African American History

Amid a national debate on how Black history should be taught, comes a new book on the African American Experience in Kentucky. Slavery and Freedom in the Bluegrass State: Revisiting My Old Kentucky Home is a collection of powerful essays that uncover the long-forgotten stories of pain, protest, and perseverance of African Americans in Kentucky. WUKY's Alan Lytle recently sat down with the editor of the project. Gerald L. Smith is professor of history at the University of Kentucky and pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Lexington.

This week marks the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. Former Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler's grandfather, A.B. "Happy" Chandler was MLB commissioner in 1947 when Jackie traded a Negro Leagues jersey for a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform and changed sports history forever. In 2016, right about the time Ken Burns released his documentary on Jackie, WUKY's Alan Lytle sat down with Ben to talk about and hear the historic tale from Happy himself; audio courtesy of theLouie B. Nunn Center for Oral History in the UK Libraries.

The history of racial violence in Kentucky and how it connects to racial injustices today… that’s the basis of a talk at the University of Kentucky on Thursday. It’s sponsored by a relatively new program that highlights UK’s growing body of research into Black history.

It's Black History Month, and Lexington Parks & Recreation is celebrating by featuring the history behind some of its many parks and facilities named after notable Black Americans. WUKY’s Arlo Barnette has more.

For the first time in its history the University of Kentucky will recognize Juneteenth as a campus-wide holiday this Friday. June 19th has become a…

It’s been 66 years since Helen Caise Wade became the first African American to integrate a Lexington school. Now, a group of teachers has organized the creation of an endowed scholarship at the University of Kentucky that honors Ms. Wade and will help students of color become teachers themselves.

Over the years it’s had many names: “Gunntown,” “Kinkeadtown,” and “Goodloetown,” and thanks to the talented and driven Black professionals in Lexington’s…

In this latest edition of WUKY's award winning history series Saving Stories we conclude Black History Month by featuring a 1985 UK Nunn Center oral…

Funeral arrangements are pending for author, educator and historian Rosetta Lucas Quisenberry who passed away on Monday. Quisenberry was a school teacher…

A team of historians has uncovered a significant civil rights rally in Lexington that was held on the Fourth of July, 1867.According to one published…