Louisville Municipal College (1931-1951)

Opening Feb. 9, 1931, the Louisville Municipal College (LMC) was opened as a separate municipal college under the administration of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees and was distinguished as one of only three liberal arts colleges for African Americans established in the United States at that time. The LMC became part of the University of Louisville in June 1951.

At the time, LMC was the only full-fledged Black liberal arts college in Kentucky and one of three Black liberal arts colleges in the country, as well as the only Black liberal arts college in the nation supported by city funds.

This guide contains information about the history of Louisville Municipal College, an extraordinary institution of higher education and a symbol of Black pride. Based on a website created by Linda Wilson, it provides an introduction to LMC's outstanding faculty, administrators and students as well as the leaders it produced.

Archives and Special Collections holds a wide variety of materials that document the history of Louisville Municipal College, including university records and collections donated by alumni/ae. These are described in the Documenting Louisville Municipal College guide.