Yarbrough-Jumoke, Nailah

Nailah Yarbrough-Jumoke, a native of Louisville, KY, is a writer, poet, and activist. She founded the Java House Café in Louisville and also worked with Vinetta Howard-Williams, who founded the Jumoke Academy in Louisville, a private school for students in grades 7-12 who had severe problems in public schools [source: Martha Elson, "Academy hopes to help troubled children," The Courier-Journal, 1/3/1996, p. 65].

In 1999 Nailah Yarbrough-Jumoke was the first African American candidate for governor of Kentucky. She ran on the Natural Law Party (NLP) ticket and received a little more than 1% of the vote.

In 2000 she won the Preservation Award from the Louisville Historic League for developing the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center. Nailah Yarbrough-Jumoke is the author of Abebi: we called for her and she came to us (2018).

For more see "Ex-candidate fosters culture," Lexington Herald-Leader, 2/18/200, p. B3.