Wilson, George W., Sr.
(born: 1943 - died: 2005)Wilson was born in Paris, KY. In 1981 he was appointed secretary of the Corrections Cabinet of Kentucky, in charge of administering a budget of more $50 million. He was the state's first African American cabinet-level officer. Prior to accepting this position, he had been the commissioner of the Bureau of Corrections, Department of Justice. Wilson received a B.A. in history and political science with a second major in sociology from Kentucky State University. He earned an M.S. from the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. In 1993, while warden of the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington, KY, he was awarded the Anderson Medal, named for Kentucky's first African American legislator, Charles W. Anderson, Jr. For more see HR183; see Profiles of Contemporary Black Achievers of Kentucky, by J. B. Horton and A. Jester; and "George W. Wilson 1943-2005, first black to serve in state cabinet dies at 61," Lexington Herald-Leader, 03/02/05, City&Region section, p.B1.