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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John W. Brooks was a slave born on the Magowan Farm in Montgomery County, KY. In 1864,Brooks and seven other African Americans left the Magowan farm…
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Dick Vance, born in Mayfield, KY, was an arranger who also sang and played the trumpet. Vance's family moved to Cleveland, OH, where he studied violin…
Alexander C. "Peter" Vinegar is believed to have been born free in Midway, KY. Peter came to Lexington, KY, after the Civil War and was made pastor of…
Elisha W. Green was born in Bourbon County, KY. He was a slave of John P. Dobbyns as well as a pastor in Maysville, KY, and Paris, KY. He was allowed…
Preston Taylor was born in Louisiana; his parents, Zed and Betty Taylor, were slaves who moved (or were brought) to Kentucky a year after he was born.…
The Baptist Church was thought to have established the oldest African American congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains. The history dates back to…
Katie Knox Walters was a Christian advocate on behalf of her husband's work in the AMEZ Church, and she was an activist in the Colored YWCA in New…
There is no record of a colored school in Martin County, KY, though there were African American children of school age in the county [sources:…
Dudley Allen, a slave born in Lexington, KY, was owned by either Walter or John Dunn. Allen would become a noted thoroughbred owner and trainer. He…
