LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky researchers working on the Kentucky Hispanic Heritage Project recently launched a website with enhanced searching capabilities. The website, khhp.org, is a digital space dedicated to the history, culture, achievements and contemporary experience of people of Hispanic descent living in Kentucky. The site offers users a variety of ways to browse and search materials in the collection in both Spanish and English.  

“Kentucky is a much more culturally and linguistically diverse state than most people believe –both those from outside the state and even those who live within it,” said Ruth Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Hispanic Studies in UK’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Yet in conversations, research and public narratives about Hispanic heritage in Kentucky, often the assumptions and associations lead back to essentialist views that prioritize economic value over cultural contribution. Hopefully this project and the sources we are indexing can help to change these narratives by giving greater visibility to the history of Hispanic heritage in the state and supporting programs that elevate and celebrate this heritage.” 

The project, funded through a UNITE (UNited in True Equity Research Priority Area at UK) award, is led by: 

• Ruth Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Hispanic Studies 

• Taylor Leigh, Modern and Classical Languages librarian 

• Yanira Paz, professor and chair in the Department of Hispanic Studies 

• Ixchel Collazo, master’s student in counseling psychology 

Through the project, the team has indexed 398 sources with more in the works. Sources available to search on the website include audio, events, research, reports, videos, oral histories and stories.  

“It is so gratifying to bring together all of these disparate sources in one place for easy public access,” Leigh said. “When I started in my role in 2019, there was no other organization or resource in Kentucky that engaged in this kind of bibliographic community-building effort.” 

Collecting, archiving and indexing these resources preserve both the history and current narrative of the Hispanic community in the Commonwealth and seeks to help answer such questions as: What prompted the successive waves of Hispanic immigration to Kentucky? What sectors of the economy have Hispanic people been involved in? How is life different for Hispanic people in Kentucky in 2024 versus 1990? 

“Not surprisingly, we find both inspirational stories of resilience and achievement and also stories of discrimination and inequality,” Leigh said. “Every source is an important artifact in the documentation of what it means to be Hispanic in Kentucky.” 

Brown adds that most demographic sources highlight Mexican and Cuban heritage in the state but fail to adequately document the presence and influence of people from other places in the Spanish speaking world. Through the tagging project this summer, the team uncovered a number of articles that show the role Guatemalan horse workers have played in the racing industry.  

“Now a piece of Hispanic heritage in Kentucky that was more or less invisible is easy to prove, and to learn more about, through a quick keyboard search on our website,” Brown said.  

The creators hope the website will be used for many different purposes by many different people, including K-12 educators, professors, students, policymakers and community organizations.  

“I think it will serve as an incredible resource for researchers,” Collazo said. “My hope is that students will want to engage with the project as it combines research, community engagement and advocacy.” 

Brown added that they have heard from community groups that the site has been helpful to them in compiling research and information to support their programming and grant applications. Teachers and professors have also told them they use the site to find materials for their classes and student projects.  

The archival aspect of the work is also a key outcome of the project. In the three years since beginning the project, Brown acknowledged they have already lost important sources: murals have been destroyed and online content and audio recordings have disappeared. Although they can’t provide full access to all the sources they index due to copyright laws, the team is archiving in the background to prepare in case someone needs the source in the future for research or programming efforts.  

“I see the archival aspect of the project as being one of the most impactful. Sources, especially born-digital and ephemeral ones, are constantly at risk of disappearing, so it is crucial we save them to the extent possible,” Leigh said. “These sources tell stories about Hispanic heritage in Kentucky that otherwise would not be possible.”  

Through the project, the team hopes to bring more recognition to the growth and development of the Latino community in Kentucky across time.  

“There is a strong history here,” Collazo said. “I connect deeply to this project as a Latina, being able to save the stories of folks from my community and seeing the uniqueness of Latino Kentuckian history.” 

The team plans to continue adding sources and information, cleaning the data, tagging resources and creating workflows and tools to make the work more efficient.  

“The best outcome: Preservation, organization and dissemination of all these voices for generations to come,” Paz said.  

The Kentucky Hispanic Heritage Project wants to hear from the community. They are asking community organizations and community members to review the site (khhp.org) and complete a 2- to 3-minute online survey. To participate, email info@khhp.org.