Interview with Louis Lusky, April 20, 1999

Interview Summary

Louis Lusky, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, was a well-respected civil liberties attorney, member of the ACLU, Betts Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, and, in his early career, a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Harlan Stone. In this interview, Lusky discusses the socio-political climate of Louisville during the 1950s, the presence of McCarthyism, liberalism, and the general state of race relations, the mixture of which constituted the atmosphere wherein the Braden sedition trial unfolded. He speaks of the evolution of his legal career, his involvement with the ACLU/KCLU, his relationship with Carl Braden as a member of his defense team, and of the general dynamics of the trial. Lusky also speaks of Anne Braden, of his general impressions of her and her life's mission.

Interview Keyword

Civil rights

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Civil rights--Kentucky American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky Boudin, Leonard, 1912-1989 Braden, Anne, 1924-2006 Braden, Carl, 1914-1975 Civil rights workers Civil rights--Kentucky Lusky, Louis--Interviews Wade, Andrew, IV

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