Kimbley, George P.

Born in Frankfort, KY, George Kimbley was the son of Ella and Luther Kimbley. He grew up across the street from the white family that had owned his parents during slavery.

Kimbley was a World War I veteran, returning home from the war to become the oldest of a group of miners who helped form a union in District 31, the Calumet Region in Gary, IN. He was first to sign a Steelworkers Organizing Committee card in 1936. Kimbley was also the first African American to serve as chair of the grievance committee in basic steel.

For more see Black Freedom Fighters in Steel, by R. Needleman; and George Kimbley in "Obituaries" in the Lexington Herald-Leader, 7/4/1996, p. C2.