Interview with Chester Grundy, May 28, 2015

Interview Summary

University of Kentucky administrator Chester Grundy, after discussing his induction into the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Hall of Fame, discusses his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. He discusses his education in segregated and integrated schools, as well as segregation outside of school. He describes his education at the University of Kentucky, where he became an activist for better conditions for black students, and abandoned his aspirations to a military career. He discusses his career, which has been primarily in promoting cultural education at the University of Kentucky, partly through organizing events such as a highly successful series of jazz concerts. He tells of his being laid off in 2012 and his subsequent return to the university, and finally he discusses his family, and the continuing problems of race relations in the United States.

Interview Keyword

Black culture Civil rights activism College administrators. Integration of schools Jazz musicians

Interview LC Subject

Lexington (Ky.) Louisville (Ky.) Race relations Racism Segregation University of Kentucky

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.