There are more notable African Americans with Kentucky roots and ties than any one person knows about. Very little has been written about many of them and it is a challenge to find what was written in the past. For some, their stories have only been told by word of mouth. The Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (NKAA) has been developed as a finding aid to bring together a brief description of pertinent names, places, and events, and to list the sources where additional information may be found. This is not currently an all inclusive database, but we are working toward that goal and suggestions are welcomed.
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Hughes was born in Charlestown, Indiana. He was the father of Langston Hughes and the son of Emily Cushenberry and James H. Hughes. James H. was a…
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DB Bourbon Candy, LLC is a successful home business located in Frankfort, KY. While there are many candy companies and makers of bourbon balls in…
This entry gives recognition to "the other" African American library employees. In this group are thejanitors who were truly the first African…
John Gregg Fee was the leading abolitionist in Kentucky and the southern part of the country. Fee founded Berea College, which opened in 1855 as a…
Tommie L. Burns, Jr. came to Louisville, KY, from Hinds, MS when he was 18 years old, taking a job as a molder at the American Standard plant. While…
In 1897 the state of Kentucky and the city of Louisville did not permit boxing matches between African Americans and whites for fear of race riots.…
Florian Meeks, Jr. was born in Owenton, KY, the son of Florian, Sr. and Martha L. Meeks. The family of six lived on E. Adair Street, according to the…
While fewer African American jockeys became riders in the Kentucky Derby and other horse racing competitions, African American men were still employed…
John Samples, born in Kentucky, was a competing jockey. He rode the horse Wanderer for Rice and McCormack and Longfellow for John Harper. He won the…
Initially named the Harlem Jockey Club, the Harlem Race Track was located in the Village of Harlem, in Proviso Township, a suburb of Chicago, IL. It…
