UofL Libraries: Race & the Law: Kentucky

Historical Resources

Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky : Anne Braden
Interview with Braden about one of Louisville’s most notorious incidents of race-based violence. She and her husband, both white, bought a house in an all-white Louisville neighborhood in order to resell it to a black family.

The Assault on Elisha Green by Runyon
Call Number: E185.61 .R95 2021
ISBN: 9780813152387
Publication Date: 2021
Recounts one man's pursuit of justice over violence & racism in the nineteenth century. Explores the history of the attack & the racial tensions unique to a border state.
Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South by K'Meyer
Call Number: F459.L89 N444 2009
ISBN: 9780813125398
Publication Date: 2009
Louisville, Kentucky, represents a cultural & geographical intersection of North & South. Throughout its history, Louisville has simultaneously displayed northern & southern characteristics in its race relations.
Freedom on the Border by Catherine Fosl; Tracy E. K'Meyer
Call Number: E185.93.K3 F74 2009
ISBN: 0813126061
Publication Date: 2010
The stories behind the marches, vigils, court cases, and other struggles to overcome racial discrimination in Kentucky.
Two Centuries of Black Louisville by Aubespin, Clay, Hudson
Call Number: F459.L89 N429 2011
ISBN: 9781935497363
Publication Date: 2011
Provides photo documentation of Black Louisville, along with the history of an important people & a guide to historic sites.

Selected Local Resources

Codes of Ordinances for Kentucky
American Legal Publishing Corporation.
Coverage includes Louisville/Jefferson County & Bowling Green.
Louisville Metro Council
Includes information about meetings, ordinances, district maps, and more.
Louisville Urban League
A nonprofit, nonpartisan, community service organization dedicated to eliminating racism & its adverse impacts in the Louisville area.

2018 State of Black Louisville by Louisville Urban League
Call Number: F459.L89 L68 2018
ISBN: 9780999883105
Publication Date: 2018
A collection of essays from engaged community members around Louisville, Kentucky. The report depicts how African Americans in Louisville are doing.
The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia by Smith, McDaniel, Hardin (Eds)
Call Number: E185.93.K3 K46 2015
ISBN: 9780813160658
Publication Date: 2015
A guide to the black experience in the Commonwealth.

Anne Braden Institute

The Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research was founded in 2006 to honor the work and legacy of Anne Braden.

Braden was a Louisville journalist, organizer, and educator who was among the earliest and most dedicated white allies of the southern civil rights movement. Martin Luther King praised Braden’s extraordinary integrity in his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in 1963.

The Institute works to bridge the gap between academic research and community activism for racial and social justice.

" Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research
Anne Braden Oral History Project
Interviews conducted by Cate Fosl for her oral history based biography, 'Subversive Southerner'.