![]() ![]() They use tropes such as welfare queens, thugs, rampant violent crackheads, etc. We are familiar with the narratives around neighborhoods with high densities of Black people, constructed through histories of neoliberal gentrification schemes and the War on Drugs. Yet when analysts examine “crime in the ‘West End’,” the data does not uphold the myth of a criminal (Black) area where most crimes are committed. Yet the political class, media, and outsiders talk about the West End as a monolithic block. If you look at a map, the West End is a very large portion of Louisville and is made up of many different neighborhoods. #Kentucky fried chicken near me convoy st crackOne commenter writes: “there are kentucky fried chicken stands on every corner and crack dealers.the west end is where 99 percent of murders and rapes s kinda like the harlem of the mid west,so if your white and go past 8th street run the stop signs and dontstop.” These comments remind me of what a well-meaning friend of mine said to me when I told her I would be living in South Atlanta (where much of the city’s Black underclass resides) for a while: “Stay away from the areas around the airport They are incredibly unsafe.” They warn of high crime, of drugs, of gang violence, while demarcating a border not to cross: “DO NOT venture past 8 th st at night.” The first result that came up was a webpage listing “Louisville Warnings and Dangers.” Many commenters on the page remark that the West End is unsafe in general and especially for visitors. I did a quick search on the internet of the words “West End Louisville.” From the results, it was obvious that the West End is Louisville’s Black ghetto. Then, at a recent meet-up of leftists in Louisville, someone made a comment that “white people are afraid to go into the West End.” I was intrigued. The pest control worker left quickly, and I did not get to press him on what he meant by his implications about “those people” who live in the West End and their supposed “choices.” New to the city, I had not been in the West End yet. Always doing what’s best for themselves,” he told me. They make really great choices with their lives. “Well, you know, those people in the West End, the way they live. Right after he finished spraying but right before leaving the apartment, he told me that he was glad to be done with his assignments that day in the West End of Louisville. ![]() The resident was a worker for a pest-control company, doing routine preventative spraying in my apartment. So when I packed my things and resettled in Louisville, I was unprepared for a warning I got from a resident there. Last year, AARP rated Louisville as the number one best city to visit in 2014. It is famous for the Kentucky Derby, bourbon, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and being the “Gateway to the South,” among other things. Recently, I moved to the city of Louisville, Kentucky, largest city in the state. ![]()
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