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.
Did you know?
Born in Owensboro, KY, Moneta J. Sleet, Jr. was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize in photography, given the award for his photograph…
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There were colored schools in Anderson County, KY prior to the year 1900 and the exact date of the first colored school is not known. In 1880,…
Born in Hopkinsville, KY, Opal L. Tandy later moved to Indiana. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1956. A journalist for the…
Harry T. Stewart, Jr. was born in Newport News, VA. In 1948, Stewart, a decorated member of the Tuskegee Airmen, was sighted falling from the eastern…
Charles Young, a groomer, was one of the many African American horsemen in Lexington, KY. He was married at 18 years of age, then later married Pearl…
Lee Carter was a professional boxer from Russellville, KY. He went by the ring name "Bearcat." He competed in the heavyweight division, weighing in at…
Manson A. Melton, Sr. is a forgotten African American dentist who practiced in Hopkinsville, KY. Born in 1882 in Sumter, SC, he was a 1903 graduate of…
