Black Experience Archives

Black Experience Archive at the Filson

Black history has always mattered. The Black experience is inseparable from the history of the Ohio Valley region.

The Black Experience Archive at the Filson collects, preserves, and shares the diverse stories of Black life in the Ohio Valley. By documenting and celebrating the full spectrum of Black lived experiences—from family traditions and community leadership to artistic expression, achievement, resilience, and joy—the Black Experience Archive affirms that these stories are fundamental to the history, culture, and future of the Ohio Valley.

History of the Black Experience Archive at the Filson

In 2023, the Filson Historical Society launched the African American History Initiative (AAHI) to collect, preserve, and share African American history and culture in Louisville, Kentucky, southern Indiana, and the greater Ohio Valley region.

Supported by a $3.5 million endowment, this work is a permanent commitment at the Filson ensuring sustained engagement with Black communities, expanded public programs, and growth of the collections.

After two successful years, AAHI evolved into the Black Experience Archive (BEA) at the Filson, reflecting a more intentional and expansive approach to documenting Black life in the Ohio Valley.

Highlights from the initiative’s first two years include:

Acquiring objects from the 2020 Breonna Taylor protests
Collecting artwork exploring Black social and political ideas
Producing two exhibitions focused on the Black experience
Hosting programs on topics ranging from Black beauty queens and Black family life to social inequalities reflected in Louisville’s alleyways

Looking Ahead

As the Black Experience Archive continues to grow, it will build upon its early successes by deepening community partnerships, expanding access to Black stories, and creating new opportunities for engagement throughout the Ohio Valley.

In the years ahead, the BEA will focus on:

Strengthening relationships with Black communities, organizations, and stakeholders throughout the region
Creating a welcoming space where community members feel empowered to share and preserve their stories
Expanding outreach and engagement through partnerships, offsite programs, and collaborations beyond Louisville
Increasing access to collections and research that illuminate the diverse experiences of Black life in the Ohio Valley

Building the Collection

The BEA is expanding the Filson’s collections by actively documenting, preserving, and sharing the diverse stories of Black life throughout Louisville and the Ohio Valley.

Recent acquisitions include artwork, poetry, family heirlooms, school records, and business documents that preserve stories of creativity, education, work, community, and everyday life.

Interested in donating? Learn more about donating to the Filson’s collections or contact Jacqueline Hudson, Ph.D., Curator of the Black Experience Archive.

Get In Touch with the Black Experience Archive

You can get in touch with Dr. Jacqueline Hudson, Curator of the Black Experience Archive, by email at gro.l1786632788aciro1786632788tsihn1786632788oslif1786632788@nosd1786632788uhj1786632788 or by phone at 502-635-5083.

Filson Resources on Black History

The Filson has a proud and extensive record of collecting, preserving, and creating programming around Black history in the Ohio Valley. Our collections contain materials and diverse perspectives on Black families, businesses, artists and entertainers, architects, educators, churches, and more.

Digital Collections and Exhibits

Digital Collections and Exhibits online of specific note regarding Black history:

Manuscript Collections

Manuscript Collections

A note on descriptive bias: the content forming our databases was created over the past 130+ years, and it includes terms that are outdated, offensive, inaccurate and/or harmful. Some of the descriptive language found in our collection guides reflects and re-uses the words and ideas of the people and organizations that created the material. Going forward, we seek to use inclusive, accurate, and respectful language in describing newly acquired and newly processed collections.

Manuscript database (subject level details regarding collections).   Within this database, search terms for African American / Black history can include “African Americans,” “Slavery,” “Slaves,” “Fugitive slaves,” “Freedmen,” “Families, Black,” and “Enslaved”

Please note that many other collections will include information about Black history; this is a highlight of Black creators who were from Kentucky:

Library Collections

Library Catalog – if you do an advanced search, you can limit you search parameters to “Library African American Collection” which is a local notes tag that our catalogers have added for materials that have specific content on African American / Black history. Within this database, search terms for African American / Black history can include “African Americans,” “Slavery,” “Slaves,” “Fugitive slaves,” “Freedmen,” “Families, Black,” and “Enslaved”

African American Genealogy Resources at the Filson

Vertical Files: Some of our vertical files will include specific information relevant to Black history, such as our Historical Files, Newspaper Clipping Files, and Ohio Valley Artist Files.

Photograph and Print Collections

PastPerfect Online (this database provides item-level description of a small portion of our photograph/image collection – much more is accessible in-house). Best keyword to use “African American”

Sampling of In-House Photograph Collections

Samuel Plato Photograph Collection
Carrider Jones Photograph and Added Photograph Collections
Margaret Smith Photograph Collection
Helen Humes Photograph Collection (see exhibit)

Museum Collections

The Museum Collection is currently under inventory; some description is accessible online through Past Perfect.

In-house access is available via PastPerfect, similarly to the Image Collection. It is worth directly contacting the research account (gro.l1786632788aciro1786632788tsihn1786632788oslif1786632788@hcra1786632788eser1786632788) with questions.

Some items of note include artwork by G. Caliman Coxe, Helen LaFrance, and Arielle Biddix, and a fraternal organization ceremonial sword owned by Dinnie Thompson as a member of the Sisters of the Mysterious Ten.

Recorded Lectures and Presentations

Click here to access the Filson’s Black History playlist on our YouTube Channel, or select a specific program below.

“The Gospel of Freedom: Black Evangelicals and the Underground Railroad” by Alicestyne Turley

“Beyond Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South” by Warren E. Milteer Jr.

“Kentucky Juneteenth:” A Public Dialogue with Dr. Patrick Lewis

“Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America” by Dr. Marcia Chatelain

“A Way Forward on Race” by Dr. Teresa Reed

“The Soulful Sounds of Derbytown” by Michael L. Jones

The Kentucky African American Civil War Soldiers Project by Dan Gediman

Filson Publications

The Filson has published books and pamphlets on historical topics since its founding in 1884. It has published a quarterly history journal since 1926, first the Filson Club History Quarterly and now Ohio Valley History, published in cooperation with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the University of Cincinnati.

While slavery as a contentious political topic among whites was the subject of numerous early FCHQ articles, as historians turned increasingly to study the Black experience of enslavement and emancipation in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, the Filson’s publications followed suit Kentucky historians George C. Wright, Victor Howard, and Lowell Harrison made early, important contributions to this shifting perspective in the 1970s.

The 1990s saw a flourishing of Black history in Kentucky. The series by Dr. Blaine Hudson Hudson in the Quarterly could be compiled together and form an important book on slavery in and around Louisville.

Ohio Valley History has continued this trend, fueled by research conducted on Black life in Kentucky supported through the Filson’s scholarly fellowship program. An especially strong issue in 2002 set the tone:

The next year, one of the most important articles in OVH history was published, Luther Adams’s It Was North of Tennessee: African American Migration to Louisville and the Meaning of the South (2003).

In addition to individual articles, the Filson has commissioned special issues on topics of critical importance to Black studies in Kentucky:

In the wake of the protests after the killing of Breonna Taylor in the summer of 2020, the Filson commissioned a special issue on Black & Indigenous History, which is permanently open access while the rest of our content remains accessible only to members and those with Project MUSE credentials. The introduction to that issue makes insightful links between the past and present, and lays out an ongoing, equitable, and inclusive publishing agenda for the Filson to pursue.

Kentucky-specific topics, of course, have always been important in OVH. Some highlights not previously featured include:

Because of its regional perspective, OVH covers a range of Black experiences in the region, which is an important perspective considering the long-term diaspora of Black Kentuckians seeking freedom and opportunity north of the Ohio River. Some examples include:

Visit the Filson

The Filson will be closed to the Public on 8/14/26 & 8/21/26.

Open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm

The Filson is closed to the public the 3rd Friday of every month.

1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY 40208
(502) 635-5083

Plan Your Visit to the Filson! To register or purchase tickets for our events, please visit our Events Page.

The Research Library is open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30pm; we are closed on the third Friday of each month. Appointments are not required, but feel free to reserve a seat online – learn more here. We also provide remote research services; please complete our research request form online here.

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