LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- On the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Louisville there is an exhibit being installed that features a sidewalk dotted with footprints.
The Unknown Project and its Elders Footprints hopes to help Black people find their identities and track their lineage. The footprints chronicle a journey of more than 20 trailblazing activists, educators and civil rights leaders in our community.
Elmer Lucille Allen, 93, sits on a porch at her home in Louisville, Ky. She was the first Black chemist at Brown-Forman. She is among 20 Black leaders honored by the Unknown Project's Elders Footprints art installation on the waterfront. (WDRB Image by Krystal Goodner) June 4, 2024
A piece of wisdom from one of the foot prints is that of Elmer Lucille Allen. At 92 years old, she is still active and living her mantra to be a lifelong learner. "People think when you graduate from high school it's over, but you need to keep learning."
Allen was the first Black chemist at Brown-Forman. Since then, her hands and feet have been connected to many projects and organizations in Louisville. She’s one of more than 20 featured in the Unknown Project's latest installation "At Their Feet."
Hannah Drake from the Unknown Project said, "We did an event at Roots 101. and we just put out a call that we wanted to collect the foot prints of Black elders in Louisville."
Along with Allen, sculptor Ed Hamilton, journalist Bettye Baye, civil rights pioneer Mattie Jones and lifelong activist Pastor Charles Elliott from Louisville's King Soloman Missionary Baptist Church answered the call.
Drake was inspired. "Often our history is not in a book. They are in the history keepers and the storytellers." She said the humility of these giants is what surprised her the most.
Former JCPS Chair and educator Diane Porter is also featured in the exhibit, and she told Drake that her lofty titles aren't what she wants to be remembered for.
"How do you want me to label you? And she said 'I was a mother. That's what I want you to put down for me,'" Drake remembered. Porter's only child Dani passed in 2015.
The Unknown Project's Josh Miller said it's about history and knowing where you come from. "We're so excited to be able to celebrate the way they've impacted the community but also get people to think about what does it mean to be an ancestor."
Launched in 2020, The Unknown Project's focus was to find the names and stories of Black people that were enslaved in America.
The Uknown Project will unveil their Elders' Footprints art installation on the Louisville Riverwalk between 9th and 10th Streets on Saturday, June 8 at 11 a.m. The installation is adjacent to the On The Banks Of Freedom exhibit.
To learn more about the Unknown Project, click here.
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