Local/Regional News

Black History at Ashland event to feature experience, agency of enslaved Lexingtonians

WUKY | By Alan Lytle

Published August 17, 2023 at 10:36 AM EDT

Aaron Dupuy; photographed copies of the stereocard, one duplicate

Recently, the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation has prioritized telling a more inclusive and complete story of African Americans who lived and worked at Ashland the Henry Clay Estate. An event this Saturday builds on that effort. Black History at Ashland will feature a number of prominent local and national voices, artists and experts. This week WUKY's Alan Lytle spoke with Shea Brown, long-time Fayette County Deputy Clerk whose office has been working on a project to make available online, some 60,000 pages of Fayette County’s historical property records containing information about enslaved people from the late 1700s through 1865; some of whom lived and worked at Ashland. Brown has a high profile role in Saturday's Black History at Ashland event.

Black History at Ashland itinerary:

Saturday, August 19 | 10:00 am to 4:00pmOn the Grounds of Ashland

The Slave Dwelling Project & Vendor Fair

To highlight and showcase local and national voices, artists, experts, and descendants of the Ashland community through living history, memorialization, and commemoration of those enslaved at Ashland. Guests can find resources to trace their genealogy, obtain advice on using local archives, and explore the long, rich history of African American culinary, artisan, and craft traditions.

EVENT SCHEDULE

10:00 AM: Welcome + Event Purpose

Ashland Staff Remarks: Jim Clark
Ashland Board Remarks: Kim Dixon
Poem reading, “Lineage,” by Angelica Miller

10:15 AM- 10:45 AM: Bishop Shea Brown + Memorialization of the Enslaved

1st Reading of names and documentary evidence of the enslaved at Ashland
Libations and Memorialization

10:45 AM-1:00 PM: Vendor Fair, The Slave Dwelling Project,

The Slave Dwelling Project will cycle performances of “Inalienable Rights” a collection of live historic interpretations, demonstrations, and storytelling. Featuring Joe McGill (historian), Cheyney McKnight (historian), Terry James (head cook), Rodney Prioleau (brickmaking), and Carolyn Evans (storytelling).
Genealogy and Historical Research Assistance and Mentoring offered by Advisory Council members and their colleagues from the Fayette County Clerk’s office, African American Genealogy Group of Kentucky, and University of Kentucky. Located in the meeting room of the mansion.
Kentucky Archaeological Survey brickmaking demonstration alongside Rodney Prioleau of the Slave Dwelling Project and discussion of archaeological work done at Ashland along with artifact demonstrations.

10:45 AM-11:00 AM: Artistic Vocal Expression presented by Kay’mon Murrah

11:00 AM – 11:25AM: The Slave Dwelling Project, living history featuring Carolyn Evans as Harriet Tubman, with Q & A

11:00 AM-11:45 AM: Kentucky Chautauqua, living history featuring Elizabeth Lawson as Charlotte DuPuy, with Q & A

11:45 AM-12:30 PM: Living History: Agriculture (Farming + Equine) featuring Jim Embry, Atrus Ballew Farm/Sustainable Communities Network; Bruce Mundy, Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden; Youth Jockeys

12:00 PM-1:00 PM: Choral Performances from local faith communities

1:00 PM-1:30 PM: Bishop Shea Brown + Memorialization of the Enslaved

Poem reading, “Aida” by Angelica Miller
2nd Reading of names and documentary evidence of the enslaved at Ashland
Memorialization and Libations

1:30 PM – 2:10 PM: The Slave Dwelling Project, living history featuring Carolyn Evans as Lavinia Bell, with Q & A

1:30 PM-2:15 PM: Kentucky Chautauqua, living history featuring Virgil Covington, Jr. as William Wells Brown, with Q & A

1:30 PM-4:00 PM: Vendor Fair, The Slave Dwelling Project

The Slave Dwelling Project will cycle performances of “Inalienable Rights” a collection of live historic interpretations, demonstrations, and storytelling. Featuring Joe McGill (historian), Cheyney McKnight (head cook and historian), Terry James (assistant cook and historian), Rodney Prioleau (brickmaking), and Carolyn Evans (storytelling).
Genealogy and Historical Research Assistance and Mentoring offered by Advisory Council members and their colleagues from the Fayette County Clerk’s office, African American Genealogy Group of Kentucky, and University of Kentucky. Located in the meeting room of the mansion.
Kentucky Archaeological Survey brickmaking demonstration alongside Rodney Prioleau of the Slave Dwelling Project and discussion of archaeological work done at Ashland along with artifact demonstrations.

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM: The Slave Dwelling Project, historical interpretation and performance art featuring Cheyney McKnight with “The Ancestor’s Future: An Afrofuturist Journey through History.” Located in the mansion, with groups admitted on timed entry basis. Sign-in required at the front door. Free admission.

3:30 PM-4:00 PM: Bishop Shea Brown + Memorialization of the Enslaved

3rd Reading of names and documentary evidence of the enslaved at Ashland
Memorialization and Libations

4:00 PM: Event Conclusion and Closing Remarks

Poem reading, “Reincarnation,” by Angelica Miller

Here's info on the Fayette County Slave Records digitalization project:
https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/digital-access-project-partnership-make-local-slave-records-visible-accessible