Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

WACs Beaten in Elizabethtown, KY
Start Year : 1945
In 1945, three African American members of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) were beaten by police officers for sitting in the waiting room for whites at the Greyhound bus station in Elizabethtown, KY. One of the women, PFC Helen Smith of Syracuse, NY, was taken to jail and released a few hours later, bleeding from her injuries. The women continued on their return to Fort Knox. When they arrived on base, they were summonsed by the commanding office, then lectured about obeying the supposed segregation laws of Kentucky pertaining to public buildings and transportation. The women were court-martialed. The charges were later reduced to disorderly conduct. Helen Smith spent a week in the hospital recovering from her injuries. For more see "Wac's Beating Case" in The Negro Handbook, 1946-1947 edited by F. Murray; Creating GI Jane by L. D. Meyer; and To Serve My County, To Serve My Race by B. L. Moore.
Subjects: Military & Veterans, Women's Groups and Organizations, Women's Army Corps (WACs), Court Cases
Geographic Region: Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky / Fort Knox, Bullitt, Hardin, & Meade Counties, Kentucky / Syracuse, New York

Wade, Alice
Birth Year : 1939
Death Year : 2008
Wade, born in Jeffersonville, IN, is remembered as one of the most dependable and committed voices in the Louisville, KY, civil rights movement. When she was not out front, she was many times working behind the scenes. Wade and Ann Braden were friends and worked side by side; they met in the 1980s. Wade was a volunteer, coordinator, and organizer for The Braden Center and the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, both in Louisville, KY. She also worked beside activist Rev. Louis Coleman; on July 4, 1999, she and Colman were two of the 12 people arrested for trespassing at the Valhalla Golf Club, where they were protesting against the absence of minority and women owned vendors at the PGA tournament. Wade led marches and protest against racism and police brutality. For more see P. Burba, "Civil-rights activist Alice Wade dies at 69," Courier-Journal, 05/22/2008, News section, p. 1B.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Migration South
Geographic Region: Jeffersonville, Indiana / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Walden, John
Walden, a barber in Glasgow, KY, was one of the first African Americans to seek public office in that town. In 1905, he attended the Republican convention in hopes of being nominated for the office of Barren County Court Clerk, but he was not nominated. For more see the John Walden article in The Adair County News, 10/04/1905, p. 4.
Subjects: Barbers, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky

Walker, Frank X.
Birth Year : 1961
Walker was born in Danville, KY. He is a visual artist, poet, author, educator, and motivator. Walker is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, editor of Eclipsing a Nappy New Millennium, and author of Affrilachia and Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York. He has given over 250 poetry readings, including readings at the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland, and in Santiago, Cuba. He has received many awards, appeared on television and been heard on the radio; he was the first writer from Kentucky to be featured on NPR's This I Believe. Walker was director of the Kentucky Governor's School for the ARTS, 1998-2004, leaving that position to become an English professor at Eastern Kentucky University. He has also been a visiting professor at Transylvania University. His teaching experience includes writing workshops at various locations and writing classes at the university level, including the University of Louisville and the University of Minnesota. Walker is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Spalding University, and he received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the University of Kentucky and an honorary Doctor of Letters from Transylvania University. For more see Frank X. Walker Biographical Information; Affrilachian Poets; and The Columbia Granger's Index to African-American Poetry, by N. Frankovich and D. Larzelere .
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Authors, Education and Educators, Poets
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky

Walker, Ray
Ray Walker was born near Springfield, KY, the son of trainer Joseph Walker. Ray Walker opened his own stable at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. He was the first African American to develop show horses in the Philadelphia area. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan.
Subjects: Jockeys, Horsemen & The Derby
Geographic Region: Springfield, Washington County, Kentucky / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Walker, Solly
Walker was a sophomore guard who played for St. John's University, when, on December 17, 1951, he became the first African American to play in an integrated college basketball game in the state of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky (UK) defeated St. John's. Walker began the game by hitting six of his first seven shots and had only played a few minutes when he received a blow that put him on the sidelines for the next three weeks. In a subsequent tournament game, St. John's defeated UK in the NCAA East Regional. St. John's continued to win until they were defeated in the final game by the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Solly Walker was the first African American to play basketball at St. John's University, and upon graduation was drafted by the New York Knicks. Walker declined the NBA offer and became one of the first African American high school principals in New York. For more see Raw Recruits, by A. Wolff; St. Johns [sic] at Kentucky; and Solly Walker and the Integration of Basketball at the Education and Community with Stanley Kinard. A picture of Walker playing in the December game against Kentucky is on p.107 of the 1957 Kentuckian Yearbook [available online].
Subjects: Basketball
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / New York City, New York

Walker, William, Sr. "Billy"
Birth Year : 1860
Death Year : 1933
Walker, born in Versailles, KY, rode Baden-Baden to victory at the Kentucky Derby in 1877. Walker was born a slave on the Bosque Bonita Farm in Woodford County, KY. He won his first race in Lexington, KY, at the age of 11. He became one of the leading riders at Churchill Downs between 1875-1878. After retiring in 1896, he became a trainer and was adviser to horse breeder John Madden. Walker is buried in the Louisville Cemetery, his grave was unmarked until Churchill Downs placed a headstone at his grave site in 1996. For more see Roadside History, by M. P. Hay, D. Wells and T. H. Appleton.
Subjects: Jockeys, Horsemen & The Derby
Geographic Region: Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Wallace, Felix "Dick"
Birth Year : 1884
Born in Owensboro, KY, the son of Sarah J. Wallace. Felix was considered one of the greatest all-time shortstops and the best second baseman. He also played third base. Wallace's baseball career began in 1906 and ended in 1921; he first played with the Paducah Nationals and went on to play for several different teams, spending the last two years with the Hilldale Daisies. A consistent hitter, he batted .348 in 1914. His greatest asset was his fielding. Wallace worked as a tobacco steamer when not playing baseball during the early part of his career. For more see The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, by J. A. Riley.
Subjects: Baseball
Geographic Region: Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Walls, Murray B. Atkins
Birth Year : 1900
Death Year : 1993
Murray Walls was a schoolteacher from Indiana who added the first black history program to the curriculum while teaching high school in Indianapolis. She was married to Dr. John Harrison Walls of Louisville, KY. One day Murray Walls was preparing research for a speaking engagement in Louisville when she was denied entrance to the nearest library; she was directed to the Colored Libraries, the Western and Eastern Branches. After this incident, she began to campaign for the integration of the Louisville Free Public Library System. The libraries began to integrate in 1948. Murray B. Atkins Walls was born in Indiana, the daughter of Kentucky natives Calvin and Dora Atkins. For more see the Murray B. Atkins Walls Papers in the Kentuckiana Digital Library; and In Black and White, 3rd ed., edited by M. M. Spradling. The Dr. John and Murray B. Atkins Walls oral history recordings and transcript are available online at the University of Louisville Libraries Digital Archives.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Migration South
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Indianapolis, Indiana

Walters, Arthur M.
Birth Year : 1918
Death Year : 1991
Walters was born in Magnolia, KY. He was a social services administrator most recognized for his role as executive director of the Louisville Urban League from 1970-1987. He led the League's involvement in the implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Walters already had a B.A. when he earned a M.Ed. at the University of Louisville. He belonged to a number of organizations and received many awards. Walters also received a number of military recognitions: the Medal of Merit, the Bronze Star for heroism, the Soldier's Medal for Bravery, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze stars, World War II Victory Medal, and many more. The Louisville Urban League's Arthur M. Walters Award is named in his honor. For more see Arthur M. Walters at the Louisville Urban League website; and Who's Who Among African Americans, 1975-2006.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Military & Veterans, Urban Leagues
Geographic Region: Magnolia, Hardin County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Walters, Katie Knox
Birth Year : 1859
Death Year : 1896
Walters was a Christian advocate on behalf of her husband's work in the AMEZ Church, and she was an activist in the Colored YWCA in New York City where she chaired the library committee. She had served as vice president of the Women's Home and Missionary Society in California. According to authors Franklin and Savage, Walters raised the largest amount of money in the New Jersey AME Zion Annual Conference in 1898. [Katie Walters' death year is given as 1896 in Bishop Walters' biography.] Katie Knox Walters was the first wife of Bishop Alexander Walters. They met in Indianapolis, IN, and married in 1877, and would become the parents of five children. The family was living in Jersey City, NY, when Katie Walters died. She was born in Louisville, KY, the daughter of Louis and Kittie Knox. For more see African American Women and Christian Activism by J. Wisenfeld; My Life and Work by A. Walters [available full text at Documenting the American South]; and p.98 of Cultural Capital and Black Education by V. P. Franklin and C. J. Savage.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Migration North, Religion & Church Work, Women's Groups and Organizations, YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association)
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Jersey City, New York

Ward, William H.
Birth Year : 1834
Death Year : 1918
Ward was the first African American in Louisville, KY, and Jefferson County to become a member of the Republican Committee. He was nominated to run for jailer in 1870 and ran for marshal of the city court in 1878; he was defeated both times. In 1890, Ward was the traveling companion of Louisville Mayor Charles D. Jacob on a trip around the world. William and his wife Sarah A. Ward were both from Virginia, and it was thought they had come to Louisville in 1855 as free persons. According to the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, the couple was living on Ninth Street with their daughter, Mrs. Susan A. Morris, her husband Alexander, and two boarders. William Ward was still employed as a janitor at Louisville City Hall, a job he would have for more than three decades. For more see "William H. Ward" in The Encyclopedia of Louisville, ed. by J. E. Kleber; and Weeden's History of the Colored People of Louisville by H. C. Weeden.
Subjects: Migration West, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Virginia / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Ware, William, Sr.
Birth Year : 1872
Ware was born in Lexington, KY. He was a fraternal worker at Main St. Baptist Church in Lexington and Antioch Baptist Church in Cincinnati. He founded the Welfare Association for Colored People of Cincinnati in 1917, serving as president 1917-1920. He was also a long-time president of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) of Cincinnati, beginning in 1920. He was the husband of Lucie Ware, born 1878 in KY, and in 1920 the family of 11 lived on Barr Street in Cincinnati, according to the U. S. Federal Census. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1928-29.
Subjects: Welfare (Social Services) Organizations, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Social Workers, Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio

Waring, Mary R. Fitzbutler
Birth Year : 1870
Death Year : 1958
Waring was said to have been born in Louisville, KY, but according to the 1880 U.S. Census, she was born in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of doctors Henry and Sarah Fitzbutler. The family moved to the U.S. in 1875, and was living in Louisville in 1880. Waring would become a teacher at the Western Colored School, according to the 1890 Louisville City Directory. She was a 1894 graduate of the Louisville National Medical College. She married Frank B. Waring, her second husband, in 1901. According to the 1930 U.S. Census, the Warings were living in Chicago, where Mary was a physician, having graduted from the Chicago Medical College, and she was also a school teacher. She was the 1915 commissioner of the Chicago Exposition, showing progress of Colored People in Chicago, and she was the appointed representative of the National Council of Women of America. She served as president of the National Association of Colored Women, and she attended the International Council of Women in Norway in 1920. For more seeWho's Who in Colored America, 1928-29; Blacks in Science and Medicine by V. O. Sammons; and Notable Black American Women,Book II by J. C. Smith.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Colored Fairs & Black Expos, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration North, Migration South, Women's Groups and Organizations, Association of Colored Women's Clubs
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada / Chicago, Illinois / Norway

Warner, Andrew Jackson
Birth Year : 1850
Death Year : 1920
Born in Washington, KY, Andrew Warner was the son of Rueben Warner, a freeman, and Emily Warner, a slave. Andrew was also a slave, he escaped to Ripley, OH, at the age of 13 and enlisted in the Union Army as a drummer boy. He received an honorable discharge and later became a student at Wilberforce College [now Wilberforce University]. Warner had also studied law and was the leading attorney in the Bishop Hillery case [within the Kentucky Conference] in Hendersonville, KY. Warner became Bishop of the A. M. E. Zion Church in Philadelphia, PA, in 1908. He was a candidate for the U.S. Congress from the 1st District of Alabama in 1890, a delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention in St. Louis, MO, in 1896, and a nominee for Governor of Alabama in 1898. The Warner Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Wilmington, NC, was named in his honor. For more see Who's Who of the Colored Race, 1915; Rev. Andrew J. Warner, D.D. in One Hundred Years of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church... by J. W. Hood [full text available at UNC Documenting the American South website]; and Andrew Jackson Warner in History of the American Negro, North Carolina Edition (v.4) by A. B. Caldwell [available full view at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Freedom, Lawyers, Military & Veterans, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Washington, Mason County, Kentucky / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Alabama / St. Louis, Missouri

Warren, McKinney
Birth Year : 1892
McKinney, at the age of nine, was the youngest person to ever be sent to the State Penitentiary in Frankfort. He had been sentenced to five years for grand larceny. Kentucky Governor Beckham overruled the prison sentence and had McKinney removed from prison and sent to the State Reform school near Lexington. For more see McKinney Warren article in The Adair County News, 10/23/1901, p. 4.
Subjects: Corrections and Police
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Washington, Bobby
Birth Year : 1947
Washington was born in in Lexington, KY. A 5'11" guard, he attended old Dunbar High School in Lexington, where he was an all-state basketball player. He played his college ball at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) from 1966-1969, one of the first three African American players at the school; the other two were Garfield Smith and Toke Coleman. Washington scored a total of 1,221 points during his college career. He was drafted in 1970 by the Kentucky Colonels, an American Basketball Association (ABA) team, and was then picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers, for whom he played for two years. Washington played in 118 games and scored 700 points during the three years of his professional career. He returned to Kentucky and coached the Bryan Station High School basketball team for 17 years; his teams won more than 300 games and six district titles. For more see Bobby Washington at databaseBasketball.com; and M. Fields, "Dunbar days still the best for Washington - '63 finals special to KHSAA Hall inductee," Lexington Herald-Leader, 03/15/2005.
Subjects: Basketball
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Cleveland, Ohio

Washington, Edward
Born in Paducah, KY, Washington was one of the first African Americans to receive a Doctorate of Education from a major university when he was awarded the degree by New York University in 1935; he also qualified for a Doctorate of Philosophy in Physical Education. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan.
Subjects: Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Greenwich Village, New York City, New York

Washington, Ford Lee "Buck"
Birth Year : 1903
Death Year : 1955
Born in Louisville, KY, Washington was a pianist, vaudeville dancer, and occasional singer. As a teen, he teamed with dancer John W. Sublett (both were orphans). Known as "Buck and Bubbles," they broke the color barrier by performing in the white vaudeville circuit. In 1922 the team performed at the New York Palace Theatre, the top venue for vaudeville performers. Washington performed in movies and recorded with Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Coleman Hawkins; he also recorded duets with Sublett. He performed for a short time with Jonah Jones. For more see Buck Washington, dancer extraordinaire! and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed., ed. by B. Kernfeld.
Subjects: Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Orphans and Orphanages in Kentucky, Minstrel and Vaudeville Performers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / New York

Washington, Isam McDaniel "Mack"
Birth Year : 1875
Death Year : 1957
Isam [or Isom] M. Washington was born in Lovelaceville, KY. He was the youngest son of Rebecca Neal Washington and Isam Washington. Isam M. Washington married Arbella Weeks from Massac County, Illinois; they were the parents of Roy L. Washington and the grandparents of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. Isam M. Washington was a minister at several churches in Illinois; he helped raise funds for the building of the St. James Church in Lawrenceville and the St. Peter A.M.E. Church in Decatur. For more see The Ancestry of Mayor Harold Washington (1922-1987) by C. G. Brasfield.
Subjects: Fathers, Migration North, Religion & Church Work, Grandparents
Geographic Region: Lovelaceville, Ballard County, Kentucky / Massac County, Illinois / Lawrenceville and Decatur, Illinois

Washington, Roy L., Sr.
Birth Year : 1897
Death Year : 1953
Roy L. Washington was born in Lovelaceville, KY, the son of Isam M. Washington and Arbella Weeks. When he was a teenager, Roy Washington left Kentucky for southern Illinois, where he married Bertha Spence Jones (1898-1980). The couple later moved to Chicago, two of the more than 50,000 African Americans who had left the South by 1920 to settle in Chicago. The couple had four children, 2-6 years old, when Bertha separated from Roy. He retained custody of the children while earning $15 per week at the stockyard and attending Chicago-Kent College of Law at nights. Bertha lived nearby and assisted with the raising of the children. She would later marry Ernest Price, and they would have six children. Roy Washington received his law license in 1923, and he too remarried. Washington developed his law practice and was also a minister who preached at various churches in Chicago. He would become the Democratic Party precinct captain in the Third Ward and was also a police court prosecutor. When Roy Washington died in 1953, his youngest child, Harold Washington (1922-1987), took over his precinct position. Harold Washington also served as the Democratic representative to the Illinois State Legislature, 1965-1976; state senator, 1976-1980; and house member, beginning in 1980. He was the first African American mayor of Chicago, 1983-1987 (he died during his second term). Harold Washington was the brother of Ramon Price (1930-2000), Chief Curator of Du Sable Museum of African American History in Chicago. For more see J. Camper, et al., "The road to city hall, a half-century of black political evolution set the stage for the Harold Washington revolution," Chicago Tribune, 11/16/1986; Pinderhughes, D., "Washington, Harold." Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, pp. 2267-2268; and The Ancestry of Mayor Harold Washington (1922-1987) by C.G. Brasfield.
Subjects: Fathers, Lawyers, Migration North, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Religion & Church Work, Legislators (Outside Kentucky), Mayors
Geographic Region: Lovelaceville, Ballard County, Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Watkins, Alma Taylor
Birth Year : 1899
Death Year : 1968
Watkins was born in Louisville, KY. A professor of romance languages at Tennessee A & I State College (now Tennessee State University) beginning in 1943, she was recognized for her language skills. Watkins' doctoral dissertation was entitled Eroticism in the Novels of Felipe Trigo (1949); she also published several articles. She studied at the University of Toulouse in France in 1939, the Bibloteca Menendez y Pelayo in Spain, and the National University of Mexico. She was the wife of Dr. Mark Hanna Watkins (1903-1976), an anthropologist, they divorced in 1945. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1950; and Who's Who of American Women 1st, 5th, & 6th editions.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Migration South
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Nashville, Tennessee / Toulouse, France / Santander, Spain / Mexico City, Mexico

Watkins, Luevenia
Birth Year : 1934
Death Year : 1998
Watkins was born in Hopkinsville, KY. She was the first African American woman to serve on the Hopkinsville, KY, City Council, beginning in 1987. She has received a great many awards, including the NAACP Magistrate Daniel Massie Award for NAACP Involvement Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. Her community service activity is quite extensive: she has been the Democratic chairperson for Ward 9, a volunteer for the S.S.D.A. Commodities Program, and a member of the Voter Registration Committee. For more see African American Biographies: profiles of 558 current men and women, by W. L. Hawkins; and "Hopkinsville has 3 blacks on city council," in the 1988 Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials, Seventh Report by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, p. 17.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Geographic Region: Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky

Watson, Minnie and William
Minnie Watson was a mortician, the top student in the 1892 graduating class of the Clark School for Embalming, one of three African Americans in the class and the only woman. She was the wife and assistant to William Watson, a funeral home owner at 312 North Ninth Street in Louisville, KY. Their business was one of the three leading undertaking operations for African Americans in Louisville; the other two were owned by the Fox Brothers and J. H. Taylor. For more see "Mrs. Minnie Watson," in Noted Negro Women: their triumphs and activities, by M. A. Majors; and History of the United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten, by W. H. Gibson, Sr.
Subjects: Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Watts, Richard, Sr.
Birth Year : 1927
Death Year : 2000
Watts was born in Maben, AL, and moved to Wheelwright, KY, in the 1940s to play baseball on a mine team and to get a job. Prior to coming to Kentucky, Watts had served in the Army and played baseball with the Birmingham Black Barons. In Kentucky, he became a state mine inspector and the Martin District Supervisor of the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals, retiring in 1995. Watts was also a cook known for his meals at picnics and dinners. For more see "Ex-mine inspector, ballplayer dies," Lexington Herald-Leader, 08/25/2000, Obituaries section, p. B2.
Subjects: Baseball, Bakers, Cooks and Chefs, Migration North, Military & Veterans, Miners, Mines, & Steel Mills
Geographic Region: Maben and Birmingham, Alabama / Wheelwright, Floyd 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

Weaver, Sylvester
Birth Year : 1896
Death Year : 1960
Weaver was born in Louisville, KY, the son of Wallis and Mattie Embers Weaver. In 1900 the family lived on Logan Street, according to the U.S. Federal Census. Sylvester Weaver was the first country bluesman to be recorded (Guitar Blues) and was a talent scout for the Okeh blues label. Weaver brought Walter Beasley and Helen Humes to New York. His song, Guitar Rag, was taken and turned into a classic without credit to Weaver. For more see All Music Guide to the Blues. The experts' guide to the best blues recordings, 2nd ed., edited by M. Erlewine, et al; and The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 3rd ed., edited by Colin Larkin.
Subjects: Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / New York

Webster, Benjamin Sweeney, Sr.
Birth Year : 1911
Death Year : 1987
Webster was a Kentucky native, the son of James and Marie L. Webster. A mortician and salesman, Benjamin was the father of poet Toi Derricotte (b. 1941 in Detroit, MI) and the husband of Antonia Baquet (Webster) Cyrus until they divorced in 1953. The Webster Family owned the Webster Funeral Home in Detroit, MI. For more see M. Salij, "The poetry of black and white Detroit native Toi Derricotte reaches inside herself to write about race," 04/27/2001, and "Antonia Cyrus: family historian, animal lover," 10/20/2001, both articles in the Detroit Free Press. For more on Derricotte see the Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature.
Subjects: Fathers, Migration North, Poets, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Detroit, Michigan

Wells, Billy T.
Birth Year : 1939
Death Year : 1986
Wells was the first African American rodeo star from Murray, KY. He is buried in the African American section of the Murray City Cemetery. For more see Find a Grave, Billy T. Wells.
Subjects: Jockeys, Horsemen & The Derby
Geographic Region: Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky

Wells, Johnny
Birth Year : 1905
Death Year : 1965
Wells, born in Kentucky, was a drummer, singer, comedian, and dancer at the Apex Club in Chicago. Later, during the 1920s and 1930s, he played with Jimmie Noone's Band in Chicago, replacing drummer Olie Powers. Wells played on several of the band's recordings. He also played with a number of other bands before leaving Chicago for New York, where he performed and recorded with Joe Sullivan and his Cafe Society Orchestra. For more see Johnny Wells in Oxford Music Online (database); Jimmie Noone Band performance, on YouTube; and Joe Sullivan and his Cafe Society Orchestra, a redhotjazz.com website.
Subjects: Migration North, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois / New York

Wendell, Thomas T.
Birth Year : 1877
Death Year : 1953
Dr. Thomas T. Wendell was born in Nashville, TN, the son of Alfred and Clare Wendell. He was a physician in Lexington, KY, for half a century, and was a full time doctor for Negro patients at Eastern State Hospital until his retirement in the spring of 1952. When Eastern State completed the new hospital building for Negro patients in 1953, it was named the Wendell Building in honor of Dr. Thomas Wendell. The facility was to be a fully functioning hospital with the capacity to house 350 patients and housing for 30 live-in employees. In addition to being a doctor, Wendell was also a pharmacist, he had received both degrees from Meharry Medical College. He also led the effort to build the old Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in 1922. For more see Kentucky Encyclopedia 2000; and "Negro building at Eastern to be named for Dr. Wendell," Lexington Leader, 03/05/1953, p.24.
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care, Migration North, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership, Pharmacists, Pharmacies
Geographic Region: Nashville, Tennessee / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

West Chestnut Street Baptist Church (Louisville, KY)
Start Year : 1886
The West Chestnut Street Baptist Church was organized in 1886 in Louisville, KY, with Reverend William Johnson as pastor. Reverend Johnson was pastor for more than 30 years and he was respected as a leader. The church was known to have a number of professional men within the congregation such as doctors and lawyers who supported church efforts. The church also became known for its fine Black gospel music, the West Chestnut Street Baptist Church Choir performed in the 1986 film Aida. From the 1950s-1970s, the church served as a training center for civil rights protests. In the 1980s, when Reverend C. Mackey Daniels was leading the church, there was a partnership developed with the Highland Presbyterian Church, which was predominately white and led by Reverend James O. Chatham. The two church congregations worked together to speak out for racial unity in Louisville. For more see a picture and brief history of the church in Negro Baptist History, U.S.A., 1790-1930 by L. G. Jordan; and "A Tale of Two Congregations" in Sundays Down South by J. O. Chatham.
Subjects: Kentucky African American Churches
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Western Colored Branch Library
Start Year : 1905
The library originally opened on September 23, 1905, in a home in Louisville, KY; the books were shelved in three rooms. In 1908, permission was sought and funds were received from the Carnegie Corporation, and a permanent library was built at the corner of Tenth and Chestnut Streets. It was the first Carnegie Colored Library in the United States; it still operates at the same location. From 1912-1931, the library housed the first library training program for African Americans in the United States. This was also the period when Louisville hired more African American librarians than any other city in the U.S. For more see A Separate Flame; Western Branch; the first African American Library and the video recording of the same title (available in the University of Kentucky's Audio Visual Services' Media Library collection); and Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones.
Subjects: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Whedbee, Bertha P.
Birth Year : 1876
Death Year : 1960
Bertha Whedbee, is considered the first African American woman police officer to be hired by the Louisville Police Department, March 22, 1922. Whedbee had campaigned for the position by circulating a petition that was signed by voters. Her employment came with the stipulation that she work only with members of her race. Whedbee was born in West Virginia, and was the wife of Dr. Ellis D. Whedbee (1863-1940, born in North Carolina). The couple married in 1898, and the family lived at 2832 West Chestnut Street in Louisville, according to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. For more see the Louisville Division of Police by M. O. Childress, Sr.; and "Louisville Police Department" by M. O. Childress in The Encyclopedia of Louisville by J. E. Kleber.
Subjects: Corrections and Police, Migration East
Geographic Region: West Virginia / Louisville, Jefferson 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

White, Albert S., Sr. and Sally J. Seals
Albert S. White, Sr. (1869-1911), was born in Kentucky, the son of Albert and Jane Buckner White. He was an attorney and dean of Louisville (KY) Central Law School, where he served from 1896-1911. He fought for African American voting rights; when White and others insisted on voting in the 1890s, they were beaten by Louisville police officers. White was a graduate of State University [Simmons, KY] and Howard University Law School. In 1902 he was appointed a U.S. Revenue Agent following the election of Kentucky's first Republican governor, William O. Bradley. White was unsuccessful in his quest to be named the Minister to Liberia. His wife, Sally J. Seals White (b.1868 or 1871 in KY), was the first woman to graduate from Central Law School, where she was also an instructor. In 1904, she became the first African American woman to be admitted to the Kentucky Bar. White had a bachelor's degree from Fisk University. For more see Central Law School Alumni Information, a University of Louisville website; C. B. Lewis, "Louisville and its Afro-American citizens," Colored American Magazine, vol. 10 (no.3-4), pp. 259-265; Life Behind a Veil, by G.C. Wright; Emancipation: the making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944, by J. C. Smith; "Negro woman admitted to bar...," The Landmark, 09/23/1904, p. 3 (also in Marshall Expounder, 09/23/1904, p. 2). See also the entry for Central Law School.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Voting Rights, Lawyers, Appointments by Kentucky Governors, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

White, James L.
Born in Mt. Sterling, KY, James L. White served in the Navy and later attended the University of Massachusetts. He later moved to California, where he lived for a while before he and Taylor Hackford became the screenwriters for the 2004 film Ray (about Ray Charles). The movie received six Oscar nominations, and Jamie Foxx, playing the role of Ray Charles, won an Oscar in 2005 for Actor, Leading Role in the film. For more see R. Copley, "'Ray' writer dared to dream: Kentuckian bucked odds, hit big with biopic," Lexington Herald-Leader, 02/27/05.
Subjects: Actors, Actresses, Artists, Fine Arts, Authors
Geographic Region: Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky / Amherst, Massachusetts / California

White, Perry
Death Year : 1877
White was shot and killed by Cassius M. Clay on Sunday, September 30, 1877. White and his mother were former slaves, and with the end of slavery, White's mother, a cook, had been employed by Clay until, according to Clay, he found that she was "robbing him of silver plate and other articles." Clay was on his way to a Negro church near Richmond, KY, to hire another cook, when his path crossed with that of Perry White. According to Clay, White was shot because he threatened Clay's life. Clay turned himself over to the authorities; he was tried, and the jury gave the verdict of justifiable homicide. According to author K. McQueen (Cassius M. Clay: Freedom's Champion, p. 31), "The shooting of White seems to have been a turning point in Clay's mental health." For more see "Cassius M. Clay's ready pistol," New York Times, 10/02/1877, p. 1; Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1888), vol. 1, by J. G. Wilson and J. Fiske [available full view via Google Book Search]; and Cassius M. Clay: "Freedom's Champion" by K. McQueen.
Subjects: Freedom
Geographic Region: Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky

The White Slave by Bartley Theo Campbell
Start Year : 1882
End Year : 1918
The White Slave was a play written by Bartley Campbell, it opened on April 3, 1882 at the Fourteenth Street Theatre in New York City. The plays storyline is of a young woman named Lisa, who believes that she is an octoroon slave. Lisa's white lover/previous owner helps her escape from her new owner, and Lisa learns that she is the illegitimate daughter of a white woman and an Italian man. Her mother was in Italy when she died after giving birth to Lisa, and Lisa's father moved on to France. Lisa was delivered to her grandfather, Judge Hardin in the United States. Judge Hardin, who owned Big Bend Plantation in Kentucky, did not want anyone to know that his dead daughter had had an illegitimate child by a foreigner. He gave the baby to his quadroon slave, Nance, to be raised as her daughter. Once Lisa knows the truth about her past, she marries her lover/former owner, who is also her grandfather's adopted son named Clay. The couple returns to Kentucky and regains ownership of the Big Bend Plantation and the slaves. The White Slave was one of several racial melodramas in the late 1800s, and it repeated the long established plight of the tragic octoroon. It was Bartley Campbell's biggest success and was performed on stage for more than 35 years. The White Slave was written during more successful times for Bartley Campbell, he had been a journalist. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1840, and wrote for the Pittsburgh Post in the late 1850s . He had also worked for newspapers in Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Louisville, KY. Campbell was also an author while employed as a journalist. He gave up journalism in 1871 to become a playwright and was very successful. Campbell died in 1888; he had been declared insane in 1886 and was placed in State Hospital in New York. For more on Bartley T. Campbell see The Cambridge History of American Theatre by D. B. Wilmeth and C. W. E. Bigsby; and Bartley Campbell by W. H. Claeren. For more on the history of the term "white slave" see Sisters in Sin by K. N. Johnson. For more about the play, see the entry "Re-Viewing The White Slave" in African American Performance and Theater History by H. J. Elam, Jr. and D. Krasner; and The White Slave and Other Plays by B. Campbell and N. Wilt.
Subjects: Actors, Actresses
Geographic Region: New York City, New York / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania / Kentucky

White, Thomas McKinley
Birth Year : 1899
White, from Henderson, KY, was chauffeur for the gangster Gerald Chapman. Chapman was hanged in 1926 for the 1924 murder of James Skelly in New Britain, Connecticut. White claimed that he had been driving the getaway car the night of the murder and that Chapman had given him $8,000 and told him to leave town and not talk. According to the Henderson police, White, who was extremely ill, had turned himself in and was willing to testify against Chapman. White was not expected to live. For more see "Negro accuses Chapman," New York Times, Special to the New York Times, 04/03/1926, p. 8.
Subjects: Migration North, Corrections and Police
Geographic Region: Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky / New Britain, Connecticut

Whitley, Kimberly
Birth Year : 1965
Whitley is the second African American female to become a warden in Kentucky. (The first was Cookie Crews.) Whitley was born in Danville, KY, the daughter of Roland and Frances Whitley. She is a graduate of Danville High School and Kentucky State University, where she earned a B.A. in corrections education (1987) and a masters degree in public administration with a concentration in personnel management (1990). Whitley also holds a certificate in Management Fundamentals as a graduate of the Governor's Minority Management Training Program (Patton administration). She has been a government employee since 1986, when she was a student employee via the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Program with the Department of Corrections. In 1990, Whitley was hired full-time as a classification and treatment officer at Northpoint Training Center in Burgin, KY. She has also been employed with the Kentucky Department of Corrections in the Lexington Corrections Division of Probation and Parole, and she was a Court Designated Worker with the Division of Youth Services. In 1995 she left corrections for a position with the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, but after two years returned to the Department of Corrections. She was promoted to Deputy Warden II at the Frankfort Career Development Center in 2002; Deputy Warden III at the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington in 2004; and transferred in 2005 to Northpoint Training Center. In 2006, Whitley was promoted to Warden II at the Frankfort Career and Development Center. This entry was submitted by Roland Whitley with additional information provided by his daughter, Kimberly Whitley.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Corrections and Police
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky / Burgin, Mercer County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Whitney, Davey L.
Birth Year : 1930
Whitney was born in Midway, KY. As a student at Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University], he earned more letters as an athlete than any other student has: in basketball, baseball, football, and track. He played baseball in the Negro League. He was head coach for more than 26 years at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. In 2002, he set a career victory record as a head basketball coach (551-338) and as the head coach at Alcorn State (496-275). He is ranked among the top six active coaches and was the first to receive the NCAA Hall of Champions Journey Award. The Davey L. Whitney Complex at Alcorn State was named in his honor in 1975. For more see W. Barnhouse, "Dave Whitney, master of perseverance," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 02/19/2003; and R. D. Russo, "A full life, on and off the court," Black Issues in Higher Education, 4/27/2000, vol.17, issue 5, p.37.
Subjects: Athletes, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball
Geographic Region: Midway, Woodford County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Alcorn State, Mississippi

Whyte, Garrett
Birth Year : 1914
Death Year : 2000
Whyte was born in Louisville, KY, according to his Army enlistment records. [Mt. Sterling has also been given as his birth location.] He completed an art education degree at North Carolina A&T State University in 1939. Whyte was an artist for the Chicago Defender, taught art at a high school and was an art professor at Chicago City College System [now City Colleges of Chicago]. In addition to teaching, Whyte was an artist for a number of organizations before he retired in 1980. He is remembered for his art and for the creation, for the Chicago Defender, of the comic strip, "Mr. Jim Crow," one of the first Civil Rights graphic satires. Whyte was a WWII Army veteran. For more see J. D. Stevens, "Reflections in a dark mirror: comic strips in Black newspapers," Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 10, issue 1 (Summer 1976), pp. 239-244; and Who's Who Among African Americans, 1975-2006.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Artists, Fine Arts, Education and Educators, Jim Crow, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Migration North, Military & Veterans
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Wiggins, Bobbie Reeves
Birth Year : 1949
Wiggins, born in Paducah, KY, is an educator, performer, author and writer. In the 1970s, she performed in movies and other productions, including Abby, Sheba Baby, and Combat Cops / Zebra Killer, which were all produced by Louisville, KY, native William B. Girdler, Sr. Wiggins was also a features writer with West Kentucky News, Kentucky Voice, The Paducah Sun, and Paducah Parenting and Family Magazine, a free publication. Wiggins was a school teacher for 13 yeas in Dallas, TX, and in 1995 she received the Junior Women's League Award for Innovative Teaching. Using the education grant she received in 1995, Wiggins wrote and recorded Rap N Learn in 2000 and It's a Rap in 2002. Both CDs contain curriculum-based songs geared to help young learners who have difficulty grasping language rules and fundamentals. Wiggins is the author of The Legacy of Woodland. She is a graduate of Lone Oak High School and Murray State University, where she received a B.A. in speech and English and an M.A. in speech and theater. Wiggins is a sister to Loretta Reeves Stewart. This information is presented, with permission, from Bobbie R. Wiggins biography.
Subjects: Actors, Actresses, Authors, Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Children's Books and Music
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Wilkinson, Crystal
Birth Year : 1962
Wilkinson was born in Ohio and reared in Indian Creek, KY. She chaired the Creative Writing Department for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts, taught creative writing at the University of Kentucky, served as a writer-in-residence at Eastern Kentucky University, and was a member of the faculty of Spalding University's MFA Program. In 2007, she was a writer in residence at Morehead State University. Wilkinson is author of Blackberries, Blackberries; Water Street; and a host of works in anthologies and serial publications. Her works have received a number of awards and recognitions, including the 2002 Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature. For more see Crystal Wilkinson on the KYLIT site; and Crystal Wilkinson, Poet, on Connections with Renee Shaw, video #422 [available online].
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Poets
Geographic Region: Ohio / Indian Creek, Whitley County, Kentucky

Williams, Aubrey
Birth Year : 1945
Willliams was a member of the Kentucky General Assembly from 1978-1985, the elected Representative of the 42nd District (Jefferson County). He is an attorney, a graduate of the University of Louisville Law School. Williams also attended Case Western Reserve University; Sue Bennett College [closed in 1997], where he earned his A.A.; and Pikeville College, where he earned his B.S. He also served as a judge with the Jefferson County 3rd Magisterial District. For more contact the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission and see Who's Who in American Law, 1st-3rd editions, and Who's Who Among Black Americans, 2nd & 3rd editions.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Judges, Legislators, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Jefferson County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Williams, Charles
Birth Year : 1942
Williams was born in Blue Diamond, KY, near Hazard. He lived with his grandparents and later moved to Chicago with his mother and other family members. He returned to Kentucky with an uncle and did not leave. One of his art forms was to use a circular saw and a reciprocating saw to draw on plywood. For more see Souls Grown Deep: African American vernacular art of the South, vol. 2, by W. Arnett and P. Arnett.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Migration North
Geographic Region: Blue Diamond, Perry County, Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Williams, Charley "Banjo Dick"
Birth Year : 1849
Born in Kentucky, Williams later moved to Arizona. He began playing the banjo for extra money. "His biggest engagement was that of playing at La Vennis Park, the exclusive rendezvous of the Tucson aristocrats." For more see In Steps of Esteban: Tucson's African American Heritage at the University of Arizona Library.
Subjects: Migration West, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Tucson, Arizona

Williams, Frances H.
Birth Year : 1898
Williams was born in Danville, KY. She was on the staff of Senator H. H. Lehman (D-NY), served as Assistant to the Executive Secretary of President Harry S Truman's Committee on Civil Rights, and was a staff member of the Office of Price Administration. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan; and Who's Who in Colored America, 1950.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Appointments by U.S. Presidents/Services for U.S. Presidents
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky

Williams, George T.
Williams was born in Taylor County, KY. In 1985 he became the first African American to hold office in Taylor County. For more see "Kentucky's only black sheriff in Christian County," in 1988 Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials, Seventh Report, by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, p. 17.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Taylor County, Kentucky

Williams, Henry H.
Birth Year : 1790
Death Year : 1850
Williams was born near Lexington, KY. A violinist, he was also the first African American dance teacher in Louisville, KY. He formed a cotillion band in 1835 that included other free African Americans, slaves, and German immigrants. Williams is remembered for his composition "Maysville March," which had not been played for more than a century when the sheet music was discovered by Filson Historical Society librarian Pen Bogert. For more see The Encyclopedia of Louisville, ed. by J. E. Kleber; and L. Blackford, "It's pure," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/14/1998, City&Region section, p. B1.
Subjects: Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Williams, Jamye Coleman
Birth Year : 1918
Jamye Williams was born in Louisville, KY, the daughter of Jamye Harris Coleman and Frederick Douglass Coleman, Sr. and the sister of Frederick Douglass Coleman, Jr. She served as an English and speech professor at a number of institutions after earning her B.A. from Wilberforce University in 1938, her M.A. from Fisk University in 1939, and her Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1959. She was teacher of the year in 1968 at Tennessee State University and was co-editor of the journal, Negro Speaks, in 1970. Three years later she became a full professor in communications and took over as head of the department until her retirement in 1987. Williams was the first woman elected general officer of the A.M.E. Church in 1984 and played a leading role in the church naming the first woman bishop in 2000. For more see Jamye Coleman Williams' biography in The History Makers; Living Black American Authors: a biographical directory, by A. A. Shockley and S. P. Chandler; Who's Who Among African Americans 1975-2007; and B. Karkabi, "Octogenarian at crossroads of church's past and future - Jamye Coleman Williams reflects on her legacy in the AME Church," Houston Chronicle, 08/27/2005, Religion section, p. 1.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Religion & Church Work, Migration South
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Nashville, Tennessee

Williams, John E.
Birth Year : 1906
Death Year : 1989
From La Grange, Georgia, Williams came to Owensboro, KY, in 1927 and later owned a plaster contracting business. He filed his petition for the Office of Owensboro City Commissioner in 1965, losing the general election; he is remembered, however, for opening the door for other African Americans running for office in Owensboro. Williams was a member of the Mt. Pisgah Lodge #20. The first African American to run for office in Owensboro was H. Clay Helm in 1875. For more see 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 "records local death John E. Williams," Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 05/07/1989, p.2B.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: La Grange, Georgia / Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky

Williams, Lucille L. Brown
Birth Year : 1897
Death Year : 1982
Born in Ghent, KY, Williams moved to Indiana, where she worked as a day nursery director, owned a grocery store, and was a social services director. She was also very active in social organizations, including being the founding member of the Lucille Lucas Williams Federated Club in 1952. The Lucille L. Williams Collection is housed at the Indiana Historical Society. For more see the "Lucille L. Williams" entry in the Guide to African-American History Materials in Manuscript Collections at the Indiana Historical Society.
Subjects: Businesses, Civic Leaders, Social Workers, Women's Groups and Organizations, Association of Colored Women's Clubs
Geographic Region: Ghent, Carroll County, Kentucky / Indiana

Williams, Orena Vaught
Birth Year : 1913
Death Year : 1988
The poet Orena Williams was born in Berea, KY, the daughter of Eliza and Dock Vaught [also spelled Vaughn]. The family is listed in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census showing Eliza Vaught (b. 1878 in KY) as a widow with seven children; the family was living on Georgia Avenue in Connersville, IN. Orena was one of the younger children. She attended Lewis Business College in Indianapolis in 1932, and was later employed as a secretary and teacher. She also wrote plays and poetry, including two books of poetry, Grains of Sand in 1974 and From My Garden in 1980. Orena Williams was the wife of Roy L. Williams of Louisville, KY. For more see The Black Women in the Middle West Project, by D. C. Hine, et al.; and the Indiana Historical Society website.
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators, Migration North, Poets
Geographic Region: Berea, Madison County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Connersville, Indiana

Williams, Samuel Carl
Birth Year : 1906
Death Year : 1977
Williams was the first African American city commissioner in Winchester, KY. A graduate of Knoxville College, he became a teacher. Samuel Williams, born in Ford, KY, was the son of Thomas and Lettie Williams. For more see the "Samuel Carl Williams" entry in the Afro-American Encyclopedia; and National Roster of Black Elected Officials (1982).
Subjects: Education and Educators, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Ford and Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky

Williams, Stanley R. "Fess"
Birth Year : 1894
Death Year : 1975
Williams, born in Danville, KY, was a bandleader who played the clarinet, alto saxophone, and violin. In 1914, he moved to Cincinnati, then on to Chicago, settling in New York in 1924, where he formed the Royal Flush Orchestra in 1925. The band played at the Savoy Ballroom from 1926-1928 and had a number of recordings that featured musicians such as pianist Henry "Hank" Duncan from Bowling Green, KY. One of the group's most memorable and best selling recordings was Hot Town. Fess Williams led bands in both New York and Chicago. He was the uncle, by marriage, to Charles Mingus; his wife, Louise Williams, was Mingus' maternal aunt. For more see Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra, at redhotjazz.com; listen to Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra on YouTube; see C. Kelsey, "Fess Williams Biography," an AOL Music website; and "Fess Williams" in Oxford Music Online Database.
Subjects: Migration North, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky / New York

Williams, Worthy "Butt Cutt"
Birth Year : 1922
Death Year : 1989
Born in Redfox, KY, Williams was the first African American elected to public office in Knott County, and as of 2009, he is the only one. Williams was first elected as constable in 1969 and re-elected in 1973 and 1977. Williams was a coal miner until he developed black lung and was no longer able to work in the mines. He was the husband of Wilma Dean Gipson Williams (deceased), from Manchester, KY. Williams was the father of Janet (deceased), Linda, Lorena, Sophia, Wendell, and Worthy Dewayne Williams. For more see "Eleven blacks hold county level posts," in Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials [1978], Fifth Report, by the Commission on Human Rights, p. 13. Corrections, birth, and death date information for this entry was provided by his daughter Linda Williams via Dr. Andrew Baskin at Berea College.
Subjects: First City Employees & Officials (1960s Civil Rights Campaign), Miners, Mines, & Steel Mills
Geographic Region: Redfox, Knott County, Kentucky

Willis, "Aunt" Lucy
Birth Year : 1830
Death Year : 1914
In 1987, Aunt Lucy Willis's cabin was restored to 1/3 its original size and exhibited at the Kansas City Museum. The cabin had been built in Trenton, Missouri, where Aunt Lucy Willis had resided. Aunt Lucy had first been a slave in Kentucky, owned by a couple named Willis who gave Aunt Lucy to their daughter, Amelia. According to the research of family member Scott Helmandollar, Aunt Lucy had a daughter named Rosa (1842?-1894) who was listed as white; John Willis may have been the girl's father. Aunt Lucy was brought west when Amelia Willis's second husband, William Neil Peery, moved his family from Kentucky to Missouri. According to Scott Helmandollar, Aunt Lucy was purchased by his family and given her freedom; she chose to remain with the Perry family. At her request, Aunt Lucy was buried in the family cemetery. The cemetery contains the graves of the Perry and Helmandollar families. Family memorabilia were used by the Black Archives of Mid-America to reconstruct Aunt Lucy Willis's life. For more see "Slave's rude cabin brings life to Missouri's history," The Wichita Eagle (Missouri), 06/21/1987, Lively Arts section, p. 8F. For more about the Helmandollar family, Aunt Lucy, her daughter Rosa, and their descendants, contact Scott Helmandollar.

*Aunt Lucy Willis's descendants: Rosa Willis Clayton (Lewis), William Harley Clayton and James Arthur Clayton [twins], Ernest Clayton, Nellie Goldia Clayton Woodson (Carter) [1881-198?], Erma Woodson Smith, Bernice Woodson, Dale Byron Woodson, Theodore Woodson.*
Subjects: Freedom, Migration West, Mothers
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Trenton and Kansas City, Missouri

Willis, Floyd W.
Birth Year : 1885
Death Year : 1951
Born in Crestwood, KY, Willis became a physician who did x-ray and radium work in Mercy Hospital, Cook County, IL. He was a visiting lecturer in x-ray at Meharry Medical College Clinics, 1920-1921, and a roentgenologist at Fort Dearborn Hospital. Floyd Willis was the son of Lavenia and Lee A. Willis, and according to the U.S. Federal Census, the family was living in Chicago in 1910, and Floyd was an artist and landscaper. In 1920, he was a doctor and the husband of Kentucky native Mable Gordon Willis. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1928-29; and Blacks in Science and Medicine by V. O. Sammons. A picture of Dr. Willis is available online at NYPL Digital Gallery.
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership
Geographic Region: Crestwood, Oldham County, Kentucky / Chicago, Cook County, Illilnois / Nashville, Tennessee

Willis, Lucas B.
Birth Year : 1874
Willis was born in Frankfort, KY, the son of Sam and Appaline Willis. He was the organizer and vice-president of the Kentucky State Funeral Director's Association, organizer and executive secretary of the Independent National Funeral Directors Association, and organizer and executive secretary of the Sisters of Charity of the State Burial Fund of Indiana. Willis was the husband of Cora L. Willis, who was also a Kentucky native. According to the U.S. Federal Census, in 1910 the couple lived on Camp Street in Indianapolis. Lucas owned an undertakers establishment and Cora was a public school teacher. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1928-29.
Subjects: Migration North, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Women's Groups and Organizations
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Indianapolis, Indiana

Wilson, Atwood S.
Birth Year : 1895
Death Year : 1967
Atwood S. Wilson was a chemist, educator, civil rights leader and community leader in Louisville, KY. He was born in the California neighborhood of Louisville to Allen and Mary Wilson. A 1910 graduate of Central High School in Louisville, he graduated magna cum laude from Fisk University in 1915 with a major in science and mathematics. He went on to earn a B.S. in chemistry (in 1920) and a M.S. in education (in 1934) from the University of Chicago. He first taught at State Street High School, located in the Shake Rag District of Bowling Green, KY, beginning in 1915, then left the school in 1917 to serve as a chemistry researcher at the American University Experiment Station during World War I. After the war, Wilson returned to Louisville and served as secretary-treasurer of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association (KNEA) from 1922-1942. He also chaired the organization's Merger Committee, which led in the integration of Kentucky's education organizations, the KNEA and KEA. In 1928, Wilson was named the first principal of Madison Junior High [the school was later named Russell Junior High]. In 1934, Wilson became principal of Central High School and led the planning and building of the new Central High School, which opened in 1952; it was the first comprehensive high school in Kentucky. Wilson was also principal of the Central High Adult Night School, grades 1-12, from which he retired in 1963. During his tenure, he also held a number of appointments, including membership on the executive committee of the National Youth Administration in Kentucky. In 1944, Wilson was appointed a trustee on the Board of the Louisville Free Public Library, and in 1948 he presented the resolution that abolished segregation at the main library building. Wilson was the first African American in the South to be recognized with a citation for his service on a library board. He received many other awards, including the Silver Beaver Award for his distinguished service to the Boy Scouts of America, presented to him in person by President Hoover in 1933. Wilson also received an honorary Doctor of Humanities from Simmons University [Kentucky] in 1954. In recognition of his contributions, in 1974 the Kentucky Education Association co-named an award in his honor: "The Lucy Harth Smith-Atwood S. Wilson Award for Civil and Human Rights in Education." Atwood S. Wilson is mentioned in several biographies on the life of Muhammad Ali; Wilson encourage Ali [then known as Cassius Clay] to finish high school, though he was at the bottom of his class. Wilson was impressed by Ali's dedication and work ethic toward becoming a world boxing champion. In 2000, Wilson was inducted into the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights' Hall of Fame, and, in 2005, was among the first inductees to the Central High School Distinguished Hall of Fame. Atwood S. Wilson was the grandfather of Kentucky Appeals Court Judge Denise Clayton. Information for this entry was submitted by Mrs. Susie M. Guess, daughter of Atwood S. Wilson. See also pp. 20-21 in Muhammad Ali. by A. O. Edmonds.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Chemists, Civic Leaders, Education and Educators, Military & Veterans, Grandparents
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Wilson, Cornelius
Birth Year : 1890
Death Year : 1919
Wilson was born in Campbellsville, KY, but his exact birth date has been disputed; 1890 is the birth date on his grave marker. Wilson left Kentucky for Chicago, where he joined the police force in February 1915. Four years later he became the first African American police officer in Chicago to be killed in the line of duty. That night, Wilson ended his shift and was heading home when he was gunned down in a shootout with robbery suspects known as "boy bandits." His body was brought home to Campbellsville and buried in the Oddfellows Cemetery. In 2003, the Chicago Police Department Pipes and Drums replaced Wilson's broken grave marker, and a ceremony was held in his honor. For more see F. M. Beckless, "New headstone for first Black cop killed in line of duty," Chicago Defender, 04/24/2003, p. 4; B. Schreiner, "Slain Chicago police officer remembered," The Enquirer (Cincinnati) 04/30/2003; and R. Dial, "Chicago Police officers will remember their first fallen black officer in Campbellsville ceremony," Central Kentucky News-Journal, 02/28/2003.
Subjects: Migration North, Corrections and Police
Geographic Region: Campbellsville, Taylor County, Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Wilson, Ellis
Birth Year : 1899
Death Year : 1977
Wilson was born in Mayfield, KY, the son of Orlander and Henereta Wilson. He was a free-lance interior decorator and painter. Though he acquired international fame, he never made a living from painting. Wilson worked with the Federal Art Project during World War II and painted African Americans employed in war industries. His painting The Fish won the 1946 Atlanta University Purchase Award. He received the Certificate of Merit from the U.S. Treasury Dept. for donating the painting Nocturne during the war loan drive. His works were exhibited at Kentucky institutions beginning in the 1950s. For more see The Art of Ellis Wilson, by A. Sperath; and In Black and White. A guide to magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books concerning Black individuals and groups, 3rd ed., edited by M. M. Spradling.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts
Geographic Region: Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky

Wilson, George D.
Birth Year : 1898
Death Year : 1992
Wilson served as dean of the West Kentucky Industrial College in 1930 and was professor of education at the Louisville Municipal College from 1934 until its closing in 1951. Wilson then became professor and head of the department of education at Kentucky State College (now Kentucky State University) in 1964. He is author of A Century of Negro Education in Louisville [full-text available in the Kentuckiana Digital Library E-texts]. For more see the George D. Wilson papers at the University of Louisville's Libraries's Special Collections and Archives. 
Subjects: Authors, Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Wilson, Henry S.
Birth Year : 1902
Death Year : 1988
Wilson, born in Louisville, KY, became the first African American faculty member at Bellarmine College [now Bellarmine University] in 1955, and, in 1957, the first full professor. He was a chemistry professor who had graduated from Indiana University and served as chair of the natural sciences department at Louisville Municipal College until the school was merged with the University of Louisville. Wilson worked for the Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance Company prior to joining Bellarmine, a Catholic college. He was the first retired faculty member in 1967. Bellarmine opened in 1950. For more see High Upon a Hill: a history of Bellarmine College, by W. Hall.
Subjects: Chemists, Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Wilson, Milton James, Sr.
Birth Year : 1915
Death Year : 2003
Born in Paducah, KY, Wilson was the son of Rhea Day Wilson, a school teacher, and Jess Wilson, a Pullman Porter. He was the grandson of Elizabeth Day, also a public school teacher. Milton Wilson was a graduate of Lincoln High School in Paducah, West Virginia State University, and Indiana University at Bloomington. He would later become chief accountant for architect Samuel Plato in Louisville, KY. In 1951, Wilson became the second African American in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in accounting (Indiana University). He was the 25th African American CPA in the U.S., and the first in Indiana and Texas. He created the business schools at Texas Southern University and Howard University and established a business school in Decca, Pakistan in 1966. For more see L. Abram, "Wilson, 88, launched TSU's business school," Houston Chronicle, 09/06/2003, A section, p. 37; A White-Collar Profession by T. Hammond; and "Milton James Wilson" in vol. 8 of African American National Biography , edited by H. L. Gates, Jr. and E. B. Higginbotham.
Subjects: Accountants, Bookkeepers, Certified Public Accountants, Stenographers, Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky

Winkfield, Jimmy
Birth Year : 1882
Death Year : 1974
Born in Chilesburg [later Uttingertown] in Fayette County, KY, Jimmy Winkfield was the youngest of 17 children. He was the last African American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, in 1901 and 1902. Winkfield left the U.S. after a contract dispute and became a national riding champion in Russia and a trainer in France. He retired from racing in 1930 and died in France in 1974. In 2004 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. For more see The Great Black Jockeys and Wink: the incredible life and epic journey of Jimmy Winkfield, both by E. Hotaling; and Jimmy Winkfield, a horse racing legend! on the African American Registry website.
Subjects: Jockeys, Horsemen & The Derby, Migration Outside the U.S. and Canada
Geographic Region: Chilesburg (Uttingertown), Fayette County, Kentucky / Russia / France

Winters, Ruby
Born in Kentucky, and raised in Cincinnati, OH, Ruby Winters was a soul singer during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She joined with Johnny Thunder in 1967 for the chart hit "Make Love to Me." In 1969, "I Don't Want to Cry" and "Guess Who" were top 20 hits. Her 1970s hits included "I Will" and singles "Baby Lay Down" and "Come to Me!" For more see the Ruby Winters entry in All Music Guide to Soul, by V. Bogdanov, et al.
Subjects: Migration North, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Cincinnati, Ohio

Wolfe, George C.
Birth Year : 1954
Wolfe was born in Frankfort, KY. A director, writer, and producer, he has received numerous awards, including the Obie Award in 1990 and the Tony Award for best director in 1993, for the first part of Angels in America, Millennium Approaches; Wolfe was the first person of color to win the award for directing a "white" play. He also produced Paradise (his first professionally produced play), and The Colored Museum and Jelly's Last Jam, both of which are also books authored by Wolfe, and he has completed many other works. Beginning in 1993, he was the producer and artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Joseph Papp Public Theater. In 2004, Wolfe moved from theater to film and produced Lakawanna Blues, a play written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson that debuted off broadway in 2001, and Wolfe directed the 2005 award winning motion picture with the same title. George C. Wolfe is the son of Costello and Anna M. Wolfe. For more see The African American Almanac, 9th ed.; and Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television. A biographical guide featuring performers... in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the world, vol. 38.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Authors
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Wolfe, William K.
Birth Year : 1926
Death Year : 2002
Wolfe, born in Bowling Green, KY, was the former executive director of the Greater Cleveland Urban League, 1972-1984, and is credited with developing the organization into a multi-million dollar operation. He had also been head of the Urban League in Westchester County, NY, and was the housing coordinator for the New York Housing Authority. He was a past president of the Ohio Welfare Conference and had begun his social work career with the Dayton YMCA. Wolfe was a social work graduate of Springfield College and Adelphi University. He founded the Black Professional Association of Cleveland. For more see A. Baranick, "William K. Wolfe, led Urban League," Plain Dealer, 12/31/2002, Metro section, p. B7.
Subjects: Welfare (Social Services) Organizations, Housing Authority, The Projects, Migration North, Social Workers, Urban Leagues, YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association)
Geographic Region: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky / Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio / Westchester County, New York

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

Woods, Brent
Birth Year : 1850
Death Year : 1906
Woods, a former slave, was born in Pulaski County, KY. He later joined the Army and was assigned to Company B of the 9th all black U.S. Cavalry. He was one of the 17 troopers and 20 miners in pursuit of Apache raiders. With the death of the lieutenant and the miner's leader, Woods took charge and led the attack that forced the Apache to abandon their position. Woods was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was discharged for service in 1902 and returned to Pulaski County. Woods was very poor when he died; he was buried in a pauper's grave. For more see African American Recipients of the Medal of Honor by C. W. Hanna; and A. Mead, "Black hero given formal military burial," Lexington Herald Leader, 10/29/1984, Main News section, p.A1.
Subjects: Military & Veterans
Geographic Region: Pulaski County, Kentucky

Woodson (former slave)
The first slave case to be tried in Pittsburgh, PA, under the Fugitive Slave Law was that of an escaped slave named Woodson. The trial took place on March 13, 1851. Woodson, previously owned by a Mrs. Byers in Kentucky, had been living as a free man for two years in Beaver, PA, where he was a mechanic and a preacher. In the escaped slave case, the courts decided in favor of Mrs. Byers, and Woodson was returned to Kentucky. Citizens of Pittsburgh and Beaver raised subscriptions (money) and purchased Woodson, who returned to Pennsylvania. On August 1, 1851, Woodson was guest speaker at the West Indies Emancipation Day Celebration in Oakland, PA; it was the 17th anniversary in recognition of the end of slavery in the British Empire, including the British West Indies. For more see I. E. Williams, "The Operation of the Fugitive Slave Law in Western Pennsylvania, from 1850-1860," The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, vol. 4, issue 3 (July 1921), pp. 150-160 [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Freedom, Migration North, Religion & Church Work, Emancipation Day / Juneteenth Celebrations, Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering, Court Cases
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Beaver, Pittsburgh, and Oakland, Pennsylvania

World's Columbian Exposition 1893
In 1890, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison appointed a national commission with representation from all states and territories to oversee the planning of the world's fair, to take place in Chicago during the summer of 1893. No African Americans were selected for the commission or the Board of Lady Managers that was headed by Mrs. Bertha Honore Palmer, a Chicago socialite originally from Kentucky. African American contributions were also missing from the majority of the exhibits; these exclusions were cause for protests. There were also ongoing disagreements between various African American groups about the fair. An attempt to appease the protesters resulted in a Colored Jubilee Day being held in August 1893. Discrimination of public accommodations was not part of the grievance; during the fair only one incidence of exclusion based on race was reported: Miss Mary Britton of Lexington, KY, was denied entrance to the Kentucky Building. The building had also been featured in one of the series of stereotyped cartoons about the unenlightened Johnson family, former slaves, who were attending the fair. The cartoons were printed in issues of Harper's Weekly. For more about African Americans and the Columbian Exposition see All the World is Here!: the Black presence at White City, by C. R. Reed; and Rudwick & Meier, "Black Man in the White City: Negroes and the Columbian Exposition, 1893," Phylon, vol. 26, issue 4 (1965), pp. 354-361. For more about the Kentucky Building, see the cartoon in Harper's Weekly, 11/04/1893, p. 1059. For more about the Mary Britton incident, see The Freeman (Indianapolis, IN), vol. 5, issue 32, front page, bottom of column one. The Hifner Photo Collection of Woodford County, KY, Schools was created in 1892 for the educational exhibit at the World's Fair, available online via the Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections web page.
Subjects: Colored Fairs & Black Expos, Photographers, Photographs
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Wright, James L.
Birth Year : 1919
Death Year : 1999
Wright was originally from Kentucky. His union work began at a Kentucky equipment factory when he returned from the service at the end of World War II. His initial duties were sweeping and cleaning, typical jobs assigned to African American employees, and he advanced to forklift operator. The factory had a union that was just being initiated, and Wright became a union leader to help other African Americans advance in the company. Wright eventually left Kentucky for Chicago to become a full-time union organizer. In 1980, he was the first African American elected to head region 4 of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which included Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Wright was also the president of the UAW's political arm in Illinois; he also headed the regional civil rights department. He had received threatening phone calls during his campaign for office, but Wright persevered. He was even re-elected, but had to step down in 1984 due to health problems. For more see L. Forte, "James Wright, former UAW leader," Chicago Sun-Times, 07/28/1999, p. 74.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Migration North, Union Organizations
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Wright, W. H.
Wright was president of the American Mutual Savings Bank in Louisville, KY. For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1927.
Subjects: Bankers, Banks, Finance, Financial Advisors
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

WWII Veterans from Bourbon County
Start Year : 1939
End Year : 1945
An 80 page listing of veterans is available online in Bourbon County Men and Women Who Served in World War Two. It was published by the War History Committee of the Bourbon County Woman's Club and was sponsored by Hansley Mills, Inc. The title does NOT include the name of every World War II veteran from Bourbon County, but it attempts to gather as many names as possible. More than 100 African American veterans, noted by the term "(colored)," are included, including such names as William T. Clay, Henry Stewart, Rudolph Stout, and Virgil Allen, Jr. There is not a date on the publication, but it covers the period 1939-1945 and is available via the Kentuckiana Digital Library E-texts collection. For a list of Civil War veterans see African American Bourbon County Veterans at the Kentucky African Americans Griots website.
Subjects: Military & Veterans, Women's Groups and Organizations
Geographic Region: Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky