LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Old Quinn Chapel AME Church on West Chestnut Street has sat boarded up for years. In Belma Lunderman McClaskey's time spent at the building, it was alive as ever.

"At that time, there was segregation and churches weren't desegregated and everybody," McClaskey said. "Most of the professional people, doctors, lawyers, teachers and what not joined Quinn [Chapel]."

The former elementary school teacher joined the congregation in 1950 and worked closely with church leadership for decades. She was active during the church’s peak in the civil rights movement, helping organize events that hosted speakers such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Muhammad Ali.

The building dates back to 1884 and still stands on West Chestnut Street, unused for many

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