The Kentucky Remembers! Project

The KY Remembers! Youth Summer Program will guide participants in documenting the diverse regional histories of Kentucky struggles for human rights.

To support a statewide commitment to preserving and teaching the history of diverse human rights struggles in Kentucky while building youth leadership.

The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR) is spear-heading the project in cooperation with the:

• Kentucky Arts Council 
• KY African American Heritage Commission
• KY Heritage Council
• KY Native American Heritage Commission
• Kentucky Oral History Commission
• United Way of Kentucky
• Kentucky Boys & Girls Clubs
• Seven Local Human Rights Agencies

Session 1:TEAM BUILDING & HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

Youth teams at each  Boys & Girls club will engage in diversity and team building workshops that will challenge the young people to see themselves as part of a supportive community. Teams will create original Declarations of Human Rights that will serve as guidelines for their time together. 

Session 2: LIVING HISTORY

Each team will undertake intensive training seminars in oral history culminating in the opportunity to interview and photograph human rights advocates who have been nominated for the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

Session 3: PRESERVING HUMAN RIGHTS SPACES

Youth will be trained to preserve and survey historic sites using photography. Teams will explore their communities through historic site visits, discussion forums, guest speakers, and archival resources. By the end of the session, teams will have created a timeline of their regions’ unique human rights history.

Session 4: BUILDING COMMUNITY MURALS

With the guidance of a local professional artist, each team will produce a portable mural representing their local community’s human rights heritage as well as their collective hopes for the future.

Session 5: HUMAN RIGHTS CHANGE AGENTS

Teams will host a community presentation to unveil their mural, honor the human rights advocates they interviewed, and showcase their community’s historic human rights places. This session is the opportunity for teams to give back to their communities and be acknowledged for their hard work!