Interview with Chester Grundy, February 5, 2019

Interview Summary

Chester Grundy was a student at the University of Kentucky during its early days of desegregation. In this interview, he discusses his childhood and education in Louisville, Kentucky. He talks about his decision to attend the University of Kentucky and his experiences as an African American man during the school's integration period. He talks about his experiences with racism and discrimination, his social life on campus, his participation in black student groups like the Black Student Union, his passion for civil rights activism, and his feelings on his overall experience at UK. Grundy talks about the work that the Black Student Union did with the administration to fight for minority rights on campus and to make campus a safer place for minority students, including the demands they asked for and received from administration. Grundy talks about his work as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Kentucky State University for a year, acting as a liaison between UK and KSU. He also talks about his work as the Director of Minority Student Affairs at UK and the work he did for them, and later, work as the Director of Special Projects for the Alumni Association, where he focused specifically on bettering the lives of black alumni.

Interview Keyword

Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Black Student Union (BSU) Teachers--Kentucky African American neighborhoods Discrimination in education Segregation in education Dormitories African American families

Interview LC Subject

African American college graduates--Kentucky African Americans--Conduct of life African Americans--Race identity African Americans--Segregation African Americans--Southern States Racism Segregation Louisville (Ky.) African Americans--Education African Americans--Social life and customs African Americans--Education (Higher) African American college students African American college students--Social conditions College environment College students--Social conditions Universities and colleges African American civil rights workers Civil rights movements--United States African Americans--Civil rights

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.