Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

Jackman, Parker Hiram
Birth Year : 1845
Death Year : 1915
P. Hiram Jackman was a slave born May 24, 1845, near Creelsboro, KY, he was the son of George Jackman, according to his death certificate. Hiram Jackman was taught to read and write before he became a freeman. Jackman was a veteran of the Civil War. After the war, he taught in the Colored schools in Adair and Russell Counties, he was one of the first African American techers in the area. He was a teacher for 45 years. Jackman was also a minister and performed the first marriage ceremony in Adair County for an African American couple. The Rosenwald School built on Taylor Street in Columbia, KY, in 1925, was named after Hiram Jackman. The school burned down in 1953. It was one of five schools for African Americans in Adair County. P. Hiram Jackman was the husband of Francis Jackman. For more see "The Story of Hiram Jackman, or whom Jackman High Named" in the Columbia Adair County-Chamber Insights [online] at Columbiamagazine.com; "Rosenwald School: Jackman High, Taylor St, Columbia, KY," photo [online]; "Dedication of Jackman High commemorative well attended, 08/12/2006, Columbia Magazine [online]; and "Commemorating Jackman graded and high school," photo, 08/12/2006, Columbia Magazine [online]. For more on the number of slaves and free African Americans in Adair County see NKAA entry Adair County (KY) Slaves, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes 1850-1870.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Military & Veterans, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Creelsboro, Russell County, Kentucky / Columbia, Adair County, Kentucky

Jackson, Blyden
Birth Year : 1910
Death Year : 2000
Born in Paducah, KY, and raised in Louisville, KY, Jackson was an editor, critic, essayist and activist. He was a graduate of Wilberforce University and the University of Michigan, where he earned his Ph.D. He was an English professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the first African American faculty member in a tenured faculty position. His wife, Roberta, was also a faculty member at the school. Blyden Jackson wrote The Waiting Years: Essays on American Negro Literature and A History of Afro-American Literature and co-authored Black Poetry in America: two essays in historical interpretation. Jackson, credited as a pioneer in the study of Black literature, also wrote many articles. In 1992, the admissions building at Chapel Hill was named in honor of Blyden and Roberta Jackson. Blyden Jackson was the brother of Reid E. Jackson, Sr. For more see the Roberta H. Jackson and Blyden Jackson Papers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library; "First tenured Black UNC professor dead at 89," The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 05/06/2000; and "The First Black faculty members at the nation's 50 flagship state universities," The Journal of Blacks in Higher Educaiton, no. 39 (Spring 2003), pp. 118-126.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Migration East
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Jackson, Dennis M.
Birth Year : 1942
Jackson is from Murray, KY. In 1960 he was the first African American varsity athlete at Murray State University, where he played halfback for the football team and also ran track. His picture was included in the 1963 Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Track Champions photograph. He was a member of the 440 relay team, which tied an OVC record. Jackson graduated from Murray with his B.A. in physical education in 1965 and later earned his M.A. in secondary education administration. Jackson was not only an outstanding athlete in college; he had also been outstanding at Douglass High School and was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2007, he was inducted into the Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame. Today Jackson is a part-time personnel director of the Paducah public schools; he retired from the school system in 2005. For more see L. L. Wright, "Jackson only wanted to play," Kentucky Post, 01/27/2007, Sports section, p. B7. Additional information provided by Murray State University Library.
Subjects: Athletes, Athletics, Education and Educators, Football, Track & Field, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Jackson, Edward C.
Birth Year : 1831
Death Year : 1912
Jackson, a slave, was born in Lexington, KY. In 1850 he married Malinda C. Blain, who was free and who had also purchased his freedom. The couple moved to Xenia, OH, where they owned a grocery store, and during the Civil War, they moved to Springfield, OH, where they owned a second-hand store. By 1868, the couple had moved back to Xenia, where Jackson became one of the first African American city council members. He was also a trustee on the Board of Wilberforce University and was a member of the Wilberforce Lodge Free and Accepted Masons. Jackson and his wife had eight children, and he was the uncle of John H. and Jordan Jackson Jr. For more see "Born a slave in Lexington," Lexington Leader, 02/11/1912, p. 2.
Subjects: Freedom, Migration North, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Fraternal Organizations
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Xenia, Ohio / Springfield, Ohio

Jackson, Horace "Stonewall"
Horace Jackson was from Louisville, KY, and later moved to Cincinnati, OH. He was a middleweight boxer who fought under the the name Stonewall Jackson. In April 1934, he was scheduled to fight Cincinnati middleweight, Smokey Maggard. The bout was to take place as an eight round main event in PAC Arena in Piqua, OH. Jackson was an inexperienced boxer, he was described as a slugger and swinger, with a wild and unorthodox style, fighting from a half crouch position. He had been boxing for little more than two years, learning from experience. His first fight took place February 22, 1932, when he won against Jackie Raymond in Milford, OH. Jackson's first loss was to Bobby Millsap in Covington, KY, April 18, 1933. His 1934 fight against Smokey Maggard was promoted in the local newspapers, tickets were sold at G. & G. Autoparts and Fred Loefflers in Piqua, OH. Admission was 44, 72, and 91 cents. Women could take any seat for 44 cents. The referee was Earl Smitley. Jackson lost the fight by decision. His last bout was in Louisville, KY, November 25, 1935, in a loss to Frank Glover. Stonewall Jackson's overall record was 13 wins with 6 knockouts, 10 losses with 2 knockouts, and 7 draws. For more see "Hard-hitting Kentucky boxer to face Maggard Tuesday eve," The Piqua Daily Call, 04/07/1934, p.9; and the Stonewall Jackson boxing record at boxrec.com.
Subjects: Boxers, Migration North
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky / Cincinnati, Piqua, and Milford, Ohio /

Jackson, James W.: Migration to Colorado
James W. Jackson was only one of the hundreds of African Americans who left Kentucky for the West. According to the Census Reports, there were 687 African Americans who had left Kentucky and moved to Colorado by 1900. African Americans were being enticed to Colorado, according to author Jesse T. Moore, Jr., in order to keep out the Chinese, who were seen as an economic threat to American labor. African Americans, on the other hand, were viewed as being acclimated to American ways and no real threat. In 1858, James Jackson, born a slave, left the area near Maxville, KY, and settled in Denver, where he became a successful businessman. Jackson was politically active on many levels and became the first African American to serve on the Colorado Republican State Committee. Jackson was also invited to speak with President Theodore Roosevelt concerning the condition of African Americans in the U.S. For more see J. T. Moore, Jr., "Seeking a New Life: Blacks in Post-Civil War Colorado," The Journal of Negro History, vol. 78, no. 3 (Summer, 1993), pp. 166-187.
Subjects: Businesses, Immigration, Migration West, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Appointments by U.S. Presidents/Services for U.S. Presidents
Geographic Region: Maxville, Washington County, Kentucky / Denver, Colorado

Jackson, John H.
Birth Year : 1850
Death Year : 1919
Educated at Berea College, Jackson was the last African American professor hired at the school before its 1904 segregation. He was the first president of the State Association of Colored Teachers [later named the Kentucky Negro Educational Association], first president of State Normal School for Colored Persons [now Kentucky State University], and author of History of Education: from the Greeks to present time. He was the son of Jordon C. Jackson, Sr., a well-known businessman, and the brother of Jordan C. Jackson, Jr. John H. Jackson was born in Lexington, KY. Limited information about John H. Jackson can be found at Kentucky State University.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Berea, Madison County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Jackson, Jordan C., Jr.
Birth Year : 1848
Death Year : 1918
Jackson was born in Lexington, KY. An attorney and an African American Republican leader in Kentucky, he was the first African American undertaker in Lexington. He also contracted with the federal government to carry mail from the train to the post office. He was chairman of the committee behind the creation of Douglass Park in Lexington, KY. He was married to Isabelle Mitchell Jackson and brother of John H. Jackson. For more see Biographical Sketches of Prominent Negro Men and Women of Kentucky, by W. D. Johnson. See also the photo on page 513 in Evidences of Progress Among Colored People by G. F. Richings [available online at UNC Documenting the American South].
Subjects: Lawyers, Parks, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Postal Service, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Railroad, Railway, Trains
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Jackson, Luther P.
Birth Year : 1892
Death Year : 1950
Born in Lexington, KY, Jackson was full professor and head of the history department at Virginia State College [now Virginia State University] beginning in 1922. He founded the Virginia Negroes League to encourage African Americans to vote, and he spoke out in his writings for racial equality. He delivered a paper on Virginia and the Civil Rights Program during the annual meeting of the Virginia Social Science Association in 1949. He authored a number of books, including The Virginia Free Negro Farmer and Property Owner, 1830-1860 (1939). He was also on the editorial staff of the Journal of Negro History and Negro History Bulletin. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1950; Luther P. Jackson at the University of Virginia website; Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, 2nd. ed., edited by C. Palmer, vol. 3, p. 1142; and a more detailed biography, Luther Porter Jackson (1892-1950), at Encyclopedia Virginia [online].
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Authors, Historians, Voting Rights, Migration East
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Petersburg, Virginia

Jackson, Reid E., Sr.
Birth Year : 1908
Death Year : 1991
Jackson was born in Paducah, KY, and raised in Louisville, KY. He was the son of Julia Reid and George Washington Jackson. Reid Jackson was a graduate of Wilberforce University (B.A.) and Ohio State University (M.A. & Ph.D.). He held a number of posts at a number of schools before becoming the administrative dean at Wilberforce University in 1949. He was secretary of the Southern Negro Conference for Equalization of Education Opportunities, 1944-1946; editor of the Sphinx, Alpha Phi Alpha, in 1945; and author of a number of articles, including "Educating Jacksonville's Tenth Child," Opportunity (July 1935). Jackson retired from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. He was the father of Annette Dawson and Dr. Reid Jackson, II (1940-2001), and brother to Dr. Blyden Jackson. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1950; and "Reid Jackson, Sr., 83, was MSU professor," The Sun (Baltimore, MD).
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Fathers, Migration North
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Wilberforce, Ohio / Baltimore, Maryland

Jackson-Sears, Pandora
Birth Year : 1963
Born in Madisonville, KY, Jackson-Sears is the daughter of Larry and Vivian Lewis. She is president and owner of Jackson-Sears and Associates and has over 17 years of minority and women's business development and diversity experience. In 2003, Gov. Paul Patton appointed her to the Kentucky Commission on the Small Business Advocacy Board. She is also an elementary school teacher in Louisville. She is the author of dipped in milk: conversations between an African-American son and his mother, which examines African American males raised in the suburbs and their struggle to fit in with their inner-city peers. For more see S. Bartholomy, "Parents face split decision," Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 05/05/2004, B section, p. 1.
Subjects: Authors, Businesses, Education and Educators, Appointments by Kentucky Governors
Geographic Region: Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

James, Cheryl E.
James is the first African American president of the Junior League of Lexington (elected in September 2004). An attorney who works for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, she has been a member of the Junior League for 11 years. For more see J. Hewlett, "A fresh face for the Junior League, lawyer is the first black woman to head Lexington organization," Lexington Herald-Leader, 03/02/05.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Lawyers
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

The James Harvey Family (Woodford County, KY)
The family of James Harvey was regarded as skilled, artistic, musical, and mechanical. Harvey, considered a naturally gifted mechanic, was an engineer in a distillery near Frankfort, KY. He was the father of Lewis, Will, and two other boys; his wife was described as Mexican. The March 1902 issue of the Woodford Sun newspaper contained a story relating how 18 year old Lewis built a functioning miniature stationary steam engine; Lewis had not been trained as an engineer and was thought to be uneducated. He was also a wood carver and had made a walking stick designed with people and animals in bold relief. Will, who was 15 years old, sketched portraits and landscapes in pencil and crayon. The two other brothers were gifted musicians and played a number of instruments. For more see "IV. Inventive Genius, Mechanical Skill, etc." on pp. 470-471 in The Story of a Rising Race, by Rev. J. J. Pipkin [available full-text at Google Book Search]; and "Untutored Negro boy is a genius," Woodford Sun, 03/06/1902, p. 1.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering
Geographic Region: Woodford County, Kentucky

Jenkins Sluggers (Jenkins, KY, baseball team)
On the 4th of July, 1935, the Jenkins Sluggers, a Colored baseball team from Jenkins, KY, were scheduled to play the Middlesboro Blue Sox, a Colored baseball team from Middlesboro, KY. The game would take place in the East End Park in Middlesboro. After the game, a number of activities were to take place in the park for the city's Colored population in celebration of the holiday. For more see "Fair weather predicted for 4th," Middlesboro Daily News, 07/03/1935, pp.1 & 6.
Subjects: Baseball
Geographic Region: Jenkins, Letcher County, Kentucky / Middlesboro, Bell County, Kentucky

Jett, Alta M. and Richard E. Jett
Alta Margaret Boatright Jett (1920-2004) was born in Lancaster, KY; her family later moved to Indiana. She held a number of jobs, including domestic servant, credit officer at Montgomery Wards, and janitor. She was also president of the Mary B. Talbert Club and Vice Precinct Committee person for the Democratic Party, as well as a worker with the Girl Scouts, YMCA, and a mother's study group. Jett wrote obituaries and spoke on African American history. She was the daughter of Charles and Annie Farley Boatright, and the wife of Richard Ezekiel Jett (1917-2006), a carpenter and musician from Booneville, KY. Richard was the son of James and Mattie Jett. The Alta M. Jett Collection is housed at the Indiana Historical Society. For more see "Alta M. Jett in Guide to African-American History Materials in the Manuscript Collections at the Indiana Historical Society; "Obituaries," Palladium-Item, 05/23/2004, p. 3B; and Richard E. Jett in the Obituary section of the Palladium-Item, 07/23/2006, p. 3C.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Historians, Migration North, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Carpenters, YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association)
Geographic Region: Lancaster, Garrard County, Kentucky / Booneville, Owsley County, Kentucky / Richmond, Indiana

Jewish Hospital (Louisville, KY)
Jewish Hospital was one of the first hospitals in Louisville to be integrated. Dr. Joan E. Thomas, a medical student in the 1960s who later practiced on the West End of Louisville, recalled that the Jewish Hospital was one of the first white hospitals in Louisville willing to take Black patients. For more see A Legendary Vision: the history of Jewish Hospital, by B. Zingman and B. L. Anster.
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

"Jim Crow" The Character
The origin of the minstrel character, Jim Crow, has been placed in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky version suggests that in 1830, Thomas D. Rice, a white man who was a blackface performer, was in Louisville acting and working as a stagehand doing carpentry and lamp lighting. A livery stable owned by a man named Crowe was located near the City Theatre where Rice performed; Crowe owned a slave named Jim Crowe who sang and danced while he worked at the stable. Rice studied Crowe's movements, his song, and his clothes, all of which were incorporated into Rice's stage performance of Jim Crow in Pittsburgh. Rice's performance was originally meant to be a brief diversion between acts; instead it was an instant hit with white audiences in the United States and England. "Jim Crow" became a permanent term in the English vocabulary and would have multiple applications. A Jim Crow song was published in 1830 by William C. Peters. Jim Crow acts and songs were the rave, and Rice was dubbed "Daddy Rice," "Father of American Minstrels," and "Mr. T. D. Rice of Kentucky." Thomas Rice was actually from New York but had spent a brief time in Kentucky at the beginning of his stage career. For more about the character Jim Crow, see the entry by J. D. Julian in The Encyclopedia of Louisville, ed. by J. E. Kleber; and Men in Blackface, by S. Stark. For more about Thomas D. Rice, see M. N. Ramshaw, "Jump Jim Crow! A Biographical Sketch of Thomas D. Rice," Theatre Annual, vol. 17 (1960).
Subjects: Actors, Actresses, Jim Crow, Carpenters
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Jim Crow (term)
It is not definitively clear how the term "Jim Crow" came to be associated with the segregation of African Americans and whites in the United States. The use of the term was expanded to define a certain genre of music in the 1830s. Abolitionist newspapers in Massachusetts were using the term in the 1840s in reference to the segregated railway cars. By the 1890s the term was applied to segregation and exclusion laws and norms in border states and the south. By the 1940s the term had been further used to define behavior, speech, violence, and other forms of discrimination and segregation. Also in the 1940s, the term was used by the military to refer to lookout units or individual men in such units. For more see The History of Jim Crow, supported by New York Life; Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History,  (available online on the UK campus and via the proxy off campus), vol. 3, 2nd edition, ed. by C. Palmer; and the Oxford English Dictionary (available online on the UK campus and via the proxy off campus). See also Jim Crow Laws in Kentucky - 1866-1960, at jimcrowhistory.org.
Subjects: Freedom, Jim Crow

Jockeys/Trainers in Kentucky, and from Kentucky
Start Year : 1880
End Year : 1947
As fewer African American jockeys became riders in the Kentucky Derby and other horse racing competitions, there were still African American men employed as trainer jockeys. For Kentucky, some were listed in the various city directories from the 1880s up to the late 1940s. Those born in Kentucky and employed in other states, can be found in the U.S. Census data. These men earned a living training race horses. Below are some of their names.

Source: Caron's Directory of the City of Louisville

• George Banks -1880 directory
• Thomas Guest - 1884 directory
• Henry Gibbs - 1886 directory
• Thomas Robinson - 1886 directory
• Edward Rutherford - 1886 directory
• Alexander Shields - 1886 directory
• Charles Taylor - 1886 directory
• Edward West - 1886 directory

• James Bibbs (1883-1939) - Bibbs was born in Lexington, KY, and according to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, he was the son of Nathan and Amanda Bibbs. James Bibbs was a teenager when he was listed as a horse jockey in the 1900 census and in the 1898-9 city directory. He roomed at 96 Constitution Street, and his family lived on S. Limestone. He would later become the husband of Mattie Bibbs. According to his death certificate, Bibbs' was a jockey his entire work life. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington, KY.
• Thomas M. Britton - Britton had been a competing jockey. He won the Tennessee Derby in 1891 aboard Valera, and the Kentucky Oaks aboard Miss Hawkins. He won the 1892 Tennessee Derby aboard Tom Elliott. For more see the last paragraph of "Negro riders of renown," Daily Racing Form, 02/17/1922, p.2.
• Robert Clark 
• James Grimes (b.1868) - Grimes was born in Kentucky and was the husband of Fannie Grimes. The couple lived on W. 4th Street. James Grimes is listed in the city directory as a jockey, and a year later he is listed in the 1900 U.S. Census as a cook.
• Thomas Smith (b.1862) - Smith was born in Kentucky, the son of Martha Smith, and the husband of Mary Jane Smith. He and his wife lived on Race Street. Smith is listed in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census as a race rider, and he is listed in the city directory as a jockey.
• Frank Williams (b.1872) - Williams was born in Tennessee, and his parents were from Kentucky, according to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. He was the husband of Annie Williams and the couple lived on Pine Street. Williams is listed in the census as a horse trainer, and as a jockey in the city directory

• Julius T. Patterson (b.1872) - Patterson was born in Kentucky, he was the husband of Georgia Patterson, and the family of six lived on Jackson Street, according to the 1910 U.S. Federal Census. Patterson is listed as a jockey in the city directory, and as a race horse trainer in the census. (1899-1900 directory)

• Ernest Smith (1901-1902 directory)

• Sam Green (born in KY)
• Claude Patterson (b.1883 in KY)

• T. Knight (b.1883 in KY)
• [See NKAA entry Harlem Race Track Employees from Kentucky]

• Roscoe Huguley (b.1900) - According to his WWI registration card, Huguley was in Georgia in 1918. He was born in Kentucky and is listed in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census employed as a horse trainer and head of the household of two older sisters, who were cooks, and a younger sister. Huguley was married to Alta Huguley when he was listed as a jockey in the 1931 Lexington city directory.
• Richard Mitchell (1931 directory)
• Lewis White (b.1883) - White's WWI registration card, signed in 1918, gives his occupation as a horse rider for Will Perkins whose business address was on 3rd Street in Lexington. White is listed as a jockey in the 1931 Lexington city directory. [Will Perkins was a horse trainer and the brother of jockey James "Soup" Perkins.]
• Arthur Pinkston (1939 directory)
• Joseph H. Parks (1947 directory)

John C. Wyatt Lexington Herald-Leader Collection
The collection contains approximately 1.5 million photographic negatives dating from 1939-1990. The negatives were received from the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper by the University of Kentucky Libraries' Special Collections and Digital Programs. It is the largest single collection of 20th Century visual documentation of Central Kentucky life. Included are a fairly large number of photos that cover African American events, schools, and activities. In July 2006, a nearly 50,000-item database describing the first processed portion of the collection, 1939-1953, and approximately 500 digitized images, became accessible online via the Kentuckiana Digital Library. As more images are processed, they will become available online and be searchable using terms such as African American, Charles Young Community Center, Dunbar School, Lyric Theater, etc. Access to the remainder of the collection is available via the database at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections and Digital Programs. Contact Deirdre Scaggs at (859) 257-3653 for an appointment, for reproduction and copyright information, or to learn more about the photographic collection.
Subjects: Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Photographers, Photographs
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Johnson, Anita L.
Johnson was the first African American elected official in Jeffersontown, KY. She was re-elected to her third term to the Jeffersontown City Council in 2006. She is treasurer of the Kentucky Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. In 1996, Johnson was proprietor of Johnson's Errands for You in Jeffersontown, she was founder and owner of the business, and in 2000 received the Emerging Business Owner Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners. Jeffersontown is located in Jefferson County, KY, and was officially established as the city of Jefferson in 1797. For more see R. Weckman, "Taking care of business," Extension Today, Spring/Summer 2000, p.1, a publication by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture & Cooperative Extension Service [.pdf available online]; and The Honorable Anita L. Johnson in Who's Who in Black Louisville, Inaugural Edition, p.113. For more about Jeffersontown, KY see city website.
Subjects: Businesses, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Jeffersontown, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Johnson, Arthur T.
Birth Year : 1947
Johnson was born in Earlington, KY. From 1972-1983, he was a council member for the City of Earlington, and in 1984 he was elected mayor. For more see Who's Who Among African Americans, 1985-2006.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Mayors
Geographic Region: Earlington, Hopkins County, Kentucky

Johnson, Benjamin, Jr. "Ben"
Start Year : 1950
End Year : 2003
Johnson, a journalist and talk show host, was born in Louisville, KY, the son of Benjamin, Sr. and Alyce E. Johnson. He was a 1975 journalism graduate of Lincoln University in Missouri. His original plan was to attend architecture school at Howard University, where he had been accepted into the program, but instead he became a hawk in the U.S. Marines and served in Vietnam before returning to attend college. His career included being a reporter and photographer at the Louisville Defender, and reporter and city editor at the Courier-Journal in Louisville. He had also been employed at the Post Tribune, Detroit Free Press, St. Petersburg Times, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, and as a columnist with the Huntsville Times. He was founding president of the Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, and vice president of the Society of Professional Journalists, Detroit. Johnson and his wife, Mary E. Bullard-Johnson, were editors of Who’s What and Where: a directory of America’s Black journalists (1st ed., 1985 & 2nd ed., 1988). Johnson had also taught journalism classes at the University of Missouri and helped found the school's Multicultural Management Program. From 1997 until the time of his death, Johnson was the talk-show host of Just Talking at WEUP-AM 1600. For more see "Ben Johnson services in Huntsville Monday," posted 12/26/2003 at Richard Price's Journal-isms?, an online column website; "B. Johnson, 53, talk show host, journalist," South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12/28/2003, National section, p. 6B; and Who's Who Among African Americans, 1992-2000.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Military & Veterans, Radio
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Detroit, Michigan / Huntsville, Alabama

Johnson, "Big Winnie"
Birth Year : 1839
Death Year : 1888
Johnson was born in Henry County, KY, on either Boyd Club Farm or E. M. Bryant Farm. She was billed as the biggest woman in the world. Johnson was a widow and mother of ten children, she turned to show business after her husband died in 1882. At her death, Johnson weighed 849 pounds. She had been showcased from a boxcar, travelling throughout the United States. Johnson died of fatty degeneration of the heart and was buried in Laurel Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time of her death, only three of her children were alive. For more see "Big Winnie Johnson," American Sideshow: an encyclopedia of history's most wondrous and curiously strange performers by M. Hartzman; and "Big Minnie's Burial, The Prize Fat Colored Woman Laid to Rest Yesterday," The Baltimore Herald, 09/14/1888.
Subjects: Circus
Geographic Region: Henry County, Kentucky / Baltimore, Maryland

Johnson, Dolly
Dolly Johnson, an African American from Kentucky, was the cook for President Benjamin Harrison. Johnson had cooked for the Harrison family in Indiana, prior to their move to the White House. Dolly Johnson was summoned to the White House by President Harrison around 1890 to replace Madame Petronard, a French chef. For more see S. E. Wilkins, “The president’s kitchen – African American cooks in the White House; includes recipes; Special Issue: the Untold Story of Blacks in the White House,” American Visions (February - March 1995); and “Dolly the Kentucky negro cook,” Davenport Tribune, 03/07/1893. See Dolly Johnson photo at the White House Historical Association website.
Subjects: Bakers, Cooks and Chefs, Migration North, Appointments by U.S. Presidents/Services for U.S. Presidents
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Indiana / Washington D. C.

Johnson, George A.
Birth Year : 1890
Born in Shelby County, KY, Johnson was principal of schools in Indiana and Arkansas before becoming principal of Howard High School in Stanton, Delaware. He was president of the Wilmington Principals Association, 1946-1948, and vice president of the Wilmington Suburban Principals Association. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1950.
Subjects: Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Shelby County, Kentucky / Stanton & Wilmington, Delaware

Johnson, Gregory A.
Birth Year : 1966
In 1985, Greg Johnson became the first African American valedictorian graduate of Paducah Tilghman High School, located in Paducah, KY. Johnson had maintained a perfect 4.0 during his entire four years of high school. He and 140 other Presidential Scholars, including Lafayette High School graduate Jill Conway, were recognized by President Reagan during a ceremony held in the White House Rose Garden. The scholars spent a week in Washington, D.C. and also received $1,000 from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Greg Johnson was accepted at Brown University and graduated in 1989 with an AB in history and in 1993 with an MD. He earned an MPH in 1998 from Boston University. Johnson has been a medical doctor at Boston University and at Harvard University. Born in Paducah, KY, Greg is the son of Rochelle Johnson. For more see "Reagan recognizes two Kentucky scholars," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/22/1985, City/State section, p. B2; "Gregory A. Johnson" at the Presidential Scholars Foundation website.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Medical Field, Health Care
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Johnson, James Bartlett
Birth Year : 1830
Johnson was born in Taylor County, KY. He was enslaved, but his wife, Mary A. Buchanan, had been free since she was three years old. The family was separated in 1856 when Johnson was sold to a Louisiana plantation. While there, Johnson began preaching and organized a church where he preached to the slaves. Johnson escaped and joined the Union Army in 1861, serving for three years. When he was discharged, he made his way to Kentucky, where he found his wife and child after having been separated from them for nine years. The family moved to Louisville, KY, where Johnson was ordained a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church and became a member of the Kentucky Conference. He was called into service in Springfield, KY, and in Lebanon, KY. While Johnson was in Lebanon, the church was burned to the ground, and the members left due to the split between the AMEZ and Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church. The Springfield and Lebanon churches and congregations were later restored under one circuit. Bishop Johnson served in several other churches and was a respected leader of the AMEZ Church. For more see James Bartlett Johnson in One Hundred Years of the African Methodist Episcopal Church..., by J. W. Hood [available full-text at UNC Documenting the American South].
Subjects: Freedom, Military & Veterans, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Taylor County, Kentucky

Johnson, John J.
Birth Year : 1945
From Franklin, KY, Johnson became the youngest NAACP chapter president in Kentucky at the age of 17. During his tenure, the Franklin Chapter of the NAACP prevented the town of Franklin from employing the former chief of police from Philadelphia, Mississippi, where three civil rights workers were murdered. Johnson was state president of the NAACP for 14 years, leaving Kentucky to join the national NAACP office. John Johnson Street in Franklin, KY, is named in his honor. Johnson was born in Louisville, KY, grew up in Franklin, and lived in Baltimore, MD. In 2007, Johnson became the executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights. For more information, see Hall of Fame 2005 on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights website; the John J. Johnson Biography at the HistoryMakers website; and KET's "Connections with Renee Shaw" - #312: John J. Johnson.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky / Baltimore, Maryland

Johnson, Lawrence E.
Birth Year : 1932
Death Year : 1978
Johnson was the first African American member and deputy fire chief of LaGrange Fire and Rescue Squad, from 1970-1978. Information submitted by Ruby Booker of LaGrange, KY.
Subjects: Firefighters
Geographic Region: La Grange, Oldham County, Kentucky

Johnson, Lyman T. [Johnson v. Board of Trustees]
Birth Year : 1906
Death Year : 1997
A teacher and assistant principal at Louisville schools, Johnson was a civil rights activist who fought for equal pay for African American teachers. He was head of the Louisville NAACP. His lawsuit desegregated the University of Kentucky (UK) in 1949. To commemorate the occasion, a historical marker was placed in front of Frazee Hall near the Student Center on the UK campus. Brother-in-law to Thomas F. Blue, Johnson was born in Columbia, TN, moving to Louisville in 1930 at the request of his sister, Cornelia Johnson Blue. He was a graduate of Knoxville Academy, Virginia Union College [now Virginia Union University], and the University of Michigan. The personal papers of Lyman T. Johnson are available at the University of Louisville Library. For more see The Rest of the Dream, by W. Hall; Lyman T. Johnson (interview) in the University of Kentucky Oral History Collection; and S. Stevens, Historical Marker to be dedicated for African American Commemoration at the UK Public Relations' website.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Migration North, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky, Court Cases
Geographic Region: Columbia, Tennessee / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Johnson, Samuel Harrison
Birth Year : 1916
Death Year : 1999
Johnson was born in Bowling Green, KY, the son of Henry and Minerva Johnson. The family lived on Brown Street, before moving to Indianapolis when Samuel was a child. He later earned several degrees at Indiana University of Bloomington. For more than 20 years Johnson was director of the Southeast Regional Office of the National Scholarship Service and Funds for Negro Students (NSSFNS). Beginning in 1946, NSSFNS has sought to interest promising students in higher education and provide financial assistance toward their attendance and graduation. Johnson was also the founder of the Samuel H. Johnson SSSP Foundation, Inc., located in Decatur, GA. The organization's mission is to provide enhanced educational opportunities to students "of any race, color, national and ethnic origin." The Samuel H. Johnson Papers are at the Auburn Avenue Research Library in Atlanta, GA. The library also has the collection that Johnson established for the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development. For more information see Bio of Mr. "J", at the Samuel H. Johnson SSSP Foundation, Inc. website; and Who's Who Among African Americans, 1977-2002.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Migration South
Geographic Region: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky / Indianapolis, Indiana / Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia

Johnson, Thelma Banks
Birth Year : 1909
The first African American elected official in Henderson County, Johnson was elected to the Henderson County Board of Education in 1978 and served until 1986. She also served as chair of the Henderson Human Rights Commission. Johnson was born in Georgia, the daughter of Mary and Harry Banks, and she came to Henderson, KY, in 1946. For more see Thelma Johnson interview in the Kentucky Historical Society, Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky Oral History Project.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Board of Education
Geographic Region: Georgia / Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky

Johnson, William D.
Birth Year : 1860
Born in England to an English father and a mother from Bengal, India, Johnson considered himself a Negro. He was the first African American to earn a diploma from the Phonographic Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. Johnson was editor of The Lexington Standard, an African American newspaper in Lexington, KY. His bold editorials advocated civil rights for African Americans. For more see Biographical Sketches of Prominent Negro Men and Women of Kentucky, by W. D. Johnson.
Subjects: Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers
Geographic Region: England / Cincinnati, Ohio / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Joice, James and Jemima
In 1863, James Joice (1807-1872), an escaped slave from Kentucky, was a cook and valet for Lt. Addison B. Partridge of the Union Army. When Partridge left the army, Joice followed him to Freemont Township in Illinois. Two years later, James returned to Kentucky and brought his wife, Jemima (1824-1920), and their children, Asa (d. 1924) and Sarah (d. 1941), up North. They were the first African American settlers in Ivanhoe, IL. Asa would become the first African American elected to public office in Lake County. The family remained in the community and are all buried in the Ivanhoe Church Cemetery. For more see Daily Herald articles, "First Black settlers found home in Fremont Township," 02/08/1997, Neighbor section, p. 1; and "Joices play important role in history," 02/21/1999, Neighbor section, p. 1. See also "A touch of the past," Chicago Tribune, Magazine section, p. 7.
Subjects: Bakers, Cooks and Chefs, Freedom, Migration North, Military & Veterans, 1st African American Families in Town
Geographic Region: Kentucky / [Freemont Township] Ivanhoe, Lake County, Illinois

Jones, Abel Bedford and Albert Thomas
Birth Year : 1810
The following information on the Jones brothers comes from Dr. Michael F. Murphy, Historian of Education at the University of Western Ontario, Canada; Dr. Murphy is working on a book about the schooling of colored and mulatto children in London, Ontario, Canada between 1826 and 1865. The Jones brothers played a major role in the schooling of these children. The brothers had been slaves in Madison County, KY. Abel was a field-hand and Albert worked for a millwright who owned a large merchant mill. Albert earned enough money to buy his freedom in 1833; he was 23 years old. He also purchased the freedom of Abel and a younger brother. The brothers immigrated to London, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Albert became a barber and merchant, and Abel was a barber and an herbal dentist. The brothers did quite well with their businesses. Abel may have been involved with the African American resettlement program. The brothers were interviewed by Samuel Ringgold Ward, S.G. Howe, and Benjamin Drew when these commentators reported on the condition of fugitive slaves in Canada. Abel's whereabouts are unknown after the mid 1850s. In 1866, Albert, often referred to as Dr. Jones, and his large family left London. Perhaps they returned to Kentucky. The Jones children were Betsy, Paul, Elizabeth, George B., A.O., Frances A., Victoria S?, Torreza O?, Albion, and Princess A. If you have more information or would like more information about Abel and Albert Jones, please contact Dr. Michael F. Murphy at murfy@sympatico.ca.
Subjects: Barbers, Businesses, Education and Educators, Fathers, Freedom, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration North, Dentists
Geographic Region: Madison County, Kentucky / London, (Upper Canada) Ontario, Canada

Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Sr.
Birth Year : 1859
Jones, a physician, was a former slave born in Sussex County, Virginia. He was a graduate of Normal and Agriculture Institute [now Hampton University] who completed his M.D. in 1890 at Howard University Medical College. Jones moved to Kentucky where he practiced medicine in Paris and Danville. He was named the physician for the Colored children at the Danville Deaf and Dumb Institute in 1898. Benjamin Jones was the husband of Matilda W. Jones (b. 1864 in Virginia), with whom he had five children, all born in Kentucky. The family lived on East Walnut Street in Danville, according to the 1910 and 1920 U.S. Federal Census. For more see the Benjamin Franklin Jones entry in A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir, by Howard University Medical Department [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care, Migration East, Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Geographic Region: Sussex County, Virginia / Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky / Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky

Jones, Carridder "Rita"
Jones was born in South Carolina and recently moved to Kentucky from Indiana. A playwright and historian, Jones's research has included African American communities in Kentucky, especially the black hamlets in Lexington and Louisville. Her play, "Black Hamlets in the Kentucky Bluegrass," was a finalist in the New York Drama League's New Works Project in 2002. Another of her plays, "The Mark of Cain," was chosen by the University of Louisville's African-American theater program for the Second Annual Juneteenth Festival of New Works. She has presented her research at conferences, programs, workshops, and as productions. She is the co-founder and Director of Women Who Write. In 2006, Jones received the Sallie Bingham Award. She is author of the 2009 book A Backward Glance. For more see "Free Black Hamlets," Courier Journal (Louisville) News, 04/19/04; "Filmmakers hope to save Bluegrass freetowns," Lexington Herald Leader, 08/10/03; and the Carridder Jones biography at ritawords.com.
Subjects: Actors, Actresses, Artists, Fine Arts, Authors, Historians, Migration West, Emancipation Day / Juneteenth Celebrations, Women's Groups and Organizations
Geographic Region: South Carolina / Indiana / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Jones, Charles Edward
Birth Year : 1879
Death Year : 1947
Jones was the owner of Jones Funeral Home in Covington, KY, where he was born. He assisted in the push to get Lincoln-Grant High School built; the school auditorium was named in his honor. Jones was also an active church member, a former president of the Covington NAACP Branch, and a member of the Black Masons. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1933-37; Many tried, few defeated William Grant in '50s, '60s, The Cincinnati Post, 02/23/1998; and J. Reis, "Jones led church, social causes," The Kentucky Post, 02/02/2004.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Businesses, Civic Leaders, Religion & Church Work, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Fraternal Organizations, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky

Jones, Cornell
Birth Year : 1923
Death Year : 1998
In 1973 Jones became the first African American elected to the Mayfield, KY, City Council and the first African American councilman in Graves County. He was re-elected to a third term in 1977. Jones is also a former president of the Mayfield NAACP Branch. For more see "Mayor, 45 councilmen are black city officials," in 1978 Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials, Fifth Report by the Commission on Human Rights, p. 2; and Papers of the NAACP, Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965: Series A: The South, Jones, Cornell 7:0035.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Geographic Region: Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky

Jones, Della M. Lewis
Birth Year : 1903
Death Year : 2009
Della Jones was the oldest African American librarian in Kentucky, she was also the oldest alumna of Kentucky State University and the oldest resident in Grant Count, KY. Jones was a 1957 graduate of Kentucky State University and she received a doctor of humane honorary letters degree from the school in May of 2009. She had earlier attended Lincoln Institute and her first teaching position was in Wayne County, KY. The following year she took a teaching job in Boone County. Jones later taught at a segregated school in New Liberty and other schools in Kentucky. After the schools of Kentucky were integrated, Jones became librarian of the Owen County High School. In recognition of her longevity and educational contributions, May 14 was proclaimed Della Jones Day in Williamstown, KY. She was the last surviving member of the Ogg's Chapel C. M. E. Church in Williamstown, KY. Della Jones was the daughter of Richard and Sarah E. Jackson Lewis. She was the wife of the late Bradley Jones (1902-1969) who was a barber in the 1930s when the couple lived on the Northside of Cynthiana Street in Williamstown, according to the U.S. Federal Census. They had lived in the home since 1921. Della Jones was the great aunt of Kentucky House Member Reginald Meeks. For more see J. Baker-Nantz, "Call her Dr. Jones," Grant County News, 05/21/09, p.21; Della Jones obituary at stanleyfuneralhome.com; and S. Hopkins, "Kentucky State's oldest grad dies at 106," Lexington Herald Leader, 07/17/2009, p.B5.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Kentucky African American Churches, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Williamstown, Grant County, Kentucky

Jones, Frederick M.
Birth Year : 1892
Death Year : 1961
Jones was born in Cincinnati and later moved to Covington, KY. Some sources state that he was actually born in Covington, KY, in 1893. He was the son of John Jones, who was white, and an African American mother. Frederick Jones was raised by his father until age seven, when he was placed with the local Catholic church; his mother had left the family when Jones was a baby. At the age of 11, Jones ran away from his caretakers at the Catholic church and found a job in garage in Cincinnati, OH. He became a full time employee at age 14. Jones was attracted to mechanics and is credited with building the first practical truck refrigeration system in 1949. He also built cars from spare parts and raced them. He was a soldier in World War I; while in the service he studied electricity. In 1939 he patented a ticket dispensing machine for movie houses, his first patent (#2,163,754). For more see Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century by J. H. Kessler; and "Frederick McKinley Jones" in Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 20, 2nd. ed., 2004.
Subjects: Inventors, Military & Veterans, Migration South
Geographic Region: Cincinnati, Ohio / Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky

Jones, Henry Wise, Sr.
Birth Year : 1873
Death Year : 1954
Rev. Jones, born in Louisville, KY, was a co-founder Simmons Bible College in Louisville . He also served as pastor of the Green Street Baptist Church in Louisville and the Pleasant Green Baptist Church in Lexington. Rev. Jones was an advocate for African Americans' voting and education rights. He was the father of Rev. William A. Jones, Sr. and the grandfather of Rev. William A. Jones, Jr. and Louis Clayton Jones. In 2007, Rev. Henry Wise Jones was inducted into the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Hall of Fame. For more see Rev. Henry Wise Jones in the 2007 Hall of Fame at the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights' website.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Fathers, Voting Rights, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Grandparents
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Jones, Louis Clayton
Birth Year : 1935
Death Year : 2006
Jones, an equal rights advocate and international lawyer, was born in Lexington, KY. He was a graduate of old Dunbar High School, Howard University, and Yale Law School, and was admitted to the bar in Kentucky and New York. He founded the National Conference of Black Lawyers. He was assistant director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights in 1961. In 1981, he was the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Liberia, returning to the U.S. in 1982. The following year, Jones became counsel to the family of Michael Stewart, a 25-year old New Yorker who was arrested for writing graffiti in the subway and later died from injuries he received while in police custody. In 1985, Jones became the Director of Legal and Financial Affairs in Paris, France, for the Saudi Arabian company First Investment Capital Corporation. Louis Clayton Jones was the son of the late Mary Elizabeth Jones and Rev. William A. Jones, Sr.,; one of his six siblings was Rev. William A. Jones, Jr. For more see J. Ogawa, "Lexington native worked behind scenes for equal rights," Lexington Herald-Leader, 01/13/2006, City&Region section, p. D3; and "RIP: Louis Clayton Jones," Black Star News [online edition], 01/12/2006.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Lawyers, Liberia, Liberian Presidents & Diplomats, Migration North, Migration Outside the U.S. and Canada
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / New York / Liberia, Africa

Jones, Margaret Elizabeth Barnes
Birth Year : 1911
Death Year : 2000
A major in the U.S. Army, Jones was with the only African American military women's unit (the 6888th Postal Unit) to go overseas during World War II. Her first post as an officer was in Kentucky, where she was over a unit of African American women assigned to clean floors and latrines in the Ft. Breckinridge hospital. After that, she began lobbying for better work assignments for the women she commanded. She and Myrtle Anderson were the first African American women Army officers stationed in Kentucky. Jones' maternal grandparents had been slaves in Kentucky, and her mother, a well known community leader, was born in Monticello, KY; her name was Margaret E. Sallee Barnes. Jones, born in Oberlin, OH, was a graduate of Howard University. Her brother-in-law, Sam Jones, was athletic director at the school; he was also one of the first African American officers commissioned in the Navy. For more see C. Levy, "Maj. Margaret E. B. Jones Dies," Washington Post, 04/25/2000, Metro section, p. B7; The New York Times, 04/27/2000, late ed. Final, p. B13; To Serve My Country, To Serve My Race, by B. L. Moore; and "6 WACs Resign: WAC Clerks Decline to Scrub Floors," Philadelphia Afro-American, July 10, 1943, p. 1. For more about Camp Breckinridge, see the Camp Breckinridge entry in the Kentucky Encyclopedia [available on UK Campus and off campus via the proxy server], and History of Camp Breckinridge, by R. Higginson. See also the entry about the WACs Protest at Camp Breckinridge, KY.
Subjects: Military & Veterans, Women's Groups and Organizations, Women's Army Corps (WACs), Grandparents
Geographic Region: Oberlin, Ohio / Fort Breckinridge [or Camp Breckinridge], Henderson, Webster, and Union Counties, Kentucky (no longer exists)

Jones, Robert E. "Jonah"
Birth Year : 1908
Death Year : 2000
Robert Elliot Jones was born in Louisville, KY, and raised in an orphanage. A jazz trumpeter, he played with the Cab Calloway Orchestra for 11 years, then went on to appear on television, make several albums, and win a Grammy Award in 1959 for Best Jazz Performance by a group. He was one of the all-time best trumpeters. Jones is also remembered for the spit ball incident that got Dizzy Gillespie fired. One day during practice, Jones threw a spit ball. Cab Calloway accused Dizzy Gillespie of the deed and slapped Gillespie. A scuffle ensued. When the two were pried apart, Calloway's pants were cut up and he had razor cuts on his hip and thigh. Gillespie was fired. Jonah Jones and the other orchestra members kept quiet. For more on Jonah Jones see Who's Who of Jazz, by J. Chilton; and Talking Jazz, by M. Jones. For more on the spit ball incident see Dizzy Gillespie, by T. Gentry, pp. 69-71.
Subjects: Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Television, Orphans and Orphanages in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Jones, Samuel
Samuel Jones is recognized as the first African American television newsman in Lexington, KY. He joined WLEX (Channel 18) in 1970 as a part-time newscaster and as a producer-moderator of the community problem show, Focus on Minorities. Jones also handled special assignments and weekend news. [The minority public affairs show was the second of its kind; an earlier show had aired on WTVQ (then Channel 62).] Jones also covered the burial of Whitney Young, Jr. on national hookup. He worked in radio from 1956 to 1958 and had a position with WLAP-FM in 1964. Jones is a graduate of old Dunbar High School in Lexington, KY, where he attended the University of Kentucky, majoring in radio and television arts. It was due to the efforts of CORE and the Urban League that minorities were hired in Lexington television. Initial information for this entry was submitted by B. Jones, with additional information gathered from Sam Jones and WLEX and forwarded by Ken Kurtz of WKYT (Channel 27). Sam Jones still resides in Lexington.
Subjects: Radio, Television, Urban Leagues, CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Jones, Susie W.
Birth Year : 1891
Death Year : 1984
Born in Danville, KY, Susie Williams Jones served as the first president and vice-president of the United Council of Church Women in North Carolina between 1944 and 1946. She was chair of the Intercultural and Interracial Relations Committee, Women's Division of Christian Service in the Methodist Church in 1944. Susie Jones' parents met when they were students at Berea College. Her husband, David Dallas Jones, was president of Bennett College for Women. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1950; and chapter 21, E. H. Wilson & S. Mullalley, "Esse quam videri: Susie Williams Jones," in Worlds of Difference: inequality in the aging experience, by E. P. Stoller & R. C. Gibson.
Subjects: Religion & Church Work, Women's Groups and Organizations
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky / Greensboro, North Carolina

Jones, Virginia L.
Birth Year : 1912
Death Year : 1984
Virginia Lacy Jones came to Kentucky in 1933 to become the assistant librarian at the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes; it was her first library job. She worked with Eliza Gleason in offering library classes to African American students. Jones became head librarian at the Municipal College in 1936, leaving the school in 1938 for a position at the Atlanta University Library [now Clark Atlanta University]. Rufus Clement had encouraged her to come to Atlanta. In 1945 Jones became the second dean of the school's library program and remained so for 36 years. More African American librarians graduated from that program than from any other library program in the United States. Virginia Lacey Jones was born in Cincinnati, OH, and raised in West Virginia. She was a graduate of Hampton Institute [now Hampton University] (B.A.), and the University of Chicago (M.A. & Ph.D.). For more see Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones; The Ebony Success Library, vol. I: 1,000 Successful Blacks, by the editors of Ebony; and Who's Who Among Black Americans, 1975-76 & 1976.
Subjects: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Migration East, Migration South
Geographic Region: Cincinnati, Ohio / West Virginia / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Atlanta, Georgia

Jones, William Lawless
Birth Year : 1914
Death Year : 2000
Jones was born on the Kentucky State University campus in Frankfort, KY, the son of Paul W. L. Jones [a dean at the school] and Ada Anderson Jones. William L. Jones was a graduate of Fisk University, the University of Michigan and the University of Cincinnati. Jones was one of the nine African American soldiers to be sent to Fort Knox Armor Officer Candidate School [officers training] in 1942 and was commissioned a second lieutenant; the military had been segregated when Jones enlisted in 1941. He fought in World War II and was a captain during the Korean War. He received the Bronze Star and was the only African American intelligence officer in the 45th Division. Jones received the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring from the Army in 1966. As a civilian, he was a teacher for the New Jersey Job Corps, taught sociology at the University of Cincinnati, and was a columnist for the Cincinnati Herald newspaper. Jones was also well known for his knowledge of jazz; his column "Diggin' that joyous jazz" was published in NIP Magazine. Jones donated his jazz record collection to the National Afro-American History Museum and Culture Center in Wilberforce, OH. Named in Jones' honor, the William Lawless Jones Award is presented each year by the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. For more see R. Billman, "William Lawless Jones," The Cincinnati Enquirer, 07/15/2000, Obituaries, MET section, p. 10 B; and Who's Who Among African Americans, 1975-2006.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Migration North, Military & Veterans
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Cincinnati, Ohio

Jonesville (Bowling Green, KY)
The following information comes from K. S. Parsley, "Jonesville: Reclaiming a History," at Western Kentucky University. Jonesville was an African American community that adjoined the former Western Kentucky State College campus. It was then a middle class neighborhood that stretched from Dogwood Drive to the railroad tracks; today's Big Red Way was the southern boundary. The community was well-established with grocery stores, beauty shops, and other service businesses. Approximately 70 families were in the community in 1950. The community was also home to many of the first African American students attending Western Kentucky University; African American students were not allowed to live on campus. As the university grew, Jonesville stood in the way of the need to expand the campus. In 1964 the Urban Renewal Commission condemned the Jonesville properties, then took over the properties and sold the land to Western Kentucky University at a cheaper price than would have been paid to the property owners. Most of the former Jonesville residents remained in Bowling Green, and the story of Jonesville continues to be told. A Kentucky Historical Marker # 2052] was paid for by Western Kentucky University and placed at the corner of Big Red Way and University Boulevard to commemorate the history and mark the former location of Jonesville. Maxine Ray, a member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Historic Preservation Board, is the local authority on Jonesville.
Subjects: Communities
Geographic Region: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky

Joplin, Giles
Birth Year : 1842
Giles (or Jiles) Joplin was a slave who may have passed through Kentucky on the way to Texas with his master. They had come from North Carolina, where it is speculated that Giles was born around 1842. Giles Joplin, a fiddler, was the father of composer Scott Joplin. Giles left his wife, Florence, and their six children, in 1880 for another woman. For more see In Black and White. A guide to magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books concerning Black individuals and groups, 3rd ed., supp., ed. by M. M. Spradling; and Ragging it: getting Ragtime into history (and some history into Ragtime), by H. L. White.
Subjects: Fathers, Freedom, Migration West, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Texas

Jordan, Eleanor
Birth Year : 1953
In 2001 Governor Patton appointed Jordan Executive Director of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Cabinet for Families and Children. Prior to that, she had served three terms as a Kentucky Representative (Louisville). In 2000 she unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky's Third Congressional District. She was the first African American candidate for national office from Kentucky. In 2007, Jordan was appointed Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Women by newly elected Governor Steve Beshear. For more see Kentucky Women, by E. Potter; Y. Scruggs-Leftwich, "Significance of Black Women's Vote Ignored," in Women's ENews; D. M. Clayton, "African American women and their quest for Congress," Journal of Black Studies, Jan 2003, vol. 33, issue 3, pp. 354-388; and Kentucky Governor Press Release, 01/02/2008, "Governor Beshear Appoints Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Women.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Women's Groups and Organizations, Legislators, Kentucky, Appointments by Kentucky Governors
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Jordan, Larry
Birth Year : 1946
Born in Kansas City, Jordan, a graduate of West Point, became the first African American general post commander at Fort Knox in 1993. At the time, Jordan was a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army. For more see "West Point grad becomes first black general post commander at Fort Knox," Jet, 11/22/1993, vol. 85, issue 4, p. 36.
Subjects: Military & Veterans
Geographic Region: Kansas City, Missouri / Fort Knox, Bullitt, Hardin, & Meade Counties, Kentucky

Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Kentucky
Juneteenth (June 19) is the celebration of the freedom of African American slaves. In Kentucky, Representative Reginald Meeks (D-Louisville) led the push to make Juneteenth a holiday in Kentucky. And though Juneteenth is declared a holiday in Kentucky, it is not yet celebrated statewide. For more see the Juneteeth video [#217] at "Connections with Renee Shaw," 07/07/2007, at KET (Kentucky Educational Television); and HB42.
Subjects: Freedom, Emancipation Day / Juneteenth Celebrations
Geographic Region: Kentucky