Metro Council Members, pastors and West Louisville residents gathered this week at 18th and Broadway on the lot where a proposed Walmart would’ve been built. They were there to collect 30,000 signatures in an effort to get the megastore to reconsider locating in the West End. Walmart backed out of plans to build on the site in late October.
I spoke with some people at the news conference about community and posed a question: Does it feel like the West End is a part of Louisville? Listen to their answers in the player above.
Gene Courtney
“Well, part of that is because what’s going on down here. You know, with all the shooting and violence down here.”
Barbara Sexton Smith
"I think as you look at Jefferson County as a whole we have a very long history of people having a view of West Louisville being a separate entity from the rest of the community. Many people who live east and west of 9th Street view that as the great divide in our community.”
Teresa Bridgewaters
“Well, a lot of the residents in West Louisville felt that that is true. That there is no sense of urgency, that West Louisville is treated like the stepchild; that West Louisville is treated like it’s own city.”
Henrietta Dean
“Bad news is big news. And that’s what gets people to see and that’s what people talk about. But there are a lot of good things going on in the West End that is not broadcasted, that nobody knows about. And what we need to do is we need to shed the light on the light instead of always looking at the darkness."
