LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two historic homes within the Louisville Metro that were major part in the desegregation of city neighborhoods could be gaining national recognition soon.
A movement to register both the Wade and Braden family houses for national register status is now heading to Frankfort for consideration. Both homes have already received local recognition, but it could soon gain a new status thanks to a young eagle scout with the Boy Scouts of America Lincoln Heritage Council.
The families have deep historical roots planted in the Shively and Chickasaw neighborhoods dating back to the Black Fair Housing Movement.
A statue with images of both families can be spotted at the Wade-Braden Peace Park at Crums Lane and Hartlage Court. A marker commemorating the multiple struggles and attacks the Wade family endured was also erected in their neighborhood off Clyde Street. It's the 137th marker to be placed by the Kentucky Historical Highway Markers in 2004.
That same year WHAS11 caught up with Anne Braden about reflecting on their efforts for change.
"We didn't sit around brooding over it or tortured if we should do it or not," Braden said. "But it took courage for (Andrew Braden) to keep coming out here every night when his life was in danger."
Anne and her husband Carl Braden were a white couple who sold a home they purchased in 1954 to the Andrew and his wife Charlotte Wade who were a black couple. This deal that didn't sit well with prejudiced neighbors.
"They didn't buy it to start a crusade on housing, they wanted a house," Anne Braden said. "But once they were under attack they thought, especially Andrew, but she went a long with it too. They had a right to be here and they were going to stand up for their rights."
These families became part of the civil rights movement and this story caught the attention of eagle scout William Bache. In a public virtual meeting with the Historic Landmarks & Preservation District Commission, Bache said he wanted to do more than build a bench and focus on a historical movement.
"The Wades and Bradens forged a new path to fair housing frontiers," Bache said. "Their accomplishment is paramount when you examine the state of black housing at the time in Louisville in the 1950s. Through the violent attacks, imprisonment, court cases, and media and neighborhood backlash the Wades and Bradens remained loyal to each other and changed our nation for the better."
The nomination to place these homes on the national register unanimously passed the committee and will now head to a state committee for consideration.
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