Black American History.
All I want is for somebody to tell truths.
Cheri Bryant Hamilton
These are the symbols of Cheri Bryant Hamilton.
By PK
The heart- learning from the past.
The infinity symbol- living on forever.
The peace sign- peace and tranquility.
For Cheri Bryant Hamilton
The NOT Happy Birthday by Jack Fritz
Cupcake in a chair
Uprising everywhere
The leaves of sanity
Are scattered.
Sadness, no time for
Celebration, as we’re at the core
of unrest.
NOT happy birthday.
The Future of Parkland
By Nikayla Thomas
Parkland
Good Bright
Rebuilt Shine Fun
Revived Cared for Special
The bright future
of
Louisville ,
Kentucky.
The future of Parkland
By Jeremy Metcalf
When you think about Parkland, what comes to your mind?
Killing, violence , seems like the sun wont’ shine.
The people that abandoned it, gave up on her.
Really don’t know that her legacy is far from over.
Parkland Uprising
By Jeremy Metcalf
Dark Dingy
Torn up Torn down
Given up on
Careless, Not yet forgotten
Future Bright Beautiful
Cared FOR remembered
Future
Parkland Uprising
By Austin James
Rising
Not cared
Really not cared
Starting to be cared
Finally cared for
Cared for
Peace
Parkland History
By Madison Glover
Prestigious
Money Rich
Houses Jobs Cars
Happy Filled Shopping Family
Peaceful Loving Dedication
Surprising Prestigious
Parkland
Parkland Tornado
Dark
Gloomy scared
Big messy terrified
Destroyed swirly madness sadness
Torn the hearts
Gone forever
Destruction
Parkland Uprising
My poem is about a cop car
Because when someone threw a soda can
In the yard , the cop car : reaction
That cop car – what I wanted is my message: let the “protect” begin.
Bob Coleman
Bob
Strong Courageous
Educational hero leader
Smart fast trustworthy kind
Pride confident kindhearted
Stood Straight
Coleman
Dr. King
By Aryah
Dr. King
Fearful Dreamful
Helpful Powerful Respectful
Kindful Braveful Cheerful
Hopeful Createful
Dr. King
ML King
by Justyce
Black
Strong Brave
Honest Changer Believer
Trustworthy Peaceful Faithful Smart
Patient Pastor Future
Hero King
Legend
Ken Clay
By Nolan
Young
Talkative Dramatic
Civil rights Changes for Poor Financial Power
Helper Leader Broke Rich Famous Industrious
Greatman Famous Truthful
Lover
Old
Bob Cunningham
By Nolan
When people fight
They say STOP. We are not bad.
We are the same as everyone else.
People have feelings and don’t judge.
Don’t judge no one for their actions.
We have feelings.
STOP.
In memory of James and Mathias
May, 1968
By Treyton
All I want is somebody to stop disrespecting blacks.
All I want is for somebody to stop shooting blacks.
All I want is for somebody to stop the death days of black people.
For James
By Diamond
James
Loved compassion
Hope strong black
Shot killed we say
Pray not
Kind
He shined.
James Groves
James Groves and Mathias Washington
By Diamond
Roses are red
Violets are blue
We say love and Rest in Peace
to James Groves and Mathias
Washington.
James Groves and Mathias Browder
By Barbie
James Grove
Love, Listen
Lying, Stealing NOTHING
Shot, died, love, sad
Scared, shot, worried he
Stole , Gun
Matthias Browder
-Photographic credit and rights belong to Dr. Lara Kelland
