Resistance in the Bluegrass: Empowering the Commonwealth

by Farrah Alexander

From the anti-segregation sit-ins of the 1960s to the 2020 protests in response to the killing of Breonna Taylor, the rest of the nation―and often the world―has watched as Kentuckians boldly fought against injustice. In Resistance in the Bluegrass , Farrah Alexander outlines how Kentucky's activists have opposed racism, discrimination, economic inequality, and practices that accelerate climate change; advocated for better education, more humane immigration policies, and appropriate political representation; and supported LGBTQ+ and women's rights, while also celebrating decades of Kentucky contributions to social justice movements and the people behind them.

Resistance in the Bluegrass gives engaged citizens―and those who aim to become more engaged―inspiration and guidance for how they too can make a difference across the commonwealth. With interviews and issue-by-issue action items, Alexander reminds her readers that everyday citizens who step up to make a difference are at the heart of all social change. Optimistic and accessible, Resistance in the Bluegrass is a people's history and guide that calls Kentuckians of all backgrounds to action.

Genres: History

272 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2022

Reviews

[Kellyn Hoffert · Rating 3 out of 5]

i understand this book is supposed to be approachable and an overview, but i found it super odd that many of the statistics mentioned were missing citations?

if you live in KY and mildly paid attention to the news from 2020-now this book really isn’t going to tell you anything new. other reviewers have mentioned that the book is very louisville focused, and i agree.

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warning: racism, police brutality, homophobia,

This book is a fairly decent overview of the history of Kentucky resistance. It covers several topics very briefly.

My biggest complaint about the book is how Louisville-focused it is. There is a brief topic on Ashland and comparing the West End of Louisville to rural counties at the beginning, but from then on, there are virtually no topics outside of Louisville, and most of the topics around Louisville focus on the Brianna Taylor protests or Camp Compasion, both of which happened in the last 5 years. I'd like to hear more about the history of resistance in Kentucky, especially across the commonwealth, or if the author wanted to focus on how the protests around Brianna Taylor unified all these different efforts, I'd have loved to read that too.

Particularly surprising to me was the LGBTQ chapter, perhaps because it's the topic I'm personally most familiar with. The author doesn't discuss the Fairness Campaign at all, which is the statewide organization supporting LGBTQ equality, or Vicco, KY, where a gay mayor inspired the town to pass a fairness ordinance in 2013.

[Farfoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

These vignettes are very Louisville focused — I hoped for more, and they aren’t told with a partly keen eye and overarching sense of … anything? But, if you wanted to know about the last few years, this has some interesting history and interviews jotted down in short form that is very digestible.

[Kendra Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌟 🌟🌟✨️
3.25 overall


This was well researched* with citations and references to empower the author's claims (*well researched for the areas that the author looked into), and I agreed with the author on most/ to many of her viewpoints; however, the tone felt more op-ed than non-fiction.

Also, I would have liked to have seen a chapter devoted to veterans/active duty service members and their role in the narrative that she was painting for the reader.

Lastly, there was a huge missed opportunity--as there is for many writers in Kentucky (I'm sure other mostly rural states, too)-- but most of the narrative of this non-fiction work focuses on the larger or metropolitan areas of Kentucky along with the state capital (it's definitely NOT metropolitan).
Ignoring towns (that are sizable, nonetheless) like Paducah, Pikeville, Bowling Green, Murray, Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Covington (Kentucky side of Cincinnati) , Mayfield, (I don't remember seeing any of those towns mentioned, Definitely not Paducah or Murray) and so many more.... it seems like a rushed job at best to focus only on metropolitan city data for a nonfiction piece.

At worst, the data was ignored because it may not have cast the storyline the author wanted to share.

Either way, when we only see part of the picture, we only see part of the problem; therefore, we can only for a partial solution.

In the end, I would give this 3.25 out of 5 stars .
If you're interested in an insider's perspective from Kentucky and a FEW ideas on how to become active on specific hot topic issues, it is a short and succinct read.