Ashworth, John Pater

In 1972, Reverend J. Pater Ashworth III became the first African American elected president of the Kentucky Council of Churches. Rev. Ashworth served as pastor of churches in Kentucky and Tennessee, including the Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church in Louisville and the Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church in Nashville, TN.

Rev. Ashworth was born December 22, 1917 and died in Nashville, TN on August 1, 2006 [source: U.S. Social Security Index].

For more see "First Black president named by churchmen," Lexington Leader, 11/16/1972, p. 1.