WKU News

Jonesville descendants view a display about the community during a meeting Saturday at the Downing Student Union.

The Continuing the Journey: Lunch and Conversation welcomed 13 descendants of Jonesville to campus to hear updates from the Jonesville Reconciliation Workgroup and discuss ideas and plans. Jonesville was an African American community that once existed where buildings such as E.A. Diddle Arena and Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium stand today.

Saturday’s event allowed descendants to gather on the grounds of the former community to recall stories of their connection to Jonesville, as well as discuss how they would like to see it recognized and honored in the future. Archival pictures and videos were also captured for use in future Jonesville-related projects.

“It made me proud to see that Western is doing something and at least we are getting acknowledged for what happened to us. It just gave me a good feel of what we can do with this and we can educate people, because I was educated on some things that I didn’t know about,” Jonesville descendant Leonard Bailey said.

President Timothy C. Caboni established the Jonesville Reconciliation Workgroup during the Spring 2022 semester. Members of the workgroup include WKU alumni, WKU employees, descendants of Jonesville, and individuals from the Bowling Green/Warren County community. The primary purpose of the workgroup is to appropriately address the issues that remain from the dismantling of the Jonesville neighborhood. 

The group held a reception on October 27 to share the “What Happened to Jonesville?” exhibit at the Kentucky Museum while also creating a space to learn and find more descendants. In April 2023, a symposium was held at the Martens Alumni Center to communicate more information about the history and learn from other institutions. 

Learn more about the workgroup at https://www.wku.edu/jonesville/

Contact: Peggy Crowe, peggy.crowe@wku.edu