Laura Smith, the Corbin native who told the story of her mother's lie about where they lived. Laura is now 38 and lives in Egypt, Kentucky. The town has had other economic successes with a new farmers market led to other foodie businesses.
In 1919, a white mob forced the entire black population of Corbin, Kentucky, to leave, at gunpoint. It was one of many racial expulsions in the United States. What happened, and how such racial cleansings became “America’s family secret.”
The history of Corbin as presented by the Corbin city government, with no mention of the 1919 racial expulsion.