RUX in the River City: Louisville '22

At the start of August, the KY RUX cohort travelled to Louisville for our second Community Intensive Weekend of 2022; we were excited to reconnect since our time together in Muhlenberg County at the end of May, but our hearts were also heavy for our friends and neighbors impacted by the historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky. We ask that you continue to give your support as you are able to those folks and organizations impacted by flooding; please visit Appalshop’s Flood Support Resource page for ways you can help.

During the Louisville weekend we learned about urban agriculture and food justice, the cultural heritage of different neighborhoods, African American history, environmental justice and health studies, urban arts spaces, Black Lives justice organizing, culinary arts, and community resilience in Louisville.

Our Community Welcome Dinner, hosted on the campus of the University of Louisville, was created by Chef Megan Duffy, a graduate of The LEE Initiative's Women Culinary and Spirits Program. We learned from co-founder and director Lindsey Ofcacek about the work of The LEE Initiative, a nonprofit using creative solutions to build more diversity, equity, sustainability, and compassion in the restaurant and spirit industries.

The next morning, we were picked up by a TARC bus and transported to Americana World Community Center to collaborate in Abundant Futures groups on project planning that will impact our communities. We then toured and learned about the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute's Green Heart Project from Dr. DeJarnett and Project Manager Blaine Hedges.

From there we travelled to the Beechmont Gazebo where all of our senses were delighted by incredible tacos from The StrEatery, and music created by Appalatin.

At Louisville Public Media, the cohort learned about the lived experience of Black lives justice organizers during a panel moderated by Ramona Dallum and supported by the Community Foundation of Louisville. Panelists included Jeff Compton, Talesha Wilson, Shameka Parrish-Wright, Robert Bell, and Courtney Kellner. Performances by Ekknowledge and Karma preceded the panel.

A tour of Roots 101 provided a capstone to a full day of learning as founder Lamont Collins engaged the cohort in a chronological tour of African American history.

On Sunday, we travelled to The Portland Museum for a narrative stage on food justice and urban agriculture. We learned from the experiences and work of Brook Freeman (YCAP), Amanda Fuller (Lots of Food and Louisville Community Grocery), and Kurt Mason (Food Literacy Project). We visited baby pigs, ate pears, and learned about the Shawnee People's Garden and the community agriculture work of Fifth Element Farms.

We closed the weekend with a lunch from Garden Girl Foods hosted at the Envirome Institute, where we visited the Coordination Room and then broke into justice focused caucus groups to unite as Kentuckians in the work ahead.

We are so grateful to have spent another weekend immersed in Kentucky’s culture and beauty. To our Louisville host committee, weekend sponsors, and our consortium of host partners thank you for supporting the opportunity to connect more deeply to Kentucky.

Thank you to our Louisville Host Partners: 
Food Literacy Project, Hood to the Holler, Kentucky Performing Arts, Louisville Free Public Library, Louisville Metro Government and Metro Council, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville, and the University of Louisville School of Medicine. 

Host Committee 2020-22: 
Dr. Kelli Dunn (School of Medicine University of Louisville); Althea Jackson and Kristina Messina (Louisville Metro Government); Carol Gundersen (Food Literacy Project), Chelsey Duncan (RUX cohort member); Elizabeth Sawyer (Hood to the Holler); Judd Hendrix (Interfaith Paths to Peace); Dan Forte, Erin Palmer, and Rheonna Thornton (Kentucky Performing Arts); Kirsten Pfalzgraf (Louisville Public Media); Lauren Beth Anderson (Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute); Michael George (RUX Steering Committee, Host Liaison, and Jefferson County Public Schools); Rachel Smith (Louisville Free Public Library); Taylor Killough Williams (RUX Steering Committee and journalist); Anne McCune (Community Foundation of Louisville); and Emily Stewart (RUX Steering Committee and GoBunny Media).

Louisville RUX Sponsors: 
Fund for the Arts, Hood to the Holler, Community Foundation of Louisville, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville, The LEE Initiative, and Louisville Metro Council.

A huge thank you to our Louisville RUX Sponsors:

Our 2022 RUX cohort will next visit Estill County (September 23-25).

Want to help make RUX Weekend Intensives possible?

On the Appalshop Page: Click on Support Us, then select “Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX)”

on the Donation drop down menu to help support RUX!