Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

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.

People in Lexington know all about Derby winning jockey Isaac Murphy; or do they? In Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey, historian Katherine C. Mooney finds that the superstar athlete was both an American hero, employed by the country’s elite to ride their prized horses, and a Black man living in a racist country, who for every success he achieved could never be truly seen beyond his skin color. She recently spoke with WUKY's Alan Lytle.

All this month we are visiting with Reinette Jones who along with colleague Rob Aken, oversee the UK Libraries’ Notable Kentucky African Americans…

All this month we are visiting with Reinette Jones who along with colleague Rob Aken, oversee the UK Libraries’ Notable Kentucky African Americans…

All this month we are visiting with Reinette Jones who along with colleague Rob Aken, oversee the UK Libraries’ Notable Kentucky African Americans…

All month long WUKY's Alan Lytle will be visiting with Reinette Jones who along with colleague Rob Aken, oversee the UK Libraries’ Notable Kentucky…