Louisville, Kentucky

===20th and 21st centuries===
Following the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, freed slaves settled in a neighborhood of Louisville called Little Africa, nicknamed "the gateway to the South", near the present neighborhood of [[Park DuValle, Louisville|Park DuValle]].<ref name="WHAS">{{Cite web|date=February 14, 2021|title=What happened to Little Africa? Louisville's lost Black community|url=https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/black-history/louisvilles-lost-black-community-little-africa/417-c72f3e6a-698c-4a63-80a1-cabfd6336b93|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=whas11.com|language=en-US|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016144403/https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/black-history/louisvilles-lost-black-community-little-africa/417-c72f3e6a-698c-4a63-80a1-cabfd6336b93|url-status=live}}</ref> The neighborhood was described as a "thriving community" by the 1920s, and declined between the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name="WHAS"/>

In 1914, the City of Louisville passed a racially-based residential zoning code, following Baltimore, Atlanta, and a handful of cities in the Carolinas.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Residential Segregation by Law, 1910–1917|first=Roger L.|last= Rice|journal=The Journal of Southern History|volume=34|issue=2|date=May 1968|pages=181–183|doi=10.2307/2204656|jstor=2204656}}</ref> The [[NAACP]] challenged the ordinance in two cases. Two weeks after the ordinance enacted, an African-American named Arthur Harris moved into a house on a block designated for whites. He was prosecuted and found guilty. The second case was planned to create a test case. [[William Warley]], the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, tendered a purchase offer on a white block from Charles Buchanan, a white real estate agent. Warley also wrote a letter declaring his intention to build a house on that lot and reside there. With the understanding that the Louisville ordinance made it illegal for him to live there, Warley withheld payment, setting in motion a breach of contract suit by Buchanan.<ref>Rice (1968), pp. 185–186.</ref> By 1917 the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of ''[[Buchanan v. Warley]]''. The court struck down the Louisville residential segregation ordinance, ruling that it violated the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]]'s [[due process]] clause.<ref>Rice (1968), p. 194.</ref>

In 1917, shortly after the United States' entry into [[World War I]], Louisville was selected as the site of Camp Zachary Taylor. Camp Taylor was one of the country's largest World War I training camps. It was home of the 84th Infantry Division and trained over 150,000 men by the end of war, including [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]. The camp was closed in 1921. Many of the buildings and infrastructure in the Camp Taylor neighborhood of Louisville are there as a result of the training camp.

In 1929, Louisville completed the [[McAlpine Locks and Dam|lock and dam]] in the [[Ohio Falls|Falls of the Ohio]] and the city began referring to itself as "where Northern enterprise and [[Southern hospitality]] meet". Between the industrial boom of that year and through the [[Great Depression]], Louisville gained 15,000 new residents, about three percent of them black(450), most fleeing poverty in rural areas.<ref name="Adams-2001">{{Cite journal|last=Adams|first=Luther J.|date=Autumn 2001|title=African American Migration to Louisville in the Mid-Twentieth Century|journal=The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society|volume=99|issue=4|pages=363–384|jstor=23384797}}</ref>

Throughout January 1937, {{convert|19.17|in|cm}} of rain fell in Louisville, and by January 27, the Ohio River crested at a record {{convert|57.15|ft|m}}, almost {{convert|30|ft|m}} above flood stage. These events triggered the [[Ohio River flood of 1937|"Great Flood of 1937"]], which lasted into early February. The [[flood]] submerged 60–70 percent of the city, caused complete loss of power for four days, and forced the evacuation of 175,000 or 230,000 residents, depending on sources. Ninety people died as a result of the flood.<ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Aaron D. |editor-first=John E. |editor-last=Kleber |year=2001 |title=The Encyclopedia of Louisville |chapter=Flood of 1937 |pages=296–297 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |location=[[Lexington, Kentucky]] |isbn=978-0-8131-2100-0 |oclc=247857447 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&pg=PA296 |access-date=March 7, 2019 |archive-date=November 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106012909/https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&pg=PA296#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://kyclim.wku.edu/factSheets/ohioRiver.htm |title=Fact Sheet: Ohio River Floods |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080604134934/http://kyclim.wku.edu/factSheets/ohioRiver.htm |publisher=[[Western Kentucky University]] |archive-date=June 4, 2008 |access-date=August 10, 2015 }}</ref> It led to dramatic changes in where residents lived. Today, the city is protected by numerous [[flood wall]]s. After the flood, the areas of high elevation in the eastern part of the city had decades of residential growth.

Louisville was a center for factory war production during World War II. In May 1942, the U.S. government assigned the [[Curtiss-Wright]] Aircraft Company, a war plant located at Louisville's air field, for wartime aircraft production. The factory produced the [[C-46 Commando]] cargo plane, among other aircraft. In 1946, the factory was sold to [[International Harvester]], which began large-scale production of tractors and agricultural equipment. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported Louisville's population as 84.3% white and 15.6% black.<ref>{{cite web|title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 }}</ref>

Throughout the 1940s, there were more black [[police officer]]s than any other Southern city, though they were allowed to patrol only black districts. This, in part, made Louisville seem like a more racially progressive city than other Southern cities, although only when black citizens accepted a lower status than white citizens. Many historians have referred to this "veil" of segregation as a [[Covert racism|"polite" racism]]. Historian George Wright stated that polite racism "often deluded both blacks and well-meaning whites into believing that real progress was being made in their city". For example, in the city [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]] practices were not maintained by law so much as by custom.<ref name="Adams-2001" />

Similar to many other older American cities, Louisville began to experience a movement of people and businesses to the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. Middle class residents used newly built freeways and interstate highways to commute to work, moving into more distant but newer housing. Because of tax laws, businesses found it cheaper to build new rather than renovate older buildings. Economic changes included a decline in local manufacturing. The West End and older areas of the South End, in particular, began to decline economically as many local factories closed.
[[File:Louisville Fourthstreetlive.jpg|thumb|Entrance of [[Fourth Street Live!]]]]

In 1974, a major (F4) tornado hit Louisville as part of the [[1974 Super Outbreak]] of tornadoes that struck 13 states. It covered {{convert|21|mi|km}} and destroyed several hundred homes in the Louisville area, causing two deaths.<ref>{{cite book|title=Tornado: A Look Back at Louisville's Dark Day, April 3, 1974|url=http://www.butlerbooks.com/tolobaatloda.html|year=2004|editor=Butler, William S.|publisher=Butler Books|access-date=April 21, 2009|isbn=978-1-884532-58-0|archive-date=May 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506025415/http://www.butlerbooks.com/tolobaatloda.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the 1980s, many of the city's urban neighborhoods have been [[gentrification|revitalized]] into areas popular with young professionals and college students. The greatest change has occurred along the [[The Highlands, Louisville|Bardstown Road/Baxter Avenue]] and [[Clifton, Louisville|Frankfort Avenue]] corridors as well as the [[Old Louisville]] neighborhood. In recent years, such change has also occurred in the [[East Market District]] (NuLu).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/louisville-city-living/2019/07/10/louisville-neighborhoods-nulu-packed-dining-shopping/1621854001/|title=A Day in the Neighborhood: Headed to NuLu? I hope you're hungry (and thirsty)|last=Menderski|first=Maggie|website=The Courier-Journal|language=en|access-date=October 24, 2019|archive-date=November 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106012909/https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/louisville-city-living/2019/07/10/louisville-neighborhoods-nulu-packed-dining-shopping/1621854001/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the late 1990s, [[Downtown Louisville|Downtown]] has experienced significant residential, tourist and retail growth, including the addition of major sports complexes [[KFC Yum! Center]], [[Lynn Family Stadium]] and [[Louisville Slugger Field]], conversion of waterfront industrial sites into [[Louisville Waterfront Park|Waterfront Park]], openings of varied museums (see [[#Museums, galleries and interpretive centers|Museums, galleries and interpretive centers]] below), and the refurbishing of the former Galleria into the bustling entertainment complex [[Fourth Street Live!]], which opened in 2004.

On March 13, 2020, four [[Undercover operation|plainclothed officers]] from [[Louisville Metro Police Department]] executed a [[No-knock warrant|"no-knock" search warrant]] which led to the killing of [[Killing of Breonna Taylor|Breonna Taylor]], a 26-year-old [[African-Americans|African-American]] woman.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Oppel|first=Richard A. Jr. |date=May 30, 2020|title=Here's What You Need to Know About Breonna Taylor's Death|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html|url-status=live|access-date=June 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601003544/https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html|archive-date=June 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} (From the [https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html Internet Archive index] for the page, compare captures for August 30, 2020, and September 2, 2020, to see the change in coverage concerning the warrant.)</ref> For months afterward, Taylor's family, members of the local community, and people around the world [[Breonna Taylor protests|protested]] to demand that officers involved in the shooting be fired and criminally charged.<ref>{{Cite news |first1=Ray |last1=Sanchez |first2=Elizabeth |last2=Joseph |date=June 19, 2020 |title=Louisville, Kentucky, seeks to fire police officer in shooting of Breonna Taylor |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/breonna-taylor-shooting-officer-firing/index.html |access-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229011459/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/breonna-taylor-shooting-officer-firing/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> These protests and demonstrations coincided and intertwined with the international [[George Floyd protests]], as well as the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement and a [[2020-2022 United States racial unrest|broader movement of racial unrest]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Waldrop |first2=Evan |last2=McMorris-Santoro |first3=Kevin |last3=Brunelli |first1=Theresa |date=June 1, 2020 |title=Louisville fires its police chief over handling of fatal shooting during protest |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/us/louisville-protests-man-shot-dead/index.html |access-date=September 28, 2022 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602000507/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/us/louisville-protests-man-shot-dead/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of the incident, the police chief was fired and four officers received federal charges, but no significant systemic changes were made.<ref name="USAToday20200619">{{Cite news|last1=Costello|first1=Darcy|title=Louisville police is firing officer Brett Hankison involved in Breonna Taylor shooting|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/19/breonna-taylor-shooting-louisville-police-fire-officer-brett-hankison/3222169001/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620052807/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/19/breonna-taylor-shooting-louisville-police-fire-officer-brett-hankison/3222169001/ |date=June 19, 2020 |archive-date=June 20, 2020|issn=0734-7456}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first1=Eliott C. |last1=McLaughlin |first2=Sonia |last2=Moghe |first3=Hannah |last3=Rabinowitz |date=August 4, 2022 |title=Four current, former Louisville police officers federally charged in Breonna Taylor's death |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/us/breonna-taylor-federal-charges/index.html |access-date=September 28, 2022 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804153621/https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/us/breonna-taylor-federal-charges/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 10, 2023, a [[2023 Louisville shooting|mass shooting]] occurred at the [[Old National Bank]], killing five people, and injuring nine others. The suspect, who was a bank employee and who officials said was livestreaming the rampage, was killed by the police after exchanging fire with them.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Louisville shooting live updates: 4 victims killed inside bank, 9 injured |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/active-shooter-louisville/?id=98470141 |access-date=April 10, 2023 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410142648/https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/active-shooter-louisville/?id=98470141 |url-status=live }}</ref>