THIS IS A PODCAST ABOUT PRESERVING MEMORY THROUGH STORYTELLING. EACH EPISODE INVITES YOU TO LEARN ABOUT THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF PEOPLE, PLACE, LANDSCAPES, AND OBJECTS.
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About Deeply Rooted Heritage
In our society, memory and cultural heritage are commonly shared through oral histories and storytelling. As Americans, we are deeply rooted with traditions, customs, and stories that capture our individual ethnic identity. When used to preserve cultural resources and heritage, oral histories and newspapers enhance contextual histories by offering remnants of the past that would otherwise be lost. For many, American history and cultural heritage are separate ideals instead of shared resources. The Deeply Rooted Heritage podcast aims to build on Gray & Pape’s cultural heritage focus by inspiring an appreciation of cultural heritage and intangible culture by presenting untold histories and discussing relevant matters in the fields of historic preservation, architecture, urban planning, public policy, social history, environmental conservation, museum studies, and archaeology.
As a cultural heritage and public history project, Deeply Rooted Heritage seeks to honor the challenges of underrepresented groups in America, whether it be Native American, African American, Jewish American, Chinese American, Muslim American, Hispanic, LGBT, etc., and elucidate how shared heritage amalgamates us as Americans, yet express ethnic diversity. The customs, traditions, and stories that make us unique need to be captured, studied, and better understood by us all. Deeply Rooted seeks to achieve this goal by cultivating a general appreciation for American cultural history through shared heritage.
Season 01 Episode 01: Urban Renewal in Cincinnati’s Lower West End
Episode Description
Prior to the mid-twentieth century, Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood was characterized as a dense urban area full of social and economic activity comprised of multiple thousands of buildings that housed almost 5% of the city’s entire population. Urban renewal impacted the existing landscape of the lower West End through two separate projects. During the late 1930s, new public housing buildings were constructed byway of renewal. On an even larger scale, during the 1960s, the city sought to create a new industrial area known as Queensgate I or the Kenyon Barr Urban Redevelopment project, which resulted in the comprehensive demolition of thousands of dwelling units, systematically displacing over 25,000 residents. It may not surprise you to find out that the large majority of families forced to relocate out of the West End were African American. In fact, prior to the 1960s renewal project, the neighborhood housed 75% of the city’s black population.
In this first Deeply Rooted Heritage episode, we dig deep into the history of the West End to better understand the heritage of a once thriving community by speaking with local urban historians Anne Delano Steinert and Dr. Eric Jackson. Towards the end of the episode, Anne describes, then deconstructs, the story behind the photographs from her Finding Kenyon Barr exhibit.