2019 marked the 100th year since Corbin’s race riot that resulted in the expulsion of the city’s Black population.
Here’s what’s happened since.
PRE-OCTOBER, 2019
Getting Organized
Sunup got its start with a series of film screenings and public meetings beginning in late 2018.
What began as a conversation about racial justice within the Cumberlands Chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) quickly grew to include other local and state partners. These founding partners included the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and the Laurel County African American Heritage Center (LCAAHC). We called ourselves the Corbin Racial Justice Initiative (CRJI).
Links
Screenings & Discussions
First came a free screening of Anne Braden: Southern Patriot, including discussion with the film’s director, Mimi Pickering, on October 28th, 2018.
Next came another free screening to celebrate Black History Month on February 24th, 2019, featuring the Appalshop documentary Evelyn Williams, followed by discussion with Wayne Riley, Director of the Laurel County African American Heritage Center.
Victims Advocate and Community Leader Angelika Weaver hosted a public workshop called Tackling Racism in Everyday Conversation on March 28th, 2019.
And finally, Sunup organized a free screening and discussion of Banished: How Whites Drove Blacks Out of Town in America on August 1, 2019.
LINKS
Tackling Racism in Everyday Conversation
IN THE NEWS
Community invited to free screening of 'Anne Braden: Southern Patriot', Times Tribune
Over 30 attend screening of "Anne Braden: Southern Patriot," Times Tribune
Organizations hosting documentary screening, conversation on racial justice, Times Tribune
Corbin Racial Justice Initiative hosts community conversation, Times Tribune
DIVERSITY WEEK IN CORBIN, 2019
Addressing History
On October 21, 2019, the City of Corbin issued a Proclamation condemning the race riot of 1919.
This Proclamation also affirmed Corbin’s commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, and named the week of October 26th — the 100th anniversary of the race riot that labeled Corbin a “Sundown Town” — Diversity Week in Corbin.
The Corbin community came together to host a series of events, culminating in a candlelight vigil and public historical exhibit featuring first-hand accounts of the race riot of 1919. Kentuckians for the Commonwealth hosted a Racial Justice training with Kentucky Representative Attica Scott; Poor People’s Campaign Co-Chairs Rev. Dr. Barber & Rev. Theoharis visited & spoke; and Corbin’s annual Ghost Tour featured stories from 1919. St. John’s Episcopal Church hosted a Vespers Service remembering and reflecting upon the events of 1919.
LINKS
Rep. Scott & the Poor People’s Campaign in corbin
1919 Vigil & Historical Exhibit, october 30, 2019
IN THE NEWS
Corbin City Commission approves proclamation remembering 1919 race riot, News Journal
Corbin community group re-examines expulsion of black residents in 1919, Herald Leader
'October 30, 1919': The 100th year anniversary of the Race Riots in Corbin, WYMT
IN THE LOOP: Erasing the black spot on Corbin's name with a welcomed Week of Diversity, Times Tribune
Vigil held in remembrance of 1919 incident, Times Tribune
SINCE 2019
The Work Continues
Addressing 100 years of history takes more than one week of events.
For our part, we changed our name from the Corbin Racial Justice Initiative to the Sunup Initiative, deepened our organizational development and our relationships with local partners, and organized a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Brunch with the City of Corbin and a Candlelight Vigil to honor the victims of racial police violence.
LINKS
Sunup Continues to Grow
MLK DAY BRUNCH
Following the wave of racial violence that claimed the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, Sunup member Lisa Garrison organized a Candlelight Vigil on May 30th, 2020, to bring the Tri-County community together to honor all lives lost to racial violence.
LINKS
Candlelight Vigil
The Sunup Initiative was far from the only local organization to take action.
The Laurel County African American Heritage Center organized a Black Lives Matter vigil in London on June 11th, 2020; the Williamsburg Action Team organized Juneteenth and Emancipation Day celebrations in Williamsburg on June 19th & August 8th, 2020, respectively; and a new organization named Kentuckians for Change held a multi-day Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Corbin on the week of June 4th, 2020.
LINKS
Black Lives Matter across the Tri-County Area
To conclude Corbin’s 100th Year since the race riot of 1919, Sunup partnered with Black in Appalachia and the City of Corbin to host a film screening and discussion about Black in Appalachia’s documentary The Corbin Expulsion of 1919.
There’s still so much work to be done in this community and across our country to make things right on racial justice. But we don’t have to go somewhere else to get involved in this work — it’s very much alive right here in Corbin and the Tri-County area. Join us!
LINKS
in the news
Peaceful protest held in Corbin for the third night, WYMT
London rallies for equality for all, Sentinel Echo
Protesters march around downtown Corbin Saturday night, Times Tribune
In former 'sundown' town shadowed by racist past, advocates seek allies for racial justice, Courier Journal
From Corbin to Morehead, Black Lives Matter protests gain support in rural Kentucky towns, Herald Leader