West Louisville, a vibrant and diverse neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky, has the state’s highest population density of African Americans. And like many Black American neighborhoods, it’s been the victim of redlining. But thanks to its dedicated residents, times are changing for the better.
“There has been a conscious effort, in many ways, to move a lot of the African Americans here into homes,” shares Kentucky native Keisha Dorsey, Deputy Chief of Staff for Louisville Metro Government. She spearheaded a local program that is funding African Americans with $50,000 towards their down payment to purchase a new home or renovate a previously vacant or abandoned home or lot.
Another person making a huge difference in the neighborhood is Marcus Harris, a resident contractor and CEO of Antz Inc. He renovates abandoned homes in West Louisville’s toughest areas to remove the poverty element and get families back into the neighborhood.
“We’re actually working with a nonprofit called Local Affordable Housing Trust and we come in and clear everything out of [the homes], take them all the way down to the studs,” Harris says. He and his team put in the electric, plumbing and all the necessary renovations to “make it home for somebody else.”
While Churchill Downs is home to the Kentucky Derby, it’s not where most Black people celebrate their Derby Day.
“I’ve never missed derby. Because Derby, for me, every year was on Broadway,” Dorsey exclaims. From dressing up to the barbecue and fish fry, “Derby for us is literally in the streets. And it’s a fellowship … They play dominoes, and you smell the barbecue. I mean, this is [our] Derby.”
Check out more of West Louisville in this edition of On the Road With EBONY.