UofL Libraries: Uncovering Racial Logics: Louisville's History of Racial Oppression and Activism: Policing

Policing

Introduction

Like cities across the nation, Louisville has long experienced institutional and structural racism in its policing. In her recent book, America on Fire, and the 2021 Anne Braden Memorial Lecture, Dr. Elizabeth Hinton examines systemic oppression of people of color, embedded racial logics, and the outcomes associated with discriminatory treatment in the context of policing. Even a cursory review of statistics on policing, whether in Louisville or in other U.S. areas, reveals differential treatment and racially biased police behavior. Fatal shootings by police vary by race. For example, between 2015 and October 2021, the rate of fatal police shootings of Black Americans was more than double that of White Americans (i.e., 37 vs. 15 per million of the population). Many articles, reports, news stories, and archival documents chronicle past and present racial logics in Louisville policing. Scrolling through the sections below provides examples of policing’s racial logics in Louisville Defender headlines and stories and in the papers of Frank L. Stanley, Sr., owner and publisher of the Defender.

Frank L. Stanley, Sr. Papers

Frank L. Stanley was general manager, editor, and president of the Louisville Defender, from 1936-1974. The Defender is Louisville’s longest running newspaper focusing on issues facing the Black community. Due to his role, Stanley was regularly involved when significant historical events occurred. His regular editorial column in the Defender was an insightful summary and critique of the week’s most important news. Stanley occupied different roles throughout his career with the Defender. He was founder and president of the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association, served on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, and in the 1960s was invited by the US Department of State to conduct journalism seminars in Africa. The Frank Stanley Papers is a fairly large collection of documents. Researchers will find material pertaining to the business side of the Defender, as well as newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, and other materials. Find more information about the Frank L Stanley papers by visiting the catalog record. Frank L. Stanley’s son, Kenneth Stanley, who became the editor of the Defender after his father, has an oral history interview in the Oral History Center. In addition, there is an oral history interview with Vivian Clark Stanley, Frank L. Stanley’s wife. The following documents are from the Frank Stanley papers and, while not written by Stanley himself, are an example of the ways he was in touch with community members and kept in the loop on important issues.

Fred J. Harris, victim of police brutality, 1979.
Source: Frank L. Stanley Papers, (Box 5, Folder 5 "Police-Community Relations, 1979"), Archives and Special Collections, University of Louisville.

In June, 1979, 23-year-old Fred Harris was beaten by a police officer, Officer Robert Whitaker, to the point that he lost an eye. In this fact sheet created by the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, we see statements by Fred Harris himself, as well as his mother and father about the incident.

Fred J. Harris, Louisville Times newspaper clipping, 26 Sept. 1979
Source: Frank L. Stanley Papers, (Box 5, Folder 5 "Police-Community Relations, 1979"), Archives and Special Collections, University of Louisville.

This article from the Louisville Times, dated 26 September 1976, explains that Fred Harris was found not guilty of the charges he was accused of when he was beaten by Officer Robert Whitaker.

Petition against police brutality from KAARPR, 1979.
Source: Frank L. Stanley Papers, (Box 5, Folder 5 "Police-Community Relations, 1979"), Archives and Special Collections, University of Louisville.

This page from a petition circulated by the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is an example of how this type of organizing happened at the time. Petitions like this were on paper, with multiple copies given to different people so they could get signatures from people they knew, and then give the signed pages back to the initial organizers.

Letter to mayor from Mattie Jones, 1979.
Source: Frank L. Stanley Papers, (Box 5, Folder 5 "Police-Community Relations, 1979"), Archives and Special Collections, University of Louisville.

Mattie Jones, Chairperson of the Police Crimes Task Force of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, sent this letter to Louisville Mayor William Stansbury in October, 1979, four months after Fred Harris lost his eye to police violence. In this letter, we see how there were significant concerns about incidences of police violence in Louisville beyond the Fred Harris case. The letter specifies that Officer Robert Whitaker was still employed after his attack on Fred Harris, and that the city was challenging a decision to reform the police force.

Newspapers

The Louisville Defender, a local Black newspaper founded in 1933, is an excellent resource for researching Black life in Louisville. The following short video combines clippings from the Louisville Defender with select excerpts from oral histories by Bill Allison and Adlene Abstain housed in Archives and Special Collection's Oral History Center.

Oral Histories on policing

African American Community Interviews
The African American Community Interviews feature several discussions of policing within Louisville. Some highlights include an oral histories by Maurice Rabb and Goldie Beckett, both of whom talk about their leadership roles in Louisville's Human Relations Commission, particularly in the area of integrating the police force.
Civil Rights Movement in Louisville
This series from the Oral History Center features some discussions of policing within Louisville. Highlights include an oral history by Howard Owens, who speaks on issues that arose after busing including police brutality and equity in hiring of minorities, the Alliance Against Racism and Political Oppression, the Fred Harris case, the Lindsay Scott case, and a case involving the Black Panther Party that all took place in Louisville.
Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression
Several oral histories within this series speak directly to police abuse and violence among Louisville's minority citizens, including oral histories by Mattie Jones, Rhonda Mathias, and Gracie Lewis, who describes how the Citizens Against Police Brutality group came about.