WKU News

On Saturday evening July 25^th the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded the EMMY for Historical Documentary to a group of WKU-based folklorists, Community Scholars, and media professionals for their production of the film Jonesville: When Sunflowers Fall.

Jonesville was a vibrant, prosperous African American community in Bowling Green. The earliest land deed dates to 1881, but the community likely began earlier, shortly after the American Civil War. At its height, Jonesville had 85 houses and was home to many families who worked, attended school, and worshipped at church, and lived as a community. In 1963, the City of Bowling Green directed a campaign of "urban renewal" and, like over 200 similar neighborhoods adjacent to US campuses across the country in the 1960s, the land was seized and dismantled to make way for the expansion of Western Kentucky University.

The energy that led to this documentary began in the late 1990s with the diligent fieldwork of folklorist Maxine Ray and the late Community Scholar and former manager of the African American Museum of the Bowling Green Area, Wathetta Buford.  In 2021 the story was furthered through the creation of a fresco mural in the lobby of the Kentucky Museum on the WKU campus with motifs centering on Jonesville created by artist Alice Gatewood Waddell and WKU professor/artist Mike Nichols.  As the mural was in progress, the energy surrounding telling the story of Jonesville from the perspective of descendants of the community grew.  WKU faculty and staff involved with the Kentucky Folklife Program partnered with the Kentucky Arts Council to teach a Community Scholars training course which included Jonesville descendants.  Participants learned documentation skills and conducted interviews with former residents and other descendants leading to the  collaborative creation of an exhibit entitled: “What Happened to Jonesville?” This exhibit was unveiled at an opening event sponsored by the President’s Jonesville Reconciliation Workgroup at the Kentucky Museum in fall of 2022. 

Following the exhibit creation, the energy shifted to advancing the story of Jonesville further through teaching videography skills to Community Scholars with the goal of co-producing a film. Over the next year, Community Scholars and members of the President’s Reconciliation Workgroup were led by WKU Public Media producer, director, and folklorist Josh Niedwick and his crew of camera operators and the Kentucky Folklife Program to teach the skills to bring this story together in documentary form.  The first public showing was May 1, 2025, on the campus of WKU, and it was simultaneously shared on the WKU Public Media’s YouTube channel.

“The Kentucky Museum and Kentucky Folklife Program are dedicated to validating the voices of our regional community partners in many ways,” shared Museum and KFP Director and film co-producer Brent Bjorkman. “Since 1939 the museum has been a town-gown bridge to sharing the vibrant story of the Commonwealth, and more pointedly, Southcentral Kentucky. It remains a great honor for the whole production team to have the relationship with WKU Public Media in supporting this documentary project throughout the process of telling this intimate story of our community.”

“The film was a way of honoring our Jonesville ancestors and a way to share with their descendants and children about their hard labor, their achievements, and the misfortune in the end of the community,” said co-producer Alice Gatewood Waddell. “I am proud of the team’s work and resulting EMMY award, and it would not have been possible to produce the documentary without pouring our heartfelt emotions and sincere respect for the Jonesville residents into the creation of the film.”

The production team of EMMY-award recipients includes:

·         WKU Public Media Director Josh Niedwick

·        Artist, Community Scholar, and Member of the President’s Jonesville Reconciliation Committee Alice Gatewood Waddell

·        Community Scholar and Member of the President’s Jonesville Reconciliation Committee Akisha Townsend Eaton

·         Community Scholar David Greer

·         Folklife Specialist, Kentucky Folklife Program, Camille Acosta

·         Director of the Kentucky Museum and Kentucky Folklife Program Brent Bjorkman

About the Kentucky Folklife Program

For over 35 years the Kentucky Folklife Program (KFP) has been dedicated to the mission of documenting, presenting, and conserving the diverse traditional culture and heritage of the Commonwealth. Founded in 1989 as an inter-agency partnership between the Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Arts Council, KFP moved to its current home at Western Kentucky University (WKU) in 2012. Now part of the Department of Society, Culture, Crime, and Justice Studies in the Potter College of Arts and Letters, KFP is physically located in the Pioneer Log Cabin on WKU’s campus. The Kentucky Folklife Program has remained focused on practical folklife and traditional arts projects as we continue to understand the evolving needs of local constituents throughout Kentucky, those who have a crucial stake in documenting the folk traditions and stories of their regions. With their vantage point at WKU, KFP continually explores exciting and innovative partnership opportunities with other organizations, universities, and folklife programs throughout the nation.

About the Kentucky Museum

The Kentucky Museum celebrates all aspects of southcentral Kentucky’s art, history, and culture. “Kentuckians need to know Kentucky” was the Museum’s earliest conceptual framework, which took shape under WKU’s founding President, Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry. Today, the Museum is a steadfast educational campus partner helping to inspire innovation, elevate community and transform the lives of WKU students and the region.

About WKU Public Media

WKU Public Media provides public service broadcasting to the community, professional training for students, and creates and distributes media content that serves WKU and the citizens of Kentucky. They are responsible for the operation of WKU Public Radio, WKU PBS, The Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network, and WKU Athletics Creative Video. In addition, they provide video production services for the campus constituency and outside organizations. In addition to our professional staff, we employ many WKU students part-time, allowing them to gain valuable real-world experience.

For more information, contact Brent Bjorkman at brent.bjorkman@wku.edu