Interview with David Kelly, May 26, 1999

Interview Summary

Mr. Kelly begins the interview by discussing some of the problems he faced attending an integrated school. By attending an integrated school, he lost a feeling of closeness he had had with teachers, coaches, and classmates. In the integrated school, he was not able to participate in the band because he couldn't afford to attend the band camps. Kelly feels that only the best African American athletes were able to participate in sports, and that some very good players were left out because the black athletes had to compete with the best white athletes for the limited number of positions on the teams.

Kelly discusses patronizing black restaurants and that the local theatre was segregated. Blacks had to sit in the balcony and the restroom facilities designated for blacks were not always in working condition. He states that neighborhoods in Owensboro remained segregated into the 1970s but that today blacks can live anywhere they can afford to. Kelly mentions that many African Americans have gone away to school and become successful, but have never returned to Owensboro. He talks about the Chatauquas that were held in Owensboro, which his grandfather helped organize and his mother told him about.

Interview Keyword

Chatauquas Integration Black teachers

Interview LC Subject

Integration Owensboro (Ky.) Race relations Racism Segregation

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Interview Usage

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