LEXINGTON, Ky. — A new locally produced documentary will explore Lexington’s history of housing segregation and its lasting effects, drawing from research that began during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, according to the Herald-Leader.
The film, Lexington: Resilience in the Redline, is the first major project of Black Yarn, a nonprofit co-founded by Realtor Kristen LaRue Bond. The Herald-Leader reported that the work builds on “Segregated Lexington,” a research initiative by Rona Roberts and Barbara Sutherland that examined racially restrictive housing deeds, bank redlining practices, and other policies that shaped the city’s neighborhoods from the 1940s to the 1960s.
That research concluded that government-sanctioned housing segregation benefited white residents while blocking most Black families from buying homes, contributing to intergenerational wealth gaps that persist today. According to the Herald-Leader, Roberts and Sutherland shared their findings through public talks, library exhibits, and events hosted by the University of Kentucky before connecting with Bond to develop a film.
The documentary features interviews with historians, community members, and experts, covering topics from rural Black hamlets and segregated schools to the cultural resilience of those communities. Bond told the Herald-Leader she hopes the film will spark conversations on housing, education, health, transportation, and food access — issues the nonprofit sees as interconnected.
The premiere is set for Aug. 23 at the Lyric Theatre, a historic venue in Lexington’s former Black entertainment district, and will serve as a fundraiser for Black Yarn. The evening will include a reception, panel discussion, and the screening itself. Tickets are available for purchase.
A free public showing will follow on Aug. 26 at the Kentucky Theatre, sponsored by the Blue Grass Community Foundation as part of Black Philanthropy Month. “Hosting the community for a free screening … is a way to bring people together,” foundation president Lisa Adkins told the Herald-Leader.
Bond said she hopes Lexington residents will come away from the film with a deeper understanding of local history and a renewed commitment to inclusion. “Despite what some of our national leaders are doing, we want to show that Lexington is still willing to lean in to our diverse population to make space for researchers and truth tellers,” she told the Herald-Leader.
