Anne Braden was one of Louisville’s most prominent figures in the fight for social and racial justice. Anne and her husband, Carl, were labeled “traitors to their race” for attempting to buy a home for a Black Korean War veteran and his family in Shively in 1954.  She would use her strength as a journalist and use “the power of printed word” to help advance civil rights across the American South.  ​​

Loretta Lynn is one of the most influential women in country music. She is a Butcher Hollow, Kentucky native who grew up in poverty and later in life it inspired her to write one of the greatest songs of the 20th Century, “Cole Miner’s Daughter”. Throughout her career, she has released 50 albums and 51 top ten hits. In 2003, she received a Kennedy Center Honor and in 2013, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has 4 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

  ​

Mary T. Meagher Plant is a swimming legend. The Louisville native broke records in the 200m and 100m butterfly during the 1981 US Swimming Nationals. In 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles, she won gold in the 100m and 200m butterfly and then earned another gold during the 4x100m butterfly relay.  Meagher also competed in the 1988 games and won bronze in the 200m butterfly. 

Representative Nima Kulkarni became the first Indian American and immigrant to be elected as state representative. Kulkarni and her family moved to Louisville when she was six years old, and immigration has been the centerpiece of her life.  She created the Indus Law Firm which focuses on immigration and employment law. Years later, Kulkarni founded the New Americans Initiative which is a foundation that educates and build awareness of immigration-related issues.  

Keturah Herron is the former ACLU policy strategist who made history and broke barriers in 2022 after becoming the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Kentucky House. She represents District 42, which serves a portion of Jefferson County. Herron played a key roll in getting Breonna’s Law passed and the passage of Senate Bill 4.

​

Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims. In Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an, and fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of drawing closer to God and cultivating self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate. Ramadan is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on devotion, during which Muslims spend extra time reading the Qur’an and performing special prayers. Those unable to fast, such as pregnant or nursing women, the sick, or elderly people and children, are exempt from fasting.

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, which is based on a 12-month lunar year of approximately 354 days.  This year Ramadan is March 11 through April 9.

Muslims fast from pre-dawn to sunset for a period of 29-30 days.  Ramadan entails forgoing food and drink, and if married, abstaining from sex during sunlit hours. Ramadan is a time of physical and spiritual training by avoiding any negative acts such as gossiping, backbiting, lying, or arguing. Ramadan is also an opportunity for self-reflection and spiritual improvement, and an opportunity to grow in moral excellence. Ramadan is a highly social time when Muslims invite each other to breakfast together and meet for prayers at the mosque.

The goal of fasting is gaining greater God-consciousness, know in Arabic as taqwa, signifying a state of constant awareness of God. Sick people, pregnant/nursing women, and older people who are too weak or ill are exempted for fasting.

A Muslim family usually rises before dawn and eats a modest, breakfast-like meal called suhur. After the meal, the family performs the morning prayer, and depending on the circumstances, goes back to bed or begins the day. Particularly during the long summer months, people often take a nap in the late afternoon after work or school. At sunset, family members break the fast with a few dates and water, and depending on the culture, other light foods such as soup, appetizers, or fruit. This is referred to as iftar which means “breaking the fast.” After performing the sunset prayers, the family eats dinner. Inviting guests to break the fast or going to someone else’s house for iftar is very common in Ramadan. Many families then go to the mosque for the night prayer and a special Ramadan prayer called taraweeh. After completing their prayers, families return home often quite late in the evening depending on the time of year. 

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate one of their major holidays called Eid ul-Fitr or the “Festival of the Breaking of the Fast.” Children traditionally receive new clothes, money or gifts from parents, relatives, and friends. A special prayer and sermon are held the morning of Eid day, followed by a community celebration usually in a park or large hall. Food, games and presents for children are important parts of the festivities, as friends and family spend the day socializing, eating and reuniting with old acquaintances. The greeting Eid Mubarak means “blessed holiday!”

Persian New Year or Nowruz​

Nowruz – No-Ruz or Farsi for “new day” marks the first day of spring with over 300 million people taking part in the celebration of the vernal equinox.   Nowruz starts at the precise moment that winter ends and spring begins on March 20, 2025 at 5:01 AM eastern time.

Nowruz originated from Zoroastrianism, the religion of Iran before the advent of Islam, and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in many regions, including the Balkans, Black Sea Basin, Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It is centered on the values of peace and solidarity between generations and families. These themes of reconciliation and community further emphasize Nowruz’s part in encouraging cultural diversity and friendship among people of all different identities.

About three weeks before Nowruz, people spring clean, “ridding their homes of any unnecessary clutter and lingering grime that’s settled in over the past year so they can start fresh” ( Persian New Year, or Nowruz, explained, Vox). A 13-day celebration kicks off on Nowruz. People celebrate with dinners, visiting family, and reflecting on the new year ahead of them.

In Iran, the centerpiece of the celebration is the Haftseen table, which includes at least seven (haft) items symbolizing new life and renewal:

sib (apples): fertility and beauty

sonbol (hyacinth): fragrance

serkeh (wine vinegar): immortality and eternity

senjed (wild olives): fertility and love

sabzeh (wheat, barley, or lentil sprouts growing in a dish): rebirth

samanu (wheat sprout pudding): sweetness

sekkeh (coins): wealth

The celebrations end on the 13th day by taking the sabzeh from the Haftseen table to a natural body of water, where those celebrating let it float away, symbolizing the release of the old and the ushering in of the New Year.​

Besides these elements, the table might also include a mirror to symbolically reflect the past year, painted eggs to represent fertility, a goldfish to represent new life, and candles to show light and happiness.

A variety of food dishes are prepared during the festivity, but “ash-e-resteh” or noodle soup is usually served and is believed to symbolize the “many possibilities in one’s life”, according to research by Harvard University.

Special sweets, including baklava and sugar-coated almonds, are also believed to bring good fortune and are shared during the celebration.  Other dishes include fish served with special rice with green herbs and spices, symbolizing nature in spring.

On the 13th day, you take the sabzeh that’s been growing in the haft-seen to whatever natural body of running water you can find and let it float away, to release the old and usher in the New Year.

The centerpiece of most Nowruz meals will be sabzi polow ba mahi, an herbed rice served with some kind of whitefish. Then you might have a kuku sabzi, which bakes eggs with a whole mess of herbs like dill, cilantro, parsley, fenugreek, tarragon, and more.

Nowruz is about closing the door on one chapter and turning the page to the next one with excitement. It is also about the endless possibilities that come with a blank slate.​

​

​​