Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky Oral History Project

In 1998, the Kentucky Oral History Commission launched the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky Oral History Project documenting, through oral history interviews, the struggle to end legal segregation in Kentucky between 1930 and 1975.

Since 1998 historians have collected more than 175 oral history interviews that are on file at the Kentucky Historical Society. The commission has supported the collection of additional interviews by Dr. Tracy K'Meyer at the University of Louisville, bringing the total to more than 225. The goal of the project is to provide an extensive base of primary resources from which to develop educational programming that will advance understanding of the history and legacy of the civil rights movement in Kentucky.

Educational Materials

Online Digital Media Database providing comprehensive access to the audio and video interviews collected by the project and over 10,000 pages of electronic transcripts. All material is full-text searchable and can be sorted by county, subject or decade.

Video documentaries "Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky" and "Living the Story: The Rest of the Story"

Curriculum materials

"Unfinished Business: School Desegregation in Kentucky," Symposium marking the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education held March 30, 2004, at the Center for Kentucky History.

"Voices of Protest: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky" Symposium held February 2000 at the Center for Kentucky History.

Performance pieces "Nothing New for Easter" and "Red, White and Black" presented at the Center for Kentucky History.

Radio programs

"Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky"

"Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky" is the first documentary to explore Kentucky's civil rights history. It presents the personal experiences of 15 men and women who recall life in a segregated society and the struggle to bring about social justice.

"Living the Story" is based on more than 175 interviews collected for the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky Oral History Project. The film was produced by Arthur Rouse and Joan Brannon for the Kentucky Oral History Commission of the Kentucky Historical Society with Betsy Brinson as executive producer.

Kentucky Beyond the Color Line
Ten years after the Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) interviews those pivotal players who organized with others to demand legal and social equality. Host Renee Shaw talks with activitists. A 2012 KET production.

"Living the Story" DVDs are available for purchase for use in educational purposes only. The cost of the DVD is $15. Please contact Sarah Milligan at 502-564-1792, ext. 4434 or sarah.milligan@ky.gov to order your copy.