An Oral History Project Conducted by John Robert Lewis Scholar Imani Smith
Project Description
For this oral history assignment, titled Black & Woman: Life in Louisville, I interviewed Mrs. Rhonda Washington Mathies – known to many in Louisville, KY (our hometown and community organizing base) as “Mama/Auntie Mathies”. As a Louisville native and specifically a “Smoketown Original” (referencing a predominantly Black, historic neighborhood proximate to downtown and west Louisville), Mathies has witnessed much of the ebbs-and-flows of the city’s history from her time as a young Black girl navigating educational integration to community tragedies at the cause of racism and police brutality to sharing spaces with other local and national civil rights icons, while creating opportunities for budding activists.
Abbreviated Oral History Interview with Rhonda Mathies
Presentation Slides
