Ahead of Juneteenth, Governor Beshear signed an executive order clearing the names of 43 people convicted under laws that made it a crime to help enslaved people reach freedom.
Among those pardoned are Elijah Anderson, a free Black man who was one of the most active Underground Railroad conductors in Kentucky, helping around a thousand people reach freedom, Julett Miles, a Black woman who was freed and moved north before crossing the Ohio river to rescue her children from being sold, and Thomas Brown, an Irish immigrant who was arrested at age 60 and endured severe beatings for two years before his release.
Both Anderson and Miles were arrested and died in prison.
"We're talking about individuals who knew there was a law. They knew that the law was unjust. They knew that the law was immoral and they were willing to disobey the law and to suffer the consequences," said Reverend Andrew Baskin, a Berea College professor emeritus of African and African American Studies.
"What Governor Beshear did today is he helped to correct part of the mistakes that have happened in the Commonwealth of Kentucky," Baskin said.
The Governor says there are more stories like these still waiting to be told.
Kentuckians who know of someone deserving a posthumous pardon for helping enslaved people escape can email Freedom Trail Pardons. All requests will be reviewed for consideration.