In the period between the Civil War
and the Great Depression, Louisville, Kentucky was host to what George C.
Wright calls "a polite form of racism." There were no lynchings or
race riots, and to a great extent, Louisville Blacks escaped the harsh violence
that was a fact of life for Blacks in the Deep South. Furthermore, Black
Louisvillians consistently enjoyed and exercised an oft contested but never
effectively retracted enfranchisement. However, their votes usually did not
amount to any real political leverage, and there were no radical improvements
in civil rights during this period. Instead, there existed a delicate balance
between relative privilege and enforced passivity. A substantial paternalism
carried over from antebellum days in Louisville, and many leading white
citizens lent support to a limited uplifting of Blacks in society. They helped Blacks
establish their own schools, hospitals, and other institutions. But the dual
purpose that such actions served, providing assistance while making the
maintenance of strict segregation easier, was not incidental. Whites salved
their consciences without really threatening an established order. And Blacks,
obliged to be grateful for the assistance, generally refrained from arguing for
real social and political equality for fear of jeopardizing a partially
improved situation and regressing to a status similar to that of other southern
Blacks.
In Life Behind a Veil: Blacks in
Louisville, Kentucky, 1865 - 1930, George Wright looks at the particulars
of this form of racism. He also looks at the ways in which Blacks made the most
of their less than ideal position, focusing on the institutions that were
central to their lives. Blacks in Louisville boasted the first library for Blacks
in the United States, as well as Black-owned banks, hospitals, churches,
settlement houses, and social clubs. These supported and reinforced a sense of
community, self-esteem, and pride that was often undermined by the white world.
Life Behind a Veil is a comprehensive account of race relations, Black
response to white discrimination, and the Black community behind the walls of
segregation in this border town. The title echoes Blyden Jackson's recollection
of his childhood in Louisville, where Blacks were always aware that there were
two very distinct Louisville’s, one of which they were excluded from.
George C. Wright is Professor, Senior Adviser to the President, Vice President for Institutional Diversity at the University of Kentucky.