Ramey, Delvan Arthur, 1948-, Photograph Collection, 2017-2020
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Ramey, Delvan Arthur, 1948-
Title: Photograph Collection, 2017-2020
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these photographs, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 1200 digital files (12.1 GB)
Location Number: 020PC27
Scope and Content Note
This collection documents social justice movements and community events in Louisville, Kentucky, from 2017 to 2020. The collection consists of 1200 born-digital photographs captured by photographer Del Ramey and posted onto his personal website in fifteen albums. The photographs depict local activists, politicians, religious leaders, health care workers, labor union members, and other community members.
The bulk of the albums are related to protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of Louisville Metro Police Department officers killing Breonna Taylor during a no-knock warrant on her home in Louisville on March 23, 2020. Photographs capture activists and community organizers chanting, marching, holding signs, gathering for speakers, dancing, making art, mourning, and helping one another. Many of the photographs were taken at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville, where activists set up an encampment of supplies, tents, food, and a memorial to Breonna and others killed during the protests. Activists called the space Breeway, Breonna Square, and Injustice Square.
The collection replicates Ramey’s original digital album arrangement on his website (https://dar-lcp.smugmug.com). Digital file names are original. Files are organized in digital folders by event. The digital folders are named using Ramey’s titles. Processing archivists selected samples of Ramey’s photographs to represent the range of activity and subject matter photographed. Ramey’s original captions were maintained in the item-level listing. The reference sources used for the biographical note and album descriptions have been printed and are stored within the accession folder.
Related Collections
Jessica Hendrix-Inman Photograph Collection [020PC24]
Dorr-Raith Family Photograph Collection – contains Pride photographs and LGBTQ+ activism [021PC40]
Kentucky COVID-19 Poster Project [021PR3]
COVID-19 Community Collection [024×35]
Conditions of Access and Use
Born-digital photographs can be viewed using Filson library computers. Remote access may be granted on a case-by-case basis. Please speak to staff about how to access digital files.
Delvan A. Ramey is the copyright holder for the photographs and original captions. Ramey has made the collection available to the Filson Historical Society under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) (see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) under the following terms:
- Attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial – You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- NoDerivatives – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
- No additional restrictions – You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Biographical Note
Delvan Arthur Ramey (1948-) is a Louisville, Kentucky, retired electrical engineer and street photographer. He was born to Sarah Marjorie Van Hoose Ramey (1925-1993) and Henry Arthur Ramey (1924-2010) in Arlington, Virginia, on February 20, 1948. Ramey, his mother, and his two brothers moved to Louisville sometime in the 1950s. Ramey studied electrical engineering at the University of Louisville Speed Scientific School from 1966 to 1972, where he graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, to attend graduate school at the University of Cincinnati from 1973 to 1980. Photography was one of his hobbies while a graduate student. While in school in 1978, Ramey married Patricia J. Hoekman Rudolph (1951-).
In 1980, the couple moved to Framingham, Massachusetts, and Ramey began working as a Consulting Engineer with Compaq. He worked for Compaq for 22.5 years before taking a new position as a Consulting Engineer with Hewlett-Packard (HP) in May 2002. Intel hired Ramey as a Principal Engineer in July 2003. He stayed with Intel until November 2007. He then worked for two years at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) before retiring in 2010. Del and Patricia moved back to Louisville around 2010. They were both members of the First Unitarian Church of Louisville. Ramey focused on documentary photography in his retirement, beginning with documenting Habitat for Humanity construction.
Sources
“Del Ramey,” LinkedIn, accessed on May 9, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/in/del-ramey-1339835/
Delvan Ramey, comment on “Seeing your sanctuary in a different light,” UU World, Winter 2014, accessed on May 9, 2023, http://archive.uuworld.org/life/articles/298722.shtml
Marriage Abstract, in Ohio Marriage Index, 1970 and 1972-2007, Hamilton County, Volume 9534, Certificate 55594, accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/330590:2025
Census record, in Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Providence, Fairfax, Virginia; Roll: 3020; Sheet Number: 48; Enumeration District: 30-63. Accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/111883677:62308
Abstract of Divorce Decree for Sarah M. Ramey and Henry A. Ramey, in Virginia Divorce Records, 1918–2014, State File No 3258, June 6, 1959. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia. Accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/181012:9280
Delvan Arthur Ramey birth record, in Virginia, Births, 1721–2015, Certificate number 1948008137, 1948. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia. Accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/2109209:9277
Sarah Marjorie Van Hoose and Henry A. Ramey marriage registration, in Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001, film number 002312589, page 537, July 2, 1945, accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1634679:60282
Delvan Ramey, in U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Durrett High School, 1961, accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/227820882:1265
Delvan Ramey, in U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Durrett High School, 1962, accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/227525952:1265
Delvan Ramey, in U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Durrett High School, 1964, accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/709935938:1265
Delvan Ramey, in U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Durrett High School, 1965, accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/573479706:1265
Patricia Hoekman Ramey, in U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019, access through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/67054468:62209
Delvan Ramey, “Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville,” Del Ramey, Liberal Curmudgeon Photographer, accessed on May 9, 2023, https://dar-lcp.smugmug.com/Habitat-for-Humanity-of-Metro-Louisville
Album List
Album 1: Keep the horse!, August 19, 2017
Album of 21 photographs of a rally calling for the removal of the John Breckinridge Castleman statue from the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky. A violent Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, motivated Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice to organize for the removal of the statue. The Majority and Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) called for a National Day of Action on August 19, 2017, in response to Charlottesville. Louisville activists and counter-protesters rallied at the Castleman statue on August 19th.[1]
Photographs depict activists speaking with megaphones, marching with two banners, and hanging the banners on the statue. The banners read “No Room for Racism” and “Take It Down.” The album includes photographs of a counter-protester pulling one of the banners of the statue and arguing with the protesters.
Album 2: Sanctuary, DACA, Refugees, September 8, 2017
Album of 56 photographs of a protest against the Trump administration’s plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in Louisville. Senator Mitch McConnell was scheduled to be at an event at the University of Louisville Ekstrom Library on September 8, 2017. The protest began outside of the library and moved to the interior lobby in hopes of being heard by McConnell.[2] Photographs depict students and employees holding signs and speaking, and verbal confrontations between a counter-protester and the crowd. Some protesters are wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts, stickers, and buttons.
Album 3: Louisville Occupy ICE, June 30, 2018-July 7, 2018
Album of 223 photographs of a Families Belong Together/Las Familias Merecen Estar Unidas rally. The rally was protesting the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) separation of detained immigrants and asylum seekers from the children who accompanied them. The protest occurred at Louisville Metro Hall on June 30, 2018. A subset of the crowd marched to the ICE office at the Heyburn Building to call for the abolishment of ICE. Photographs depict people holding signs and banners, speakers, and chant leaders at the rally. Community leaders documented include Jesús Alberto Ibáñez of Migente Louisville, Representative Attica Scott, Chanelle Helm of the Movement for Black Lives, Tamarra Wieder of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc., and Carla Wallace of Louisville SURJ.
On July 2, Mijente Louisville, BLM Louisville, Stand Up Sunday, Louisville SURJ, and others set up Camp Compasión in front of the Louisville ICE building and called their action Occupy ICE, in solidarity with the nationwide Occupy ICE movement.[3] Local demands included:
- “public statements from all elected officials, condemning the actions of ICE and callings for its abolishment at the state and federal levels.
- a border patrol that acts as humanitarian rescue force.
- establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to examine abuses perpetrated by homeland security agencies
- end Operation Streamline
- reparations distributed to the millions that have been terrorized by ICE
- end hyper-criminalization and mass incarceration of Black & Brown communities.”[4]
Ramey’s photographs document Camp Compasión on July 2, 3, and 4. Occupiers and Department of Homeland Security Police are depicted. The album ends with photographs of an Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Justice march and white militia counter-protesters on July 7, 2018.
Album 4: Protesting New ICE Courts, April 2, 2018
Album of 45 photographs of a protest against the opening of a United States Department of Homeland Security immigration court in Louisville on April 2, 2018. Mijente Louisville, Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, ACLU Kentucky, Fairness Campaign, Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, Stand Up Sunday, and Black Lives Matter Louisville organized the protest. The protest occurred at noon at the Heyburn Building on 332 West Broadway. According to a Facebook event for the protest, “Groups protesting the new court stress that the problem goes beyond setting up new courts to the whole agenda of mass deportation.”[5]
Album 5: Gay Pride Parade, June 14, 2019
Album of 99 photographs of the Kentuckiana Pride Parade in Louisville on June 14, 2019. Organizers advertised the parade as to begin at 7:00 pm at the intersection of Market Street and Campbell Street. The parade traveled west on Market and turned north on to Preston Street before ending at the Big Four Lawn of Waterfront Park.[6] Ramey’s photographs document parade participants before and during the parade, and spectators. Organizations and businesses represented (in order of appearance) include Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church, Chill Bar, Center for Women and Families, Kentuckiana Marching Pride, Derby City Sisters, Third Lutheran Church, Louisville Metro Police Department, CIVITAS Regional LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, Petsmart, UPS, Teddy Bears, US Bank, Crescent Hill Baptist Church, Mister Kentucky Leather, PNC, Volunteers of America, St. John United Church of Christ, Norton Healthcare, Mom’s Demand Action, KFC, Louisville Gay Men’s Chorus, Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers, Brown-Forman, Kroger, Poder Latinx/Poder KY, Commonwealth Theatre Center, and the Fairness Campaign.
Album 6: Juice Bowl, November 28, 2019
Album of 28 photographs documenting the annual Juice Bowl on Thanksgiving Day in Shawnee Park in Louisville.[7] Photographs depict a youth football game, spectators, and community members grilling and socializing in the park.
Album 7: COVID-19 West End Testing, April 25, 2020
Album of 38 photographs of an outdoor, drive-thru COVID-19 testing event the morning of Saturday, April 25, 2020, in the California neighborhood of Louisville. Photographs depict people directing traffic, speaking to car drivers and passengers, writing down registration information on clipboards, and handling testing supplies. Medical personnel are shown wearing disposable masks, face shields, isolation gowns, and hairnets.
Album 8: One Day, Two Rallies, June 3, 2020, June 11, 2020
Album of 92 photographs of anti-police brutality gatherings at Jefferson Square Park and Bardstown Road in Louisville. Photographs depict protesters creating art and signs and speaking with Mayor Fischer at Jefferson Square. People identified include community organizer Shameka Parrish-Wright and Vincent James. Later photographs document a sidewalk vigil along Bardstown Road, from Douglass Loop north towards Eastern Parkway.
Album 9: Juneteenth at Breonna Square, June 19, 2020
Album of 50 photographs of the Juneteenth celebration at Breonna Square (Jefferson Square Park) in Louisville. The photographs depict the crowd, food, dancing, a march to Roots 101 African American Museum, and speakers Shameka Parrish-Wright, Katie Brophy, and others. Some of the activists are shown carrying a black coffin labeled with the names of people killed by police.
Album 10: Militia no-shows at Breonna Square, June 27, 2020
Album of 105 photographs of a protest against racism and police brutality in downtown Louisville. Eli Eaton announced in the American Freedom Fighters Facebook group that “On the morning of June 27th, armed freedom fighting patriots will march upon Louisville Kentucky to restore order.” The counter-protesters cancelled their march on the morning of June 27 and gathered in a small group outside of the city.[8] The photographs show the police presence, and barriers set up for the protesters and counter-protesters to gather in separate areas.
Album 11: Candles for Justice Memorial, June 28, 2020
Album of 74 photographs of a vigil at Breonna Square (Jefferson Square Park) in memory of Breonna Taylor and Tyler Gerth, a local photographer and activist murdered the night before.[9] Photographs capture speakers, activists, and local media workers.
Album 12: LGBTQ for BLM, July 24, 2020
Album of 94 photographs of a Black Lives Matter march by LGBTQ people in downtown Louisville on the evening of July 24, 2020. The march started at the KFC Yum! Center and ended at Breonna Square.[10]
Album 13: NFAC meet the 3%ers!, July 25, 2020
Album of 137 photographs of two militia groups at their planned marches in Louisville on Saturday, July 25, 2020. John Johnson, leader of the Atlanta-based Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC), announced the Black militia group’s march six days prior. White anti-government militia groups associated with Three Percenters organized a counter-presence to the NFAC.[11] The photographs show regular community protesters, police officers, the armed NFAC and New Panthers marching to Metro Hall, Johnson speaking, and the smaller white militia presence.
Album 14: Amy McGrath visits the Picket Lines, August 13, 2020
Album of 67 photographs of striking unions Teamsters Local 89 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1447 on August 13, 2020. Teamsters Local 89 began their strike on August 4, 2020, to call for a contract with their employer, DSI Tunneling, located on East Chestnut Street. Amalgamated Transit Union met outside of TARC headquarters and called for hazard pay and additional safety measures for operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate candidate Amy McGrath visited the picket lines on August 13, 2020. Union members and McGrath are shown wearing masks and bumping elbows instead of shaking hands because of the pandemic.[12]
Album 15: KAARPR presser Breonna Law for KY, August 16, 2020
Album of 71 photographs of Kentucky State Representative Attica Scott presenting on Breonna’s Law at a press conference held at Breonna Square by the Kentucky Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression. Scott pre-filed a bill to ban no-knock warrants, require police to use body cameras, and require police officers involved in a deadly incident to undergo drug and alcohol testing.[13] The press conference included multiple speakers and a performance by hip-hop artist B. Simms. Community members depicted include Shameka Parrish-Wright, Representative Nima Kulkarni, photographer Sam Upshaw Jr., Representative Mari Lou Marzian, livestreamer Tara Bassett, Carla Wallace, K.A. Owens, Representative Charles Booker, attorney Sam Aguilar, Keturah Herron of ACLU of Kentucky, Angelo Pinto, Representative Lisa Willner, Dana Aiyanna, and Carmen Jones.
[1] Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, “Take down the Castleman Statue” event, Facebook, August 2017, https://www.facebook.com/events/476708599366875/. Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, “No Room for Racism” Facebook photograph, August 19, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/SURJLouisville/photos/1648594685174194/ . Darcy Costello, “‘No room for racism’: Castleman statue in Cherokee Triangle draws another protest,” Courier-Journal , August 21, 2017, https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/08/19/controversy-around-castleman-statue-cherokee-triangle-continues-saturday-protest/581608001/
[2] Janet Drake, “Students protest Mitch McConnell at DACA rally,” Louisville Cardinal (September 10th, 2017) https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2017/09/students-protest-mitch-mcconnell-at-daca-rally/ . Vanessa Romo, Martina Stewart, and Brian Naylor, “Trump Ends DACA, Calls on Congress to Act,” NPR, September 5, 2017, https://www.npr.org/2017/09/05/546423550/trump-signals-end-to-daca-calls-on-congress-to-act .
[3] Occupy ICE Louisville, “Coalition of Louisville Activists #OccupyICE in Continued Call to #AbolishICE and #FreeOurFuture,” July 2, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/occupyicelou/posts/pfbid0x41qn5dLWmaYdvSWDurzqe3kXomDgg6DiL96wwVtZceSJJTKeVgkEaGnxFsrNnFgl
[4] Occupy ICE Louisville, #OccupyICELou demands graphic, July 2, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/occupyicelou/photos/a.235283963937456/235383197260866/
[5] “Protest New Louisville Immigration Court Facility,” Facebook, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/events/heyburn-building/protest-new-louisville-immigration-court-facility/2144640019103842/
[6] “2019 Kentuckiana PRIDE Parade, Concert & Festival,” Facebook, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/events/576526786105177/576526792771843/?active_tab=about
[7] Shaquille Lord, “Juice Bowl 2019 brings out hundreds to Shawnee Park,” WLKY, November 28, 2019, https://www.wlky.com/article/juice-bowl-2019-brings-out-hundreds-to-shawnee-park/30048304
[8] Graham Ambrose, “‘American Freedom Fighters’ Fail To Show At Louisville Protest,” Louisville Public Media, June 27, 2020, https://www.lpm.org/news/2020-06-27/american-freedom-fighters-fail-to-show-at-louisville-protest; Jared Bennett, “Armed Protest Scheduled For Saturday Planned By Member Of The Kentucky National Guard,” Louisville Public Media, June 25, 2020, https://www.lpm.org/news/2020-06-25/armed-protest-scheduled-for-saturday-planned-by-member-of-the-kentucky-national-guard
[9] Jess Clark, “Tyler Gerth’s father remembers his son at vigil at Jefferson Square Park,” Louisville Public Media, June 29, 2020, https://www.lpm.org/news/2020-06-29/tyler-gerths-father-remembers-his-son-at-vigil-in-jefferson-square-park
[10] Stephanie Wolf, “LGBTQ Protesters March For Black Lives In Downtown Louisville,” Louisville Public Media, July 25, 2020, https://www.lpm.org/news/2020-07-25/lgbtq-protesters-march-for-black-lives-in-downtown-louisville
[11] “Planned march by armed group in Louisville draws rebuke from mayor, inquiries from police,” WDRB, June 25, 2020 and updated October 1, 2020, https://www.wdrb.com/news/planned-march-by-armed-group-in-louisville-draws-rebuke-from-mayor-inquiries-from-police/article_b4145710-b72c-11ea-9a67-2b90c34033a3.html; Ryan Van Velzer, “Opposing Militia Groups Plan Demonstrations in Louisville Saturday,” Louisville Public Media, July 22, 2020, https://www.lpm.org/news/2020-07-22/opposing-militia-groups-plan-demonstrations-in-louisville-saturday; Chris Kenning, Phillip M. Bailey, Hayes Gardner, Savannah Eadens, and Ben Tobin, “Opposing armed militias converge in Louisville, escalating tensions but avoiding violence,” Courier-Journal, updated July 27, 2020, https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/07/25/louisville-protests-nfac-three-percenters-expected-demonstrate/3288198001/
[12] Berry Craig and Del Ramey, “Forward Kentucky: McGrath visits the picket lines – a photo gallery,” Kentucky State AFL-CIO, August 16, 2020, https://ky.aflcio.org/news/forward-kentucky-mcgrath-visits-picket-lines-photo-gallery; “Teamsters Local 89 Begins Strike at DSI Tunneling,” Teamsters Local 89, August 4, 2020, https://www.teamsters89.com/index.cfm?zone=%2Funionactive%2Fview_article.cfm&homeID=832151&ref=paydayreport.com; Kaitlin Estill, “Louisville: DSI Tunneling workers strike for first union contract,” The Militant, September 7, 2020, https://themilitant.com/2020/08/29/louisville-dsi-tunneling-workers-strike-for-first-union-contract/; “TARC workers protest, demand hazard pay,” WHAS11, August 13, 2020, https://www.whas11.com/article/news/kentucky/tarc-workers-protest/417-191cef8e-4c35-436a-87f8-7abe1dc81b60 ; Chad Mills, “TARC union to picket for hazard pay, better safety measures during pandemic,” WDRB, August 12, 2020, https://www.wdrb.com/news/tarc-union-to-picket-for-hazard-pay-better-safety-measures-during-pandemic/article_d50c30ba-dcf6-11ea-9329-fbb5124bebc3.html
[13] Eileen Street, “‘Breonna’s Law’ aims to ban no-knock warrants across Kentucky,” Spectrum News, https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2020/08/17/attica-scott-charles-booker-breonna-taylor-law-br-22-louisville-kentucky-no-knock-warrant
Subject Headings
ACLU of Kentucky.
Activism.
African Americans.
Anti-racism.
Black Lives Matter movement.
Community activists.
COVID-19 (Disease).
COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-)
Derby City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (Louisville, Ky.)
Drag queens.
Emigration and immigration.
Fairness Campaign. (Louisville, Ky.)
Football.
Holidays.
Human rights movements.
Ibáñez, Jesús Alberto.
Juneteenth.
Kentucky – Jefferson County.
Kentucky – Louisville – California Neighborhood.
Kentucky – Louisville – Cherokee Triangle.
Kentucky – Louisville – Jefferson Square Park.
Kentucky – Louisville – Shawnee Park.
Kentucky – Louisville – Waterfront Park.
Labor unions.
Latin Americans.
LGBT activism.
Louisville (Ky.). Metropolitan Police Department.
Louisville Showing Up For Racial Justice (Louisville, Ky.)
McGrath, Amy, 1975-.
Migente Louisville (Louisville, Ky.)
Militia movements.
Occupy ICE Louisville (Louisville, Ky.)
Parrish-Wright, Shameka L., 1977-.
Photographers.
Police.
Political activists.
Political candidates.
Political participation.
Politicians.
Protest movements.
Ramey, Delvan Arthur, 1948-.
Scott, Attica Woodson, 1972-.
Social justice.
Social movements.
Sports.
Taylor, Breonna, 1993-2020.
Thanksgiving Day.
Wallace, Carla F., 1957-.