Cover art for podcast Strange Fruit

Strange Fruit

351 EpisodesProduced by Louisville Public MediaWebsite

Jaison Gardner and Dr. Kaila Story talk race, gender, and LGBTQ issues, from politics to pop culture. A new episode every week, from Louisville Public Media.

29:30

Strange Fruit #163: The Case Against the West Louisville FoodPort

A few weeks ago we introduced you to oSha Shireman and Charles Booker, two of the people who are working on the West Louisville Food Port. The proposed project would bring together farmers, distributors, retailers, educators and other food-related endeavors to a 24-acre campus at 30th and W. Market Streets. But not everyone is convinced that the plan is what's best for the neighborhood, and questions have been raised about whether proper procedures were followed as the proposal moved through the planning process. This week we talk to three community leaders who oppose the Food Port. Councilwoman Mary Woolridge represents Louisville Third District, where the project would be. Martina Kunnecke is the president of Neighborhood Planning & Preservation, Inc., and John Owen is a business owner in Portland. Owen says neighborhood leaders proposed a similar project in 2000, but the city didn't approve. He also worries that the Food Port food will be too expensive for its own neighbors to purchase. "If you're spending on a tight dollar in a community like Portland or Russell, you can't afford a six dollar bell pepper," he says. "They're being unrealistic." Owen also points out that Seed Capital (the company behind the Food Port) refused to sign a promise that the site won't include a biodigester in the the future (a biodigester was part of the Food Port plan at one time, but neighbors objected, and it was eventually scrapped). "They wouldn't even consider signing such a document," he says. Councilwoman Mary Woolridge believes she was intentionally misled when she asked to see the development agreement between Seed Capital and the city. Such an agreement is what ensures a developer will do what they say they'll do with a site — in this case, a site they acquired from the city for $1. When she asked to see the agreement, she was told it was still a draft, so she couldn't see it. Woolridge sees this as a case of well-connected outsiders trying to circumvent the process and disregarding resident needs. "We need to be asking West Louisville, what do you want in West Louisville?" she says. Kunnicke says that disregard for the needs and wants of the neighborhood is rooted in classism, because West Louisville residents tend to have lower incomes than some other communities. "Unfortunately we live in a society where we think that folks that have more wealth have more power, they have more knowledge, they have a greater right to shape their environments," she says. "These are cultural things that we have to address. We have to recognize them, call them out, and address them directly." We appreciate them sharing their point of view this week (although we may have learned more than we wanted to know about the shady inner workings of Metro government!). We'll keep you posted on further developments regarding the future of the Food Port and how it will affect the surrounding neighborhood. In this week's Juicy Fruit, one of our favorites, Janelle Monáe, has just been cast in a movie called "Hidden Figures," about three African-American women who worked at NASA in the 1960s, on the mission that made John Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth. The cast also includes Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer, and the movie is due out in September.

Educational emoji reaction

Educational

Interesting emoji reaction

Interesting

Funny emoji reaction

Funny

Agree emoji reaction

Agree

Love emoji reaction

Love

Wow emoji reaction

Wow

Listen to Strange Fruit

RadioPublic

A free podcast app for iPhone and Android

  • User-created playlists and collections
  • Download episodes while on WiFi to listen without using mobile data
  • Stream podcast episodes without waiting for a download
  • Queue episodes to create a personal continuous playlist
RadioPublic on iOS and Android
Or by RSS
RSS feed
https://feeds.lpm.org/strangefruitpodcast

Connect with listeners

Podcasters use the RadioPublic listener relationship platform to build lasting connections with fans

Yes, let's begin connecting
Browser window

Find new listeners

  • A dedicated website for your podcast
  • Web embed players designed to convert visitors to listeners in the RadioPublic apps for iPhone and Android
Clicking mouse cursor

Understand your audience

  • Capture listener activity with affinity scores
  • Measure your promotional campaigns and integrate with Google and Facebook analytics
Graph of increasing value

Engage your fanbase

  • Deliver timely Calls To Action, including email acquistion for your mailing list
  • Share exactly the right moment in an episode via text, email, and social media
Icon of cellphone with money

Make money

  • Tip and transfer funds directly to podcastsers
  • Earn money for qualified plays in the RadioPublic apps with Paid Listens