LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hundreds gathered across the city at Juneteenth events to honor Louisville community leaders for their service.
One of those leaders is Corenza Townsend; she is the chief administrative officer for the new Norton West Louisville Hospital.
She's one of six honorees recognized for their equity and inclusion in the community at Louisville Central Community Center's 7th annual Juneteenth Celebration Gala.
"There's a lot of people doing great things in our community and just to be labeled as one of them is just super exciting, I'm almost overwhelmed," Townsend said.
She has held countless community meetings to shape west Louisville's first hospital in more than 150 years. It's set to open in November.
"We're full of brick, we are putting out black top, we're painting inside," Townsend said. "We're right around the corner."
The Juneteenth Celebration Gala commemorates the significant date of June 19, 1865 when the last slaves were set free in Texas.
Kevin Fields, president and CEO of Louisville Central Community Center, is proud to see it recognized as a national holiday.
"[It] means that there is some serious reflection on the atrocities of the past when it comes to slavery, Jim Crow and all those other issues," said Fields.
The others who were recognized on Wednesday are:
- Carolyn Tandy, senior vice president of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Humana
- Freddie Brown, vice president of Diversity, Inclusion, & Global Perspective at YMCA of Greater Louisville
- Luis David Fuentes, publisher of El Kentubano
- Cassandra Hayes, principal of Lane Elementary School
- Dave Christopher, Sr., president and founder of AMPED
Elmer Lucille Allen was honored with a sculpture and a gallery named after her inside the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage.
She was the first African American chemist to work at Brown Forman distillery.
"It's really an honor, you know for this to happen here, when they first opened here, I volunteered the first four years that they were open," Allen said.
Juneteenth is personal to her. She's a Louisville legend who has lived through segregation, the Civil Rights movement and other historic moments.
"If you sit down and realize all the work that was done, was done on the backs of African Americans," said Allen.
After so many years she's amazed to see Juneteenth recently recognized as a federal holiday.
"It's something that you really can't realize it makes you wonder why did it take so long for it to be recognized," Allen said.
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