Central Residence Hall 1 on the UK Campus has a new name. University officials re-christened the building Lyman T. Johnson Hall in honor of the first African-American to attend the school. On hand for the dedication were several generations of the Johnson family, including 1973 UK grad, Lyman M. Johnson.
"He would be happy, as a history teacher and one who engaged in quite a bit of serious study throughout his career that this building is right next to the library, he would love that," Johnson said.
Lyman T. Johnson won a federal lawsuit challenging the Day Law and broke the color barrier at UK in the fall of 1949. Lyman M. Johnson told attendees at the dedication ceremony, his father savored the victory but continued to hold the university in high regard.
"You can be angry and go into bitterness or you can be angry and use that as energy for positive change, and that was what my father was about and once he came to Kentucky for over sixty years," Johnson said.
The residence hall first opened in August 2013.