Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

African American Communities in Warren County, KY
Sunnyside, Freeport, and Oakland were three African American communities in Warren County, KY, developed after the Civil War. In 2001, the city of Oakland was awarded a grant from the African American Heritage Commission to complete the study of the community Sunnyside. The resulting report, Writ Upon the Landscape: an architectural survey of the Sunnyside Community, reveals that the African American section of Sunnyside grew to the point that it merged with the white section of Sunnyside. There are presently 53 buildings and the Loving Union CME Church and its cemetery. The community also had a one room schoolhouse with grades 1-8 that was torn down in 1948. Sunnyside is located 5 miles southwest of Freeport, an African American community that had a two-room schoolhouse, Woodland School. One room held grades 1-3 and the other grades 4-8; the school was closed after integration, and the building was used as a restaurant and for social entertainment. The Mt. Zion Baptist Church, established in 1870, is still in use. The communities of Freeport and Oakland were separated by a railroad track, with Freeport on the north side. Mrs. Virgie M. Edwards was a teacher at the School in 1916; she was a member of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association. The names of other Oakland teachers are listed in the KNEA Journal from 1916-1935 [available online]. A photo of what is believed to be the new Oakland School being constructed in 1937 is available in the Kentuckiana Digital Library photograph collection. For more see Transpark: a collapse of dreams, by the City of Oakland, Kentucky; Landmark Stories: Loving CME Church, a Landmark Association website; and the following articles from the News section of the Daily News - J. Dooley, "Oakland gets grant to fund study - work will cover history, heritage of Sunnyside," 07/26/2001; A. Carmichael, "Historic Oakland mill being dismantled - lumber will be used by famed Nashville-based builder," 08/30,2003; A. Harvey, "Black History: woman remembers Freeport's heyday," 02/22/2004; A. Carmichael, "A lifetime of teaching - Warren County woman has passion for education," 08/01/2005; and J. Niesse, "Freeport endangered by transpark project," Letter section, 04/25/2001.
Subjects: Communities, Education and Educators, Kentucky African American Churches, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Sunnyside, Freeport, Oakland, Warren County, Kentucky

African American Schools and Students in Fulton County, KY
Start Year : 1875
End Year : 1905
There was a Colored School as early as 1875 in Fulton County, KY. In 1887, Steve L. Brooks founded the Brook's Chapel School. He was the school teacher, as well as the pastor of Brook's Chapel. The school was burned by Night Riders in the 1920's, and afterward, classes were held in the chapel. Today Brooks Chapel Baptist Church is located at 230 Brooks Chapel Road in Fulton, KY. A picture of the Brook's Chapel School and the students, taken in 1888, is on p.13 in Fulton by E. R. Jones. There were other African American schools and teachers in Fulton. In 1890, the Kentucky General Assembly authorized the payment of $127.28 to teacher Mrs. Daisy E. Harvey. The Fulton County Superintendent had refused to pay Harvey her salary because she had missed the teachers civil government exam due to an illness in her family. Harvey was a teacher in Colored common school district number six in Fulton County. For more see Chapter 64, pp.110-11 of the Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1890 [available full view at Google Book Search]. From 1899 to 1901 the average attendance at the Fulton Colored Schools was 261 to 271 students, and for that same period, teachers earned an average monthly salary between $33.81 and $36.12. There were three teachers that taught in the districts that held classes for at least five months. The Colored common school graduates for July 1897- July 1900 were Aida Williner, William Thompson, Mary Plunemer, Beatrice Nichols, Roy Atwood b.1883 (brother to Rufus Atwood), Ora McCutchen, Alvin Barksdale b.1884, D. H. Anderson, Ernest Henry Nichols, Lou Anna Lauderdale b.1886, Blanche Lee Atwood b.1885 (sister to Rufus Atwood), Pinky Lee Alexander, Nannie Milner, Disune Smith, and Lillian Metta Wright. For more see the Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kentucky, July 1899-June 1901 [available full view at Google Book Search]. Beginning In 1910, the Fulton Colored School was the only location in Kentucky that served as a Traveling Library Station for African Americans. In 1911, J. L. Northington was the custodian of the collection. The first high school for African Americans, built in 1905, was the result of fund raising by D. H. Anderson. For more see p.6 of the Bulletin, vol.1 by the Kentucky Library Extension Division [available at Google Book Search]; and Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky by R. F. Jones.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Fulton County, Kentucky

African American Schools in Harrison County, KY
Start Year : 1868
End Year : 1963
A history of the African American schools in Harrison County, KY, was found in the Harrison County Historical Society files and reprinted in Harrison Heritage News, with editing by William A. Penn. The original author is unknown. According to the article, the first school opened in 1868 and was the beginning of formal education for African Americans in the county. A four year high school was added in 1922, and the first high school graduation took place in 1928. The school systems were integrated in 1963 and became the Harrison County School System. For more see "African American Education in Harrison County," Harrison Heritage News, vol. 6, issue 2, February 2005 [available online].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky

African American Schools in Paducah, KY
Start Year : 1873
End Year : 1942
The act to establish public schools for African American children in McCracken County was approved by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1873. There would be an annual tax to support the schools: 20 cents on each one hundred dollars of property owned by persons of color, and a poll tax or per capita tax of $1 for each Colored male resident over the age of 18. In 1916, Paducah Public High School was listed in the Bureau of Education Bulletin on Negro Education. J. B. F. Prather was principal of the four year high school and the eight elementary grades that were also within the school. There were 39 students and four teachers. There had been a public high school for African Americans in Paducah since the 1890s. By the 1940s, the city of Paducah had seven public schools for Colored children; the schools were listed in Caron's Paducah, KY City Directory, 1941 and 1942: Dunbar School at 2510 Yeiser Street (Lexie B. Mays was the teacher); Garfield School on Harris, southeast corner of Ninth Street, (Mattye O. Strauss was the principal); Lincoln School on the west side of Eighth Street and Lincoln Jr. High and Lincoln High School, both at 1715 S. Eighth Street (E. W. Whiteside was principal of all three schools); Rowlandtown School at 1400 Thompson Avenue (Henrietta Brogwell was the teacher); and Sanders School on the east side of Levin Avenue, north of 32nd Street (Kate O. Smith was the teacher). For more see Chapter 998, pp. 509-510, Acts Passed at the ... Session of the General Assembly for the Commonwealth, 1873 [available full-text at Google Book Search]; and Paducah Public High School on p. 280 in Negro Education, Bulletin, 1916, No. 39, vol. 2, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

African American Schools in Wayne County, KY
According to an article in Overview, both African American and white settlers of Shearer Valley came together to build the first church/school house for African Americans in Wayne County, KY. William Simpson, who was white, was the first teacher. Later other African American schools were established in the county in Dogwood, Duncan Valley, Mill Springs, Monticello, and Meadow Creek. All African American schools in Wayne County were consolidated in 1931 into the Travis School, which had a graded (elementary) school and a high school (see Travis, Oneth M.). For more see "Negro Schools," Overview, vol. 13, issue 1, 1992. Overview is published by the Wayne County Historical Society in Monticello, KY.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Shearer Valley, Wayne County, Kentucky / Dogwood, Duncan Valley, Mill Springs, Monticello, and Meadow Creek, Wayne County, Kentucky

Anderson, Dennis H.
Birth Year : 1869
Dennis Henry Anderson was originally from Tennessee. A graduate of Lane College in Tennessee, he became a Methodist minister. His wife was Artelia Harris Anderson. Dennis Anderson came to Kentucky and opened schools in Graves and Fulton counties. He raised funds for the building of the first high school in Fulton County in 1905. Anderson also initiated the building of West Kentucky Industrial College [now West Kentucky Community and Technical College], starting the building with his bare hands in 1911. The school, located in Paducah, KY, became a state institution in 1918. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan; Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones; Fifty Years of Segregation: Black Higher Education in Kentucky, 1904-1954, by J. A. Hardin; and My West Kentucky, by J. M. Blythe.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Fulton County, Kentucky / Graves County, Kentucky / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Tennessee

Ariel/Hall (Camp Nelson, KY)
After the Civil War, the refugee camp at Camp Nelson became the community known as Ariel. The school, Ariel Academy, was founded in 1868, with initial funding support coming from the Freedmen's Bureau and teachers supplied by the American Missionary Association. The school was led by Howard Fee, son of John G. Fee and Gabriel Burdette, a former slave from Garrard County, KY. The community of Ariel was later named Hall. For more see Historic Jessamine County, The Hall Community, an official Jessamine County website; and A Utopian Experiment in Kentucky: integration and social equality at Berea, 1866-1904, by R. B. Sears.
Subjects: Communities, Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Camp Nelson, Jessamine and Garrard Counties, Kentucky / Ariel, Jessamine County, Kentucky / Hall, Jessamine County, Kentucky

Atkins, Calvin Rupert and Dora G. Graham Atkins
Calvin R. Atkins (1870-1923) was born in Hadensville, KY. He was the husband of Dora G. Graham Atkins (1875-1923), who was born in Pembroke, KY. In 1895, Calvin Atkins became a certified teacher for the Todd County Colored School District [see his copy of certification, IHS]. Dora Atkins was also a certified teacher in Todd County [copy of certification, IHS]. In 1900 the family had moved to Anderson, IN, according to the U.S. Census. Dr. Atkins practiced medicine there for a few years, and in 1904, the family moved to Indianapolis. Dr. Atkins received his license to practice in Indianapolis on August 2, 1905; he was an 1895 graduate of Howard University Medical School [now Howard University College of Medicine], according to the 16th Annual Report of the Indiana State Board of Medical Registration and Examination [full view at Google Book Search]. Dr. Atkins was a physician for the Flanner House, which was founded in 1898 to provide health, social, and educational assistance to African American families migrating from the South to Indianapolis [archival information, IHS]. His dedication to the Flanner House is mentioned in a speech given by Aldridge Lewis around 1918 [digital copy of speech, IHS]. He was one of the promoters and vice president of Lincoln Hospital, a hospital for African Americans founded in 1909 in Indianapolis on North Senate Avenue. The hospital had both doctors and dentists, and there were 12 rooms that could hold up to 17 patients. The hospital also had a nurses training program. Dr. Atkins was involved in establishing a similar hospital in Marion, IN. Dr. Atkins was a prominent member of the city of Indianapolis for 19 years before he was murdered in June of 1923. For more see "Calvin R. and Dora G. Atkins" entry in Who's Who in Colored America 1927; Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century, by Thornbrough and Ruegamer; the Papers of Calvin R. Atkins and the Dora Atkins Blackburn Papers, some items available online in the digital collections at the Indiana Historical Society; "Suspected slayer who shot himself soon after murder dies," The Indianapolis Star, 06/18/1923, p. 16.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration North, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership
Geographic Region: Hadensville, Todd County, Kentucky / Pembroke, Christian County, Kentucky / Indianapolis, Indiana

Austin, Jacqueline
Austin has been principal of the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Louisville, KY, since 1990. Under Austin's direction, the school became the first public school in the state to adopt the Montessori teaching method. This and other reforms helped improve academic performance, attendance, and parental involvement at the school. Austin also expanded school services to include GED adult education classes. In 1996, Austin was chosen as a Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award recipient. For more see Jacqueline Austin at the Milken Family Foundation website, and "KERA: A tale of one school," Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 79, issue 4 (Dec. 1997), pp. 272-276.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Bate, John W.
Birth Year : 1854
Death Year : 1945
John William Bate was born in Louisville, KY, son of John Bate (slave owner) and Nancy Dickerson (slave). Bate graduated from Berea College in 1881 and again in 1891. His first teaching job took him to Danville's one-room shanty school building, which John Bate transformed into an accredited standard high school with many rooms, including an auditorium that seated 700 persons. Bate was principal and teacher at the school for 59 years; in his honor the school was renamed Bate High School. In 1964, following integration, the school became Bate Middle School. A Kentucky Historical Marker [#2186] has been placed on the Bate High School grounds. John W. Bate was the father of Langston F. Bate. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan; Who's Who of the Colored Race, 1915; and "Rites Held for Prof. John W. Bate, Educator," The K.N.E.A. Journal, vol. 17, no. 1 (Oct-Nov 1945), p. 24 [available online in the Kentuckiana Digital Library Electronic Text Collection].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky

Bond, Henry
Birth Year : 1865
Death Year : 1929
Henry Bond was born in Anderson County, KY. He was a teacher and lawyer, and it was believed that he had political influence over the African American Republican vote in Williamsburg, KY. Bond was the principal and lone teacher of the Williamsburg Colored Academy for a number of years. The school was a one-room cabin with grades 1-8. In 1929, Henry died ten days before his brother, James M. Bond; both were sons of Jane Arthur, a slave, and Reverend Preston Bond. Henry Bond is buried in the Briar Creek Cemetery in Williamsburg. For more see The Bonds, by R. M. Williams. *Additional informaiton from Carrie Stewart of Williamsburg, KY; Stewart's mother and her mother's siblings attended the one room school and they were students of Henry Bond.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Voting Rights, Lawyers, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Anderson County, Kentucky / Williamsburg, Whitley County, Kentucky

Bowling Green Academy (Bowling Green, KY)
Start Year : 1902
End Year : 1933
The school opened in 1902 with 57 students in the Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green, KY. Rev. R. L. Hyde was the school's president. The school was later moved into a building on State Street. "The object of this school is threefold (1) education in general of all negro children, especially in Kentucky, who desire the advantage of a first-class institution at reasonable rates; (2) education along special lines which shall fit our young men to fill more efficiently the pulpits of our churches; (3) to develop the negro youth into good Christian citizens by educating the head, heart and hand." The school attendance grew to more than 150 students before it closed in 1933. For more information see Bowling Green Academy, and "Bowling Green Academy" in the Kentucky Encyclopedia 2000 [electronic version available on the University of Kentucky campus and off campus via the proxy server].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky

Brooks, Garland H.
Birth Year : 1912
Death Year : 1984
Garland H. Brooks was born in Hopkinsville, KY, the son of Carrie and Henry Brooks. He became a pharmacist after attending Attucks High School in Hopkinsville and receiving his Ph.D. from Howard University School of Pharmacy in 1934. He returned to Hopkinsville, where he became proprietor of Brooks Pharmacy. He was a brother of Phillip C. Brooks. For more see Profiles of Contemporary Black Achievers of Kentucky, by J. B. Horton.
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Pharmacists, Pharmacies
Geographic Region: Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky

Browne, Birdius W.
Birth Year : 1906
Death Year : 1986
Birdius Browne was born in Warsaw, KY. He taught in the Mt. Olivet School and was principal of the Melbourne High and Vocational School in Florida. Brown won a government medal in Decatur, Illinois, for his athletic ability. He died in Paducah, KY. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1933-37.
Subjects: Athletes, Athletics, Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Warsaw, Gallatin County, Kentucky / Mt. Olivet, Robertson County, Kentucky / Florida / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Carter, Maria F. [Trimble County Common Colored Schools]
Carter was a school teacher in Trimble County, KY. The school term for Colored children in the county was three months, April 1-June 30th. In 1874, Carter had taught the entire term, but was not paid. The matter was taken up by the Kentucky Legislature. It was determined that a correct census had been taken of the Colored children in Trimble County, but was not reported to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as was required by law, which resulted in no appropriations being designated for Trimble County from the Colored School Fund. Maria Carter had been legally employed by the school system. The General Assembly enacted that Carter be paid the $51.50 owed her, and that the Superintendent of Public Instruction withhold the sum from the appropriations for the Trimble County school funds. For more see chapter 338 of Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Passed (1875), v.1 [available full view at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Trimble County, Kentucky

Cedar Creek and Mill Creek, KY
The Cedar Creek Black Cemetery is located in Hardin County, KY. Buried there are the descendants of the former slaves who lived in the area. After gaining their freedom, an African American community was established around the cemetery, along with the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a school. There was a second African American community near Wright Cemetery. According to author Gary Kempf, there are two cemeteries behind the Wright Cemetery where African Americans were buried. The land that held the communities and the cemeteries was taken over for the expansion of Fort Knox Military Reservation. For more see The Land Before Fort Knox by G. Kenpf.
Subjects: Communities, Freedom, Kentucky African American Churches, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Cedar Creek, MIll Creek, Fort Knox, Hardin County, Kentucky

Clarke, Anna Mac
Birth Year : 1919
Death Year : 1944
Anna M. Clarke, born in Lawrenceburg, KY, was a graduate of the Lawrenceburg Colored School and a 1941 graduate of Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University]. She was one of the first African American woman from Kentucky to enlist during World War II, the first to become an officer, and the first African American WAC over an all-white regiment. Clarke led the protest that desegregated the Douglas Army Airfield theater. A Kentucky Historical Marker [#1970] has been placed on the Lawrenceburg courthouse lawn in her memory. Anna Mac Clarke is buried in Stringtown, KY. For more see Women in Kentucky-Military; Anna Mac Clark answering the call to arms; WWII and the WAC, by J. M. Trowbridge; and J. M. Trowbridge, "Anna Mac Clark: a pioneer in military leadership," Cochise Quarterly, vol. 26 (Winter 1996).
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Military & Veterans, Women's Groups and Organizations, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Women's Army Corps (WACs)
Geographic Region: Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, Kentucky / Douglas Army Airfield, Arizona / Stringtown, Anderson County, Kentucky

Claysville and Other Neighborhoods (Paris, KY)
Claysville was established by African Americans at the end of the Civil War on what was then the outskirts of Paris, KY. The community was located on land that was purchased from Samuel H. Clay, whose farm bordered the area on one side. Claysville was more of a separate community than other African American neighborhoods within Paris: it included churches, stores, and businesses. The main entrance was off Main Street, under a one lane railroad viaduct hemmed on one side by a two story building, on the other side by a stream. The entrance is still in use. The back entrance was off Winchester Street. The Branch School for African American children, where inventor Garrett A. Morgan, Sr. was educated, was located in Claysville. The community has been renamed Garrett Morgan's Place, and a Kentucky Historical Marker [number 1493] was rededicated in 2000, but most still refer to the area as Claysville. Beginning in the 1970s, Urban Renewal razed the old structures in Claysville, new homes and housing projects were constructed, and a park was added down by the stream. Many of the present residents are descendants of Claysville's earliest home owners. Other African American areas used to exist in Paris: Cottontown, off Main Street just past the railroad overpass heading toward Millersburg, down by the creek; Newtown and Judy's Alley, off High Street heading toward Lexington (homes in both areas were replaced by housing projects); and Singles Alley, off Eighth Street heading toward Georgetown, all of its older homes torn down. Ruckersville or Ruckerville, bound by Lilleston Ave., Second Street, and a creek, had a large number of African Americans. The land is thought to have been part of the Grimes' farm at one time. The old homes were razed by Urban Renewal in the 1970s and 1980s and new homes and apartments were constructed and a park was added down by the creek. Little or nothing has been published about these areas, but a visit with the various community members will garner much more information. For more on Claysville, see Birthplace of African-American Inventor-Garrett Morgan on the Kentucky Tourism website; and Famous Inventor, 1877-1963, in the Kentucky Historical Marker Database.
Subjects: Communities, Parks, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Railroad, Railway, Trains
Geographic Region: Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky

Cotter, Joseph S., Sr.
Birth Year : 1861
Death Year : 1949
Joseph Seaman Cotter was born in Bardstown, KY, the son of Michael Cotter (Scottish Irishman) and Martha Vaughn Cotter. He founded the Paul Laurence Dunbar School in Louisville, KY, and was principal at several Louisville schools. Cotter published five volumes of poetry and a collection of plays, composed music, and was known for his storytelling. He was the father of poet Joseph S. Cotter, Jr. (1895-1919). The Joseph S. Cotter, Sr. Papers are located at Kentucky State University. For more see Southern Black Creative Writers, 1829-1953, by M. B. Foster; Dictionary of American Negro Biography, ed. by R. W. Logan and M. R. Winston; and Early Black American Poets, by W. H. Robinson, Jr.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Fathers, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Poets, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Crenshaw, Walter C., Jr.
Birth Year : 1935
Death Year : 1969
Born in Millersburg, KY, Walter Crenshaw, Jr. was a graduate of Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University] and taught in the Canton (Ohio) City School System. He was later appointed Executive Director of the Canton Area Housing Authority. Crenshaw Middle School and a park in Canton are named in his honor. For more see the Crenshaw Middle School website; and C. M. Jenkins, "Canton educator tills, waters young minds...," Akron Beacon Journal, 09/26/1993, Metro section, p. B1.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Housing Authority, The Projects, Migration North, Parks, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Millersburg, Bourbon County, Kentucky / Canton, Ohio

Davis, Edward Benjamin and Betty Webb
Both Ed B. Davis (1875-1934) and Betty W. Davis (b.1879) were born in Scott County, Kentucky. Ed was the son of Katie Davis, and he and Betty lived at 133 Bourbon Street, according to Ed's death certificate. Betty and Ed Davis were teachers at the Georgetown Colored School, Ed was also the school principal, they are listed in the 1910 and the 1920 U. S. Federal Census. In 1923, Betty established the first African American library in Georgetown; it was within the school. The library was later named the Charles Steele Library, serving as the Colored branch of the Georgetown Public Library. In 1934 Davis replaced her deceased husband as principal of the school, serving in that capacity until 1940; the school name had changed to the Ed Davis High School, it was named after her husband. She also established the Betty Webb Davis Scholarship Loan Fund within the Ed Davis Alumni Association. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1941-44, and Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky

Division of Negro Education (Kentucky)
Start Year : 1924
In 1924, the Division of Negro Education was formed within the Kentucky Department of Education, and Professor L. N. Taylor was hired as supervisor of Negro rural education. On April 25, 1924 he addressed the Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA) and also made a $10 donation to the organization. The Division of Negro Education brought the issue of secondary education for Negroes closer to the State Department of Education, according to Claude E. Nichols in his master's thesis, Reorganization of Negro High Schools in the State of Kentucky. From 1924-1943, Taylor addressed the KNEA membership at the annual conference, collected concerns and kept members up to date on education matters, and continued to make a financial donation to the organization each year. Taylor retired from the Department of Education in 1943; KNEA presented him with a 17-jewel watch. He was presented the Lincoln [Institute] Key in 1944, the same year that Sam B. Taylor was named Supervisor of Negro Education. From 1945-1947, Whitney M. Young, Sr. served as the Assistant Supervisor and Coordinator of Negro Education, the first African American to be hired in the Division of Negro Education. For more see the Proceedings of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association and the Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal, April 23-26, 1924 through November-December 1948 [both titles available online]; and Negro Education in Kentucky [thesis], by J. A. Bond.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Kentucky

Dotson, William S.
Birth Year : 1911
Death Year : 1995
Dotson, born in Cave City, KY, later became a civil rights leader in Lexington, KY. Dotson first left Cave City when he was a teen; there was not a high school for African Americans, so he went to Frankfort to attend the high school at what is today Kentucky State University. He also earned a BA at the school in 1936. He was president of the National Alumni Association (1966-1968). Dotson and his wife moved to Lexington in 1938, where he later served as president of the Lexington Chapter of the NAACP, 1946-1951; Dotson wanted to bring leadership to African Americans in the city. He also served as treasurer of the state NAACP for 27 years. He was the first 40 Year Man member of Omega Psi Phi, for which he received an award in 1974. For more see M. Davis, "Martin Luther King: dream lives on struggle for rights continues," Lexington Herald-Leader, 01/15/1986, Lifestyle section, p. D1; Who's Who Among African Americans, 1975-1999; and William S. Dotson in the Obituaries of the Lexington Herald-Leader, 11/28/1995, p. B2.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Fraternal Organizations, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Cave City, Barren County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

DuBois School (Mt. Sterling, KY)
Start Year : 1921
End Year : 1964
In August of 1964, as African American parents were preparing to boycott the city schools to protest a change in the school integration plans, the DuBois School was burned down. The fire was the result of arson, as was the fire that destroyed the African American Masonic Hall. The DuBois school, probably built in 1921, was an African American school with grades 1-12. The Mt. Sterling police department was put on alert against any attempt to also burn the three schools for whites. The FBI and the Kentucky State Department of Public Safety investigated the fire; the DuBois School fire had been set while the Mt. Sterling Fire Department was answering a call at one of the white schools on the opposite end of town. The Masonic Hall was owned by W. D. Banks, an undertaker who was also a leader and active member of the Mt. Sterling NAACP Branch. Banks had been meeting with the School Board to discuss the change in plans to integrate two grades rather than the original plan to integrate the entire school system. The change had come about after it was learned that more African American students than were expected had registered to attend the school for whites. With the burning of DuBois School, an emergency School Board meeting was held behind closed doors, and the Mt. Sterling schools' classes were suspended until September 8, 1964. Louisville lawyer James A. Crumlin, Sr. was hired by African American parents in preparation for a lawsuit to force the schools to integrate. The Mt. Sterling school system was one of the last to integrate in Kentucky. For more see "All-Negro school in Mt. Sterling, KY, destroyed by fire," North Adams Transcript, 08/31/1964, p. 1; and "School Desegregation" records at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky

Early School in Louisville, KY
Start Year : 1838
Jerry Wade, described as a mulatto, was a barber at the Gault House in Louisville, KY. He had purchased his freedom and that of his family. Wade was fairly well off and rented one of his homes to his son and his family. The front of the house was rented to Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm and her husband, both of whom were white. Jane Swisshelm, from Pennsylvania, was an abolitionist and advocate for women's rights. Around 1838 she opened a school for African Americans in the Wade home. Both she and the students were harassed by whites, and Wade was notified that his house would be burned down if the school continued. All of the students withdrew from the school. For more see Half a Century, by Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm, 1815-1880; and Jane Cannon was active against slavery!, an African American Registry website.
Subjects: Barbers, Education and Educators, Freedom, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Pennsylvania

Farris, Elaine
Birth Year : 1955
On June 22, 2004, Farris became the first African American school superintendent in Kentucky, at age 49. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Kentucky University and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky. She has taught in Winchester, where she was also an assistant principal and principal. Elaine Farris was the school superintendent of Shelby County in 2004. She left that post in 2007 when she was named a Deputy Commissioner with the Kentucky Department of Education. For more see G. Kocher, "A Kentucky first, a racial barrier broken, Shelby County breaks ground by hiring black schools chief," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/23/04; R. H. Ismail, "4 Kentucky educators named to key state-level positions," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/30/2007, p. B2; and KET's "Connections with Renee Shaw" - #310: Elaine Farris.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Appointments by Kentucky Governors, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Shelby County, Kentucky / Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky

Fitzpatrick, Jack "Jackie"
The 6'4" center was a member of the 1953 Kentucky High School Athletic League (KHSAL) championship basketball team from Dunbar High School in Somerset, KY. The team was unbeaten for the season and runners-up in the 1954 National High School Tournament, held at Tennessee State University in March of that year. The tournament matched the best African American high school teams from as many as 17 states. Fitzpatrick played college ball at Knoxville College, a historically black college in Tennessee. He continued his career by playing guard for the Harlem Globetrotters and Saperstein's Chicago Majors, an American Basketball League team, from 1961 to 1963. Jack Fitzpatrick was inducted into the Dawahares-Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2005. For more see Shadows of the past, by L. Stout; P. Kuharsky, "Black teams lived out hoop dreams," The Tennessean (newspaper), 02/24/2005, p. 1C; and the KHSAA 2005 Inductees (pdf).
Subjects: Basketball, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky

Gaines, Clarence E., Sr. "BigHouse"
Birth Year : 1923
Death Year : 2005
Born in Paducah, KY, Gaines was the salutatorian of his graduating class at Lincoln High School; he went on to graduate from Morgan State University with a chemistry degree. He had been on the basketball, football, and track teams. In 1946 Gaines began coaching football and later coached basketball. In 1967 his Winston-Salem State College [now Winston-Salem State University] team won the NCAA Division II basketball championship, led by Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. It was the first time that a historically Black college had won a national championship. The Clarence Edward "BigHouse" Gaines, Sr. Collection is housed in the Winston-Salem State University Archives and Manuscripts. For more see Who's Who Among African Americans, 1992-2006; African-American sports greats: a biographical dictionary, ed. by D. L. Porter; and V. Berstein, "Big House Gaines, 81, basketball coach, dies," The New York Times, Sports Desk section, p. 19.
Subjects: Athletes, Athletics, Basketball, Football, Track & Field, Migration East, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Glass, Ora H. Kennedy
Birth Year : 1893
Death Year : 1971
Born in Henderson, KY, Glass was president of the Henderson P.T.A. for ten years, leading the drive for funds for a high school building. She was founder and president of the Kentucky State P.T.A., vice president of the National Congress of Colored P.T.A.s, and president of the Blue Grass Auxiliary. She was the wife of Dr. James Glass of Hopkinsville, KY. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1950.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky

Goodlowtown, Goodloetown, or Goodloe (Lexington, KY)
Goodlowtown was a community in itself, established around 1871; by 1887 it had grown to include Gunntown and Bradley Street Bottoms. It was the largest Negro residential area in Lexington. The community was located on bottomland that had been used during the Civil War for mule stalls. The Colored Normal School was located in Goodloetown, with J. G. Hamilson as principal and Miss Mary E. White was a teacher, according to the Lexington City Directory, 1873 and 1874. Today Goodloe is a predominately low-income African American neighborhood partially shielded from view by Thoroughbred Park in downtown Lexington. The area includes portions of DeWeese, Race, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets. For more see J. Kellogg, "The Formation of Black Residential Areas in Lexington, Kentucky, 1865-1887," The Journal of Southern History, vol. 48, issue 1 (Feb. 1982), pp. 21-52; and P. Hobgood, "Constructing Community: an Exhibition of the Voices of Goodloetown," Kaleidoscope: University of Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship, vol. 4 (2006), pp. 39-44.
Subjects: Communities, Parks, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Guthrie, Robert V.
Birth Year : 1930
Death Year : 2005
A few weeks after Guthrie and his twin brother were born, the family moved to Richmond, KY, then to Lexington, KY. His father, P. L. Guthrie, was a former principal of old Dunbar High School. Guthrie was a veteran of the Korean War. He earned his undergraduate degree at Florida A&M and then enrolled at the University of Kentucky in 1955, where he received his master's degree in psychology. He earned his doctorate at International University in 1970. He would go on to become one of the most influential African American scholars. Guthrie was the first African American psychologist to place his papers in the National Archives of American Psychology. He is author of numerous books, including Even the Rat Was White; a Historical View of Psychology. Guthrie was the first African American faculty member at San Diego Mesa College. Decades later, he returned to live in San Diego, where he is buried. For more see An 'American psychologist'; and J. Williams, "Robert V. Guthrie, 75; noted psychology educator," San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/12/2005, Obituaries column, p. B6.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration West, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / San Diego, California

Hathaway, James S.
Birth Year : 1862
Death Year : 1930
Hathaway was born in Mt. Sterling, KY, the son of Lewis and Ann Hathaway. He was the husband of Celia Hathaway. James Hathaway was a teacher in Kentucky schools. He organized and established The Standard Printing and Publishing Company in Lexington. He taught at Berea College for ten years, then later became the 3rd president of Kentucky State Institute for Negroes [now Kentucky State University] in 1902. Hathaway had also been president of the State Association of Colored Teachers [renamed Kentucky Negro Educational Association], 1889-1890. He was the principal of Richmond High School in Richmond, KY, when he died in 1930. For more see Biographical Sketches of Prominent Negro Men and Women of Kentucky, by W. D. Johnson; and Office of the President Records (Kentucky State University) in the the Kentuckiana Digital Library.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Berea and Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Helm, Marlene
Birth Year : 1950
Helm was the first African American school superintendent in Kentucky, presiding over the Shelby County schools. (The exception is Jefferson County, where two African American superintendents each served three months.) Helm was acting superintendent in Fayette County, KY, in 2004. She had been the Secretary of the Education, Arts and Humanities Council under Governor Patton. For more see "Interim leader for schools is selected, Black woman is first ever to hold post in Kentucky," Lexington Herald-Leader, 03/18/04, p. A1; and "Governor appoints two Cabinet Secretaries," Lexington Herald-Leader, 03/11/99 p. B1.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Appointments by Kentucky Governors, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Shelby County, Kentucky

Holland, Mary Ford
Birth Year : 1907
Death Year : 1999
Born in Trigg County, KY, Holland was the first African American student at Murray State University. She received her first teaching certificate from West Kentucky Industrial School [now West Kentucky Community and Technical College], where she graduated in 1935. She taught at the segregated, one room school in Lyon County, KY. Holland also attended Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University] part-time, working toward a bachelor's degree; in 1955, at the age of 48, she transferred to Murray State University, where she was escorted by the police and the university president to her classes. She graduated in 1961. It would be a few years before she would teach at an integrated school. For more see the Kentucky Historical Marker Database: Desegregation of Murray State College (Marker Number 2191).
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Trigg County, Kentucky / Lyon County, Kentucky / Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky

Howard, James
Birth Year : 1942
Howard was born in Sturgis, KY. When he was 13 years old, he and other students attempted to integrate the all-white Sturgis High School, which was only blocks from his home. African American students were being bussed 11 miles away to Dunbar, an African American school in Morganfield, KY. The student's campaign was picked up by the international media when protesters blocked the streets, burned a cross, and harassed Blacks in the community. The following year a judicial order forced the school to integrate. For more view the James Howard interview in the Kentucky Historical Society, Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky, Oral History Project; and James Howard biography and video at KET Living the Story.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Sturgis and Morganfield, Union County, Kentucky

Hunter, Charles "Charlie"
Birth Year : 1946
Born in Glasgow, KY, Hunter played basketball at Ralph Bunche High School in Glasgow, where he was the all-time leading scorer. Hunter was the first African American basketball player recruited by the University of Louisville, but he opted to play at Oklahoma City University. During his college career, Hunter scored 1,319 points and pulled down 584 rebounds; the team went to the NCAA Tournament four consecutive years. Hunter and his high school teammate Jerry Lee Wells were the first two African American basketball players at Oklahoma City University. Hunter was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1966, Hunter was chosen by the Boston Celtics in the sixth round of the NBA draft, but his career was cut short due to an ankle injury. He returned to Kentucky and is presently the academic advisor of the Western Kentucky University branch in Glasgow, KY. For more see Shadows of the Past, by L. Stout; M. Evans "OCU Women State's Surprise Team 7-0, Broncos Off to Best Start Since 1982-83 Season," Daily Oklahoman, 12/01/1997; and N. Haney "Spirit of '66 alive and well; Glory Road' brings back memories for local duo," Daily News (Bowling Green, KY), 01/16/2006.
Subjects: Basketball, Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky

Iroquois Park (Louisville, KY)
Start Year : 1924
In 1924 two African American teachers, Margaret Taylor and Naomi Anthony, took their students to Iroquois Park for an outing. As they were leaving, the security guards and a group of whites informed the teachers that the park was for whites only. The teachers said that they were not aware of the restriction and would look into the matter. A scuffle of sorts occurred; after the teachers and students were roughly handled, it was termed a near riot, and the teachers were arrested. After several hours the women were taken to the downtown police station where a large crowd of African Americans had gathered. African American leaders and white city leaders debated the issues. The outcome -- the teachers were reprimanded by the school board, the courts fined Naomi Anthony $10 for attacking a park guard, and the Board of Park Commissioners adopted a resolution of segregation in the Louisville public parks. For more see Life Behind a Veil, by G. Wright.
Subjects: Parks, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Court Cases
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

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

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

Kendall, Joseph N.
Birth Year : 1909
Death Year : 1965
Kendall was born in Owensboro, KY. In July 2007, he became the first Kentucky State University inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, IN. Kendall was considered one of the greatest passers in college football and a good all around player. He not only played quarterback, but was a running back, punted with both feet, and played on defense. In 1934, he led Kentucky State University to a national black college football championship and an undefeated season. In 1935, he led the team to an Orange Blossom Classic victory. The Pittsburgh Courier named Kendall a First Team All-America three times between 1934-36. He was inducted into the Kentucky State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975. During Kendall's college football career, Kentucky State had a 29-7-3 record. He was selected for the African American All-Star team that played against the Chicago Bears in 1935; it was the first time that an African American team played against an NFL team. Kendall was also a good baseball and basketball player. He served in the Army for two years, then graduated from Kentucky State in 1938. His original higher education plan had been to attend Paducah to study culinary arts, but once he was seen playing football, he was encouraged to enroll and play for Kentucky State. After college, he was hired to teach and coach at the African American Rosenwald High School in Harlan, KY, and in 1946 became principal of the school. In 1948, he returned to Owensboro to become the football coach at the school he had graduated from, Western High School. The Kendall-Perkins Park in Owensboro is named in honor of Joseph N. Kendall and Joseph Perkins. For more see L. Vance, "College football hall of fame welcomes 3 African-American QBs," at blackathlete.net; S. Hagerman, "One of the finest: Late Western High standout to be inducted into College Football Hall of Fame," Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 07/16/2007, section C, p.1; and contact CESKAA.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Football, Parks, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Harlan, Harlan County, Kentucky

Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA)
Start Year : 1877
End Year : 1956
The organization was formed when State Superintendent of Public Instruction H. A. Henderson gathered 45 Negro educators and trustees to form the State Association of Colored Teachers. In 1913 it was renamed the Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA). This representative body of Kentucky's Negro educators was an influential lobbying group for education issues. Annual conferences were held in Louisville, KY. In response to desegregation, the organization was renamed the Kentucky Teachers Association, though it was still referred to in general conversation as KNEA. In 1956, KNEA was subsumed into the formerly all white Kentucky Education Association. KNEA was the predecessor to present day organizations such as the Kentucky Association of Blacks in Higher Education. For more see The Kentucky Negro Education Association, 1877-1946 by H. C. Russell, Sr.; and the Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal [available full-text via the Kentuckiana Digital Library and in paper at Kentucky State University Library]. For information on the prior education organization see Kentucky State Colored Educational Convention.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Kentucky

Knight, Mattye Breckinridge Guy
Birth Year : 1914
Death Year : 1986
Knight, a teacher, civic and community leader, and musician, is remembered for leading the drive to get new homes to replace those lost in the mudslide at Sanctified Hill in Cumberland, KY. Knight had also lost her home in the slide. She received a number of awards for her leadership, including a HUD award in 1979. Knight taught for more than 30 years in Franklin County, Lebanon, and Harlan County. She taught English, history and music in the public schools and was the minister of music, director of education, and a Sunday school teacher at her church. Knight also founded the Greater Harlan County Community Center. She was a graduate of Mayo-Underwood High School and Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University], both in Frankfort, and Hampton Institute [now Hampton University] in Virginia. For more see J. Hewlett, "Mattye Knight Dies," Lexington Herald-Leader, 02/28/1986, Obituaries, p. B15. Also see the entry Sanctified Hill, Cumberland, KY.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Communities, Education and Educators, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Sunday School
Geographic Region: Cumberland, Harlan County, Kentucky

Lincoln Institute (Lincoln Ridge, KY)
Start Year : 1912
End Year : 1966
The Lincoln Institute was formed in response to the 1904 Day Law, which was upheld by the 1908 Supreme Court decision forbidding the education of whites and blacks in the same Kentucky school. The law was aimed at Berea College, which had been integrated since 1863. The Lincoln Foundation was founded in 1910; Lincoln Institute opened in 1912 in Shelby County, KY. It offered vocational instruction, unlike the classical education that had been offered at Berea. The first African American president was Dr. Whitney M. Young, Sr.; he led Lincoln Institute for over 40 years as it became a prominent boarding school for African American children. The campus is presently leased by the federal government for the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Job Corps Center. For more see the Lincoln Foundation history page; G. C. Wright, "The founding of Lincoln Institute," Filson Club History Quarterly, vol. 49, issue 1 (1975), pp. 57-70; and "The Faith Plan: a black institution grows during the Depression," Filson Club History Quarterly, vol. 51, issue 4 (1977), pp. 336-349. Primary sources are available at Kentucky State University Library. Over 70 audio and video interviews have been conducted by Dr. Andrew Baskin, Associate Professor of General and Black Studies at Berea College. The subjects are former Lincoln Institute students and some of the employees and their children. The recordings are available at Berea College Special Collections and Archives, where you will also find additional information on the history of Berea College.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Lincoln Ridge, Shelby County, Kentucky

Little Georgetown (Fayette County, KY)
Located on Parkers Mill Road in Fayette County, one version of the community's beginning states that a George Waltz gave land to ex-slaves following the Civil War. It has been debated as to whether the community was named after George Waltz or after a freeman named George Washington who owned a portion of the land and divided it into lots in 1877. At that time, the community had three other African American land owners: F. Smith, J. Edmunds, and M. Overstreet. The word "Little" was added to the name of the community to differentiate it from the city of Georgetown, KY. Over the years, Little Georgetown grew to include 90 residents on 34 acres. The expansion of the Lexington Bluegrass Airport nearly wiped out the community. A picture of the Little Georgetown Colored School, dated 1929, is available in the Kentuckian Digital Library - Images. For more see Negro Hamlets and Gentlemen Farms: a dichotomous rural settlement pattern in Kentucky's Bluegrass Region, by P. C. Smith; Historical Communities Near Lexington, a BCTC website; and J. Duke, "Rural Fayette communities cling to life of yesterday," Lexington Herald-Leader, 08/11/1985, Main News section, p. A1.
Subjects: Communities, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Little Georgetown, Fayette County, Kentucky

Louisville Central High School/Central High School Magnet Career Academy
Previously known as Louisville Colored High School, the school opened in 1882 after leaders of the Louisville, KY, African American community appealed to the Louisville Board of Education for a high school for African Americans. The school was initially located at the corner of Sixth and Kentucky Streets, with J. M. Maxwell serving as the principal and C. W. Houser the only teacher. Funding initially came from African American taxes only. In 1952 the school was moved to the new Central High School building on Twelfth and Chestnut Streets. Career courses were part of the educational offerings. Central was the largest and most progressive high school in the state for African Americans; there were 1,400 students and 57 faculty members. Today, Central High School Magnet Career Academy, a four-year accredited comprehensive high school that offers a pre-college curriculum, is located at 1130 W. Chestnut Street in Louisville. For more see Central High School Magnet Career Academy website; This is Central High School (1953), by Central High School; and A history of Louisville Central High School, 1882-1982, by T. C. Tilford-Weathers.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Mack, Essie D.
Birth Year : 1883
Death Year : 1940
Mack assisted with the organization of the first African American kindergarten at Phillis Wheatley Colored School in Louisville, KY. She was president of the Kentucky Colored Parent-Teacher Association for nine years and president of the National Congress of Colored Parent-Teachers Associations for two terms. For more see The Encyclopedia of Louisville, ed. by J. E. Kleber.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Marrs, Elijah P.
Birth Year : 1840
Death Year : 1910
Marrs wrote an autobiography of his life as a slave in Shelby County - Life and History of the Rev. Elijah P. Marrs [available on the University of North Carolina University Library's Documenting the American South website]. He was the son of Andrew Marrs, who was free, and Frances Marrs, who was a slave, both from Virginia. Marrs, who learned to read and write, left the plantation to become a Union solider. After the war, he was founder of several churches and the first African American school teacher in Simpsonville. Marrs also taught at the school held in a church in Braxton [Bracktown]. Elijah and his brother, J. C. Marrs, are credited as co-founders of Simmons University. After four years, Elijah Marrs sold his interest in the development of the school in 1874. For more see Notable Black American Men, by J. C. Smith; and Black Higher Education in Kentucky, 1879-1930, by L. H. Williams.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Military & Veterans, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Simpsonville, Shelby County, Kentucky / Virginia / Bracktown [Braxton], Fayette County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Mason, Jesse Edward
Birth Year : 1919
Death Year : 2002
Born in Nicholasville, KY, Mason attended Kentucky State University and was a World War II veteran. He was the first African American licensed to sell used cars in Kentucky, operating his own business for 32 years. In 1965, Mason also organized the first American Little League Baseball Club, the Slugger Dodgers of Jessamine County. That same year, Mason was a leader in the integration of the Jessamine County public schools. In the 1990s, he led the movement to have the newly built middle school named Rosenwald-Dunbar, in honor of the African American high school that had closed following integration. For more see "February is Black History Month," The Jessamine Journal, 02/23/2006, pp. A1 & A8.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Automobile Dealerships, Baseball, Businesses, Civic Leaders, Military & Veterans, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Nicholasville, Jessamine County, Kentucky

McFarland, Richard L., Sr. "R.L."
Birth Year : 1917
Death Year : 2002
McFarland was born in Owensboro, KY. He was valedictorian of his 1935 graduating class at Western High School in Owensboro. McFarland was the first African American to be elected to the Owensboro City Commission, in 1985, and he served six terms. He was pastor of the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church for 46 years, and he and his wife owned McFarland Funeral Home. For more see "Middlesboro city councilwoman top vote-getter," in 1988 Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials, Seventh Report, by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, p. 28; J. Campbell, "Williams' bid opened door for black leaders, he earned a spot on fall ballot," Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 10/28/05, p. 19; and K. Lawrence, "McFarland, former mayor pro tem dies at 85 minister opened door for Black politicians," Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 09/14/2002, p. 1.
Subjects: Businesses, Kentucky African American Churches, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Religion & Church Work, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky

McRidley, Wendell H. [Cadiz Normal and Theological College]
Birth Year : 1842
Death Year : 1932
Rev. McRidley was editor and publisher of the Cadiz Informer, a Baptist weekly newspaper in Cadiz, KY. In 1894, he founded and was president of the Cadiz Normal and Theological College; the school had 269 students in 1895 and was still in operation as an elementary school in 1915 with at least 18 students. McRidley was also an alternate Kentucky Delegate to the Republication Convention in 1900 and 1916. He was treasurer of the Colored Masons' Mt. Olive Lodge #34 in Louisville, organized in 1880. McRidley was born in Tennessee, he was the husband of Anna M. Crump McRidley, born 1864 in KY. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1927; McRidley, at The Political Graveyard website; Chapter 4 of The History of Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Ohio, by C. H. Wesley; and the Photo on p. 301 in Sermons, Addresses and Reminiscences and Important Correspondence..., by E. C. Morris [available on the UNC University Library's Documenting the American South website]. For more about the Cadiz Normal and Theological College, and the School, see p.117 of the Sixty-third Annual Report of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, May 30th and 31st, 1895; and p. 278 of Negro Education, by T. J. Jones [both available online at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Migration North, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Fraternal Organizations, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Tennessee / Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky

Miller, Bennie S.
Start Year : 1917
End Year : 1994
Miller was the first African American elected to the Caldwell County Council, in 1977. A World War II veteran, he served as principal of Dotson High School. Miller was also a member of Braden Masonic Lodge #6. 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, pp. 22-23; and "Bennie S. Miller," The Evansville Courier, Metro section, p. A10.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Military & Veterans, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Fraternal Organizations, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Princeton, Caldwell County, Kentucky

Negro Traveling Library (Fulton County, KY)
Start Year : 1910
The first state-supported Negro traveling library in Kentucky was established in 1910 at a Colored school in Fulton County. By 1926 the traveling library was one of two that served African Americans; the other was in Delaware. For more see Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones.
Subjects: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Fulton County, Kentucky / Delaware

Nichols, Pleasant A.
Birth Year : 1863
Born near Leesburg, KY, Nichols was the son of William and Pliny Nichols. He taught for 14 years in Kentucky schools and was principal of Newport City Schools. In 1885 he became a preacher. Nichols contributed articles to many magazines and newspapers and owned and published The Negro Citizen, a weekly newspaper, in Paducah, KY. His editorials helped secure jobs for African Americans in the local hospital. He was married to Dovie Candaca Haddox, of Beattyville, KY, in 1887, and in 1916 became secretary at Wilberforce University. For more see Centennial Encyclopedia of the American Methodist Episcopal Church..., by Richard Allen and others (Philadelphia: 1816) [available online at the UNC Documenting the American South website].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Migration North, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership
Geographic Region: Leesburg, Harrison County, Kentucky / Newport, Campbell County, Kentucky / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Beattyville, Lee County, Kentucky

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, KY)
Start Year : 1923
End Year : 1967
The following information comes from Julian Jackson, Jr., Historian of the (old) Dunbar Alumni Association. The original school was a wooden structure named Russell High School. In 1921, William H. Fouse was instrumental in convincing the city of Lexington and the Education Board to build a new school for Negro children. Two years later the school was completed at 545 North Upper Street, with W. H. Fouse as the principal. The school was named after poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, whose mother Matilda and father Joshua were from Kentucky. The funding for the school was unusual because it came from taxes on both African Americans and whites. (In 1921, Lexington tax dollars for education were still somewhat segregated.) The school was the first African-American high school accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, one of eight such schools in the South. Fouse also helped create the first school bank and the first insurance program within Dunbar. He also helped develop regional literacy and art competitions, and the school had a championship debate team, sponsored by alumnus Cecil Posey. Dunbar students also participated in two interracial debate competitions: The Thrift Competition, supported by the Thrift Service Company of New York, which offered $75 in prize money; and the Bible Study Contest, sponsored by the YMCA and the YWCA. The Dunbar boys' team won $61 in prize money and took first place in the statewide interracial debate competition in which the girls' team placed second. Dunbar served the African American community for 44 years with three different principals: W. M. Fouse, 1923-1938; P. L. Guthrie, 1938-1966; and Clara Wendell Stitt, 1966-1967. Students who attended Dunbar received a well-rounded, quality education, the majority graduated on time, and many went on to college. Former students with additional information may contact Julian Jackson, Jr. at (859) 255-6328 or jrattler49@aol.com.
Subjects: Bankers, Banks, Finance, Financial Advisors, Insurance Companies, Insurance Sales, Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association), YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association)
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Pine Grove College (Jackson County, KY)
Start Year : 1882
Pine Grove College was a grade school founded by Berea College in Jackson County, KY, in 1882. The school was open to the white and the "slightly colored" children in the community who had been attending school together; their families had been attending the same church, Walnut Chapel, founded by Rev. John G. Fee. The school had been built in response to the Kentucky school law that mandated common schools be segregated. As a result, there were so few colored children that no school district was organized for them. Pine Grove College was an alternative to the state-run common school, and allowed for children of both races to attend school together. Reverend William Kendrick of Oberlin had purchased the land for the new school building, and there were a number of financial supporters. The school was managed by a board of trustees and run by Berea teachers, Maria Muzzy and Kate Gilbert. For more see E. H. Fairchild, "Pine Grove College, Kentucky," The American Missionary, 08/01/1882, vol. 36, issue 8, pp. 240-242 [available full-text online at Making of America by Cornell University Library].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Jackson County, Kentucky

Poston, Mollie Cox
Birth Year : 1873
Death Year : 1917
Poston was born in Oak Grove, KY, the daughter of Joseph and Hattie Peay Cox. She taught in the county and city schools in Kentucky and was one of the first appointed supervisors of the Negro industrial schools in the state (1913). Mollie Poston was a graduate of Roger Williams University in Nashville, TN, and M. & F. College and Hopkinsville Industrial School, both in Hopkinsville, KY. She was the mother of Robert, Ulysses and Ted Poston, and the wife of Ephraim Poston. For more see the Mollie Poston entry in Who's Who of the Colored Race, 1915 [available full view at Google Book Search]; and Dark Side of Hopkinsville, by T. Poston.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Mothers, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Oak Grove, Christian County, Kentucky / Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky

Reed, William B. "Chief"
Birth Year : 1912
Death Year : 1996
William B. Reed was born in Paris, KY. He was the last principal of the segregated Western School for Negroes. The Paris City Schools were fully integrated in 1966 and Reed would become the first and only African American Assistant Principal in the Paris City School system. He had been a star football and basketball player at Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University] and he coached the Western High basketball team to a national championship in 1953. Reed was also the school's football coach. He was the first African American elected to the Paris City Council in 1977. The William "Chief" Reed Park in Paris is named in his honor. For more see "William Reed, Retired Educator, Coach, Dies," Lexington Herald-Leader, Obituaries, 10/11/96; and "Mayor, 45 councilmen are black city officials," in 1978 Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials, Fifth Report, by the Commission on Human Rights, p. 22. Western High School's 1953 basketball championship team picture, along with that of the football team, is available at the Kentucky African American Griot website, courtesy of Lora Washington.
Subjects: Athletes, Athletics, Basketball, Education and Educators, Football, Parks, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky

Roach, Sanford T.
Birth Year : 1916
Born in Frankfort, KY, Roach played basketball and football as a student and was also high school class salutatorian. He achieved a record of 98-24 while coaching at Bate High School in Danville, KY, then coached the Lexington Dunbar Bearcats to a 512-142 record over a 22 year period. He later became the first African American principal at an integrated elementary school in Lexington, KY, and the first African American board member of the University of Kentucky Athletic Association. For more see Transition Game, by B. Reed; Sanford Roach Biography, a HistoryMaker website; and the Sanford Roach sound recording interview in the Blacks in Lexington Oral History Project, 1900-1989 at Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Subjects: Baseball, Basketball, Education and Educators, Football, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Ross, William H.
Born in Madisonville, KY, Ross taught school in Muhlenburg County, KY, before he quit teaching in 1887 to go into the grocery store business with his father in Madisonville. The business was known as John [R.] Ross & Son. Ross was also politically active: he stood at the voting polls to make sure every African American in Madisonville voted Republican, which resulted in his being physically attacked by Democrats. He was Assistant Elector of the Second Congressional District in the 1896 presidential campaign. For more see Biographical Sketches of Prominent Negro Men and Women of Kentucky, by W. D. Johnson.
Subjects: Businesses, Education and Educators, Voting Rights, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky / Muhlenburg County, Kentucky

Schools for the Colored Race
Start Year : 1895
The following schools are listed in Progress of a Race, as reported by the Kentucky Commissioner of Education: Christian Bible School in Louisville, 26 students; St. Augustin Ladies' Academy in Lebanon, 76 students; Chandler Ladies' Normal School in Lexington, 245 students; State Normal School in Frankfort, 105 students; Central High School, Louisville, 806 students; and Paris Colored High School, 336 students. For more see Progress of a Race, by J. W. Gibson and W. H. Crogman [available full-text via Google Book Search].
Subjects: Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Kentucky: Louisville, Jefferson County; Lebanon, Marion County; Lexington, Fayette County; Frankfort, Franklin County; Paris, Bourbon County

Shake Rag (Bowling Green, KY)
The Shake Rag District of Bowling Green, KY, was an African American community with families, schools, businesses, and churches. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The community was settled by former slaves, families and soldiers who had fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. A large portion of Bowling Green's domestic employees lived in Shake Rag. The Southern Queen Hotel and Covington-Moses home, located in Shake Rag at 140 State Street, is still the only African-owned hotel in Bowling Green. It was built in 1906 by James Covington, and family members still live in the home. Prior to school integration, State Street High School was where African American students in Bowling Green attended school. In 2008, the 5th Annual Shake Rag Heritage Festival was held by the New Era Planning Association, an organization that is working to revitalize the Shake Rag District. For more see ShakeRag: a pictorial history from 1946 to 1967, by D. Thompson and K. R. Singleton; and the following articles from the Daily News (Bowling Green): J. Dooley, "Visitors' bureau highlights Shakerag area," 10/08/2002, News section; A. Carmichael, "Shake Rag looks toward resurgence," 08/17/2003, News section; A. Harvey, "Shake Rag's festival returns - fifth annual event pays tribute to BG's historic black area," 05/15/2008, Feature section; and B. Speakman, "Celebrating Shake Rag," 05/17/2008, (bgdailynews.com).
Subjects: Communities, Freedom, Bed & Breakfast, Hotels, Inns, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Shake Rag (Bowling Green), Warren County, Kentucky

Slave School in Greensburg, KY
Start Year : 1816
In 1816, a notice was served to a slave named Joe, the property of W. Barret's heirs, ordering him to close the school he had started for slaves. If he refused, upon conviction he was to receive 15 lashes, and so would any slave who assembled to be educated at Joe's school. Information taken from the first record book of the Trustees For The Town of Greensburg, p. 79. For more see "To Stop A School," Green County Review, vol. II, issue 4 (1979), p. 59. Published by the Green County Historical Society, Box 276, Greensburg, Kentucky 42743.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Greensburg, Green County, Kentucky

Smith, Lucy H.
Birth Year : 1888
Death Year : 1955
Smith was born in Virginia, then came to Kentucky in 1910 as an assistant school principal. She pushed for the study of Black history in schools. She was the second woman president of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association and served as principal of the Booker T. Washington School in Lexington, KY. [Maude S. Brown was the first woman president of KNEA.] Smith compiled the Pictorial Directory of the Kentucky Association of Colored Women [full-text available at the Kentuckiana Digital Library]. For more see Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones; and Notable Black American Women, Book II.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Migration West, Women's Groups and Organizations, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Association of Colored Women's Clubs
Geographic Region: Virginia / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Smythe, Carrie F.
Birth Year : 1909
Death Year : 1990
Smythe was born in Louisville, KY. She was a teacher at the Samuel Coleridge Taylor School in Louisville for 18 years and principal at William H. Perry, Sr. Elementary School for 25 years. Smythe received a number of awards, including the Certificate of Honor (Quiz Kids) as best teacher in the U.S. For more see Profiles of Contemporary Black Achievers of Kentucky, by J. B. Horton.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Spencer, L. C. Bacon
Birth Year : 1902
Born in Paducah, KY, Spencer became the high school principal at Robersontown High and Ballard Co. High. Some time around 1932, shortly after she was hired as principal at Ballard Co., the school building burnt down. Spencer campaigned to have a new building erected, which was completed with contributions from the Slater Fund and the Parent-Teachers Association. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1933-37.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

St. Augustine Church (Louisville, KY)
Start Year : 1870
The first African American Catholics were slaves who arrived in Kentucky with the settlers from Maryland in 1785. In 1869, Father John L. Spalding was appointed to organize African American Catholics in Louisville, KY. Worship was held in the burial crypt in the basement of the Cathedral of the Assumption. By 1870, Father Spalding had raised enough money for the building of a new church, St. Augustine, on Broadway between Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets. St. Augustine is the oldest African American Catholic church in Louisville; when it opened in 1870, it was one of six in the United States. St. Augustine School opened in 1921; the name later changed to Catholic Colored High School and then changed again to Catholic High in the 1940s. The present St. Augustine Church, dedicated in 1912, is located at 1310 W. Broadway. For more see Centennial 1870-1970: St. Augustine Church, 1310 Broadway, Louisville; B. Pike, "Long-closed school not forgotten," The Courier-Journal, 02/28/99; and S. Edelen, "Looking Back; 135-year-old St. Augustine plans museum,"The Courier-Journal, 01/26/05.
Subjects: Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Maryland

Stoney Point (Warren County, KY)
Start Year : 1848
According to author J. W. Cooke, the African American community of Stoney Point actually began in 1848 when John White died; six of his slaves were freed, and they were allotted land, livestock and other necessities needed to establish their independent livelihoods. In 1866, some of previously freed families were still living in the area that had become known as Stoney Point, though the boundaries of the community had continuously changed as lots and adjoining lands were bought and sold. Other former slaves from the local area who were Civil War veterans were among the new landowners. The Stoney Point Missionary Baptist Church was established in 1866 and also served as a school before the new schoolhouse was built in 1908. The schoolhouse was used for a couple of decades before it was closed and the children of Stoney Point began attending school in Smiths Grove. For more see J. W. Cooke, "Stoney Point, 1866-1969," The Filson Club History Quarterly, vol. 50, issue 4 (1976), pp. 337-352.
Subjects: Communities, Freedom, Kentucky African American Churches, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Stoney Point and Smiths Grove, Warren County, Kentucky

Student Library Assistants of Kentucky (SLAK)
Start Year : 1952
End Year : 1968
The Student Library Assistants of Kentucky (SLAK) group was organized in 1952 by Central High School librarian C. Elizabeth Johnson and Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University] librarian James R. O'Rourke, Sr. The members were African American student library assistants from schools, colleges, and the public libraries in Kentucky. Annual conferences were often held in conjunction with the conference of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA). SLAK introduced students to library skills and librarianship as a profession; it was the only state-wide organization of its kind in the U.S. A booklet was written to help train other students, Student Library Assistants of Kentucky, it was distributed by request nationally and internationally. A copy of the booklet is available at CESKAA at Kentucky State University. SLAK had between 50-100 student members from throughout the state. The organization existed until the late 1960s. SLAK was a continuation of library education for African Americans that began in Kentucky in the early 1900s. For more see Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones, pp. 130-132.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Taylor, Bartlett
Birth Year : 1815
Taylor, a slave born in Henderson County, KY, was the son of a slave woman and her owner, Jonathan Taylor. Both of Bartlett Taylor's parents had come to Kentucky from Virginia. When he was a small child, the sheriff withdrew a portion of the slaves as payment toward Jonathan Taylor's financial debts. Included in the roundup were Bartlett Taylor's mother, her baby, and her four oldest sons. Jonathan Taylor left Henderson County and settled in LaGrange, KY. He had brought with him his remaining slaves, which included Bartlett and his sisters, all of whom were eventually sold as payment for more of Jonathan Taylor's debts. Bartlett hired himself out in Louisville, KY, with the intention of purchasing his freedom. He was sold, but he managed to get his emancipation papers with the promise of payment; Bartlett finalized the payment in 1840. He learned to read and write and also became a butcher. Bartlett owned a retail and wholesale business that packaged and shipped meat and traded and shipped livestock. He became a fairly wealthy man who owned several homes and lots on East Market Street in Louisville. He was also an African Methodist Episcopal [AME] Church minister who contributed financially toward the founding and building of churches. Bartlett Taylor was considered the church builder of the Kentucky AME Conference. In 1872, he built the largest AME Church in the state in Bowling Green, KY. In 1881, while a pastor in Shelbyville, KY, he negotiated with the city for a permit, then paid for a school building for African American children and the employment of teachers. Bartlett Taylor also served as treasurer of Wilberforce University beginning in 1864 and was a trustee for sixteen years. Bartlett Taylor and his wife, Marian [Mary] Taylor (b. 1826 in Indiana) are listed as living in Louisville in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. For more see the Bartlett Taylor entry in the following sources: Afro-American Encyclopedia; History of the United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten, by W. H. Gibson; and Men of Mark, by W. J. Simmons.
Subjects: Businesses, Education and Educators, Freedom, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Henderson County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky / Shelbyville, Shelby County, Kentucky

Taylor, Sallie Ann
Birth Year : 1840
Sallie Taylor is considered to have been the first African American teacher in Harrodsburg, KY. She was the slave of Major James Taylor; she learned to read and write from the Major's daughters, who were about Sallie's age. Sallie Taylor began teaching other slaves prior to their freedom, and afterwards she opened a school within the home she shared with her mother on Major Taylor's property. She later taught in a schoolhouse near Pioneer Memorial State Park. She is listed in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census as a school teacher in Mercer County. For more see "The First Negro School Teacher" within the article "Mercer County slaves who have contributed to community life," Olde Towne Ledger, no. 73 (August 2001).
Subjects: Education and Educators, Freedom, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky

Timberlake, Clarence L.
Birth Year : 1886
Death Year : 1979
Timberlake was born in Elizaville, KY. Known as the "Father of Vocational Education," he was the author of Household Ethics and Industrial Training in Colored Schools, and the pamphlet, Politics and the Schools. Timberlake was the owner of the weekly newspaper Frankfort Clarion. He established the first trade school in Kentucky and developed a school in Pembroke (Christian County) into the first Teacher Training School for Negroes in Kentucky. He taught and was principal at other Kentucky schools, and from 1948 until his retirement in1957, was president of West Kentucky Vocational School [now West Kentucky Community and Technical College] in Paducah. Timberlake was a 1904 graduate of Kentucky Normal Industrial Institute for Colored Persons [now Kentucky State University]. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan; Kentucky's Black Heritage, by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; J. A. Hardin, "Green Pickney Russell of Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute for Colored Persons," Journal of Black Studies, vol. 25, issue 5 (May 1995), p. 614; and The Timberlake Story, by O. A. Dawson. The Clarence L. Timberlake Papers are located at Murray State University's Special Collections.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Elizaville, Fleming County, Kentucky / Pembroke, Christian County, Kentucky / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Twyman, Luska J.
Birth Year : 1913
Death Year : 1988
Twyman was born in Hiseville, KY, son of Eliza Twyman. In 1968 he became the first African American mayor of Glasgow and, for 17 years, the only African American mayor in Kentucky. He was also the first African American to serve on the U.S. Commission of Human Rights. Twyman was a 1939 graduate of Kentucky State University and a World War II veteran. He was a former principal of the Ralph Bunch School for African Americans in Glasgow. The Luska J. Twyman Memorial Park in Glasgow is named in his honor. There is also a Kentucky Historical Marker [#2019] honoring Twyman in the Glasgow Public Square. For more see "Kentucky City Council Names Black Mayor," Jet, vol. 35, issue 1 (Oct. 10, 1968), p. 4; Luska Twyman in the Kentucky Files - Biography at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives; and S. Brown, "Luska Twyman, Kentucky's first Black mayor, dies," Lexington Herald-Leader, 01/29/1988, City/State section, p. C1.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Military & Veterans, Parks, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Mayors, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Hiseville and Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky

Walters, Effie
Walters (very likely Effie Waller) was the first African American teacher in Pike County, KY, certified by Superintendent Perry A. Cline in the early 1890s. The first school house was a two-room frame structure built in 1929. For more see W. R. Cummings, "History of the Perry A. Cline High School," Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal, vol. 9, no. 1-2 (Oct.-Nov. 1938), p. 49 [available online in the Kentuckiana Digital Library Electronic Text Collection].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Pike County, Kentucky

Wayman Institute
Start Year : 1890
End Year : 1919
Founded in Harrodsburg, KY, by the Kentucky Conference of the A. M. E. Church, Wayman Institute was named after Bishop A. W. Wayman. It was an elementary school with three buildings located on 20 acres of land. In 1915, C. H. Boone was president. The school had graduated 29 students by 1916 but closed in 1919. For more see Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, p. 370 [full-text at the UNC Documenting the American South website]; and "Wayman Institute," pp. 278-279 in vol. 2 of Negro Education: a study of the private and higher schools for Colored people in the United States, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin 1916, No. 39 [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky

Wheelwright, KY - Colored Section
Start Year : 1918
The Wheelwright Company Housing Project included housing for African Americans, known as the Colored Section. African Americans had first come to the town to work on the railroad at the close of World War I. The railroad was being constructed by the B&O (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad), one of the oldest railroads in the United States, and was later purchased by the C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio Railway). When the railroad was completed, the African American men were kept on to work in the mines. Some of the men lived at the boarding house owned by Hilton Garrett (1895-1991), an African American from Birmingham, AL. Garrett had come to Kentucky on his own, and after saving enough money, he was able to bring his wife, brother, and another man to Wheelwright. The town of Wheelwright had been established in 1916 by the Elkhorn Coal Company, and was named after the president of Consolidated Coal Company, Jere H. Wheelwright. The miners were of all races and nationalities, and African Americans were recruited from the North and the South. In the mines, the men were integrated, but they were segregated outside the mines. A black deputy was hired for the Colored section of town known as Hall Hollow. Wheelwright was not listed as a separate town in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census. In the 1930 census, of the 226 African Americans listed as living in Wheelwright, more than 100 were men from Alabama. Wives and children were also listed in the census. Segregation was the norm between African Americans and Whites. Among the African Americans who lived in the Colored section, there was distinction and confrontations between those from the North and those form the South. There was not a school building for African American children, so grade school was held in the Colored church. A high school, Dunbar High, was built in the 1930s. Mrs. Mannie N. Wilson was a teacher at the high school as early as 1935, she is listed in the Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal. When Inland Steel owned the city of Wheelwright, the homes were upgraded, the streets were paved, and recreation facilities were built. All was segregated. Library services were provided to African Americans around 1943 via the library for whites. Photographs, such as a 1946 photo, show the street in the Colored section of the housing project. There is also a photo of the shift change at a mine. These and other photo images are available in the Kentuckiana Digital Library - Images. For more see the Wheelwright Collection and other collections at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections; see Black Coal Miners in America by R. L. Lewis; the Kentucky Coal Education website Wheelwright Kentucky, Floyd County; and Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky by R. F. Jones. Also contact the Floyd County Public Library and the Floyd County Historical and Genealogical Society for additional information.
Subjects: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Migration North, Miners, Mines, & Steel Mills, Migration South, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Railroad, Railway, Trains
Geographic Region: Birmingham, Alabama / Wheelwright, Floyd County, Kentucky

Williams, Kermit
Birth Year : 1930
Death Year : 2006
Kermit Williams attended Mayo-Underwood, an all African American school in Frankfort, Kentucky. School integration in 1956 allowed Williams and a few other African American students to transfer to Frankfort High School. In Williams' sophomore year he became the first African American to play football at the school, playing halfback as well as defensive back. In 2006, Williams was inducted into the school's Football Hall of Fame. One of the obstacles Williams faced as a football player was a stipulation in the will of John R. Sower, who had donated the land where the football field was located: Sower's will stipulated that the athletic field was to be used by whites only, but the coach allowed Williams to play anyway. Before one game, crosses were burned near the football field, yet Williams went onto the field and scored two touchdowns, giving Frankfort High the win. The night was covered by Life magazine. Williams continued to play football throughout his high school years and was also outstanding in basketball and track. For more see "The Enlightened One," The State Journal, 08/23/2006; and J. Sergent, "Coming of Age: how a product of the segregated South became an advocate for change," Vanderbilt Magazine, Fall 2002, pp. 68-69 & 86.
Subjects: Football, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Williamsburg (KY) Colored Academy
Start Year : 1883
End Year : 1955
In 1883, the American Missionary Association (AMA) opened a church and a school in Williamsburg, KY, that was attended by both Negroes and whites. The effort was to be a copy of what had taken place at Berea. When some of the white children left the school in protest of the mixed attendance, AMA refused to change the policy, and the white children returned. The school would eventually be for whites only. The Williamsburg Colored Academy was opened for Negro children at some point in the 1880s. It began as a one room cabin for grades 1-8. Though it was claimed that there were few Negro children in the area, the school continued to grow, and by 1889 it was written that there were 307 students, Report of the Commissioner of Education [available at Google Book Search]. Rev. Henry Bond was the sole teacher of the school during the early 1900s. He is listed as a member of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association in the association's 1923 journal. Other teachers included Jane Arthur (mother of Henry Bond), Miss Mae Jones, Miss Ruth Bond (daughter of Henry Bond), Miss Mamie Smith, Viola Shields, Thelma Smoot Lewis, Benjamin O. Burrus Sr., and Professor Holliday S. Skillman. The Williamsburg Colored School was closed around 1955 when the school system was integrated. The school building has since been converted into a residence, it is located on Hickory Street [renamed Roy Chappell Street]. This entry was suggested by Carrie Stewart, a 1942 graduate of the Williamsburg Colored School. For more see the Annual Report of the American Missionary Association, 1883, pp.23,51-52; American Missionary, vol.37, issue 12 (Dec. 1883), pp.376-382; and The Bonds by R. M. Williams.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Williamsburg, Whitley County, Kentucky

Wood, Francis M.
Birth Year : 1878
Death Year : 1943
Wood was born in Barren County, KY. He taught in various African American schools in Kentucky and served as principal of Western High School in Paris, KY for 12 years [lived at 401 Lillleston Avenue]. He was also president of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA) for 10 years and of the Kentucky Negro Industrial Institute (now Kentucky State University) from May 1923 to June 1924. In 1925 he became supervisor and later director of the Baltimore Colored Schools. In 1934 he was elected president of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools and established a permanent office in Washington, D.C. Francis M. Wood Alternative High School (Baltimore) is named in his honor. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1933-37; Office of the President Records in the Kentuckiana Digital Library; and "Dr. Francis M. Wood, educator, 65, dead," The New York Times, 05/09/1943, p. 40.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Migration North, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Barren County, Kentucky / Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Baltimore, Maryland

Yowell, Samuel [Petersburg Colored School]
Birth Year : 1791
Death Year : 1872
Samuel Yowell [also spelled Youell] was a property owner in Petersburg, KY. He was born in Virginia and is listed in the 1860 U.S. Federal Census as a freeman who was a weaver. Included in his household was Jane Yowell, born in 1810 in Virginia. In the 1870 Census, Samuel Yowell's occupation is listed as a fisherman, and there are two children living with him and Jane: 12 year old Mat Yowell and 5 year old Amanda Yowell, both born in Kentucky. Samuel Yowell died in Petersburg in 1872 without any heirs, so his property, lots 172 and 173, became the property of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In 1882, the Kentucky Legislature passed "An Act for the benefit of the colored schools in Petersburg, Kentucky," granting that lots 172 and 173 be used for the schools. Petersburg was established in 1800 and is an unincorporated community in Boone County, KY. In 1880, the population was 1,377 with 98 African Americans. For more see "Laws of Kentucky," Acts Passed at the...Session of the General Assembly for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Chapter 1019, pp. 464-465 [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Migration East, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Virginia / Petersburg, Boone County, Kentucky