From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Hopkinsville Colored Libraries (Christian County, KY)
(start date: 1895)In 1895 a colored library club existed in Hopkinsville, KY. According to an article in the Earlington Bee newspaper, New York banker J. C. Latham, a native of Hopkinsville, made a handsome donation to the club [source: "Our colored citizens," The Bee, 3/28/1895, p. 4].
In 1899, Miss McDowell gave a singing performance and the proceeds went to the colored library [sourcce: "Miss McDowell," The Bee, July 20, 1899, p. 3].
In 1914, P. Moore and others called for a mass meeting at the Virginia Street Baptist Church to discuss how to secure a public library for the colored people of Hopkinsville [source: "Colored Mass Meeting," Hopkinsville Kentuckian, 10/6/1914, p. 4].
In 1936, the colored library was housed in the Church of the Good Shepherd on Second and Campbell Streets in Hopkinsville. The library had 1,000 volumes. The city commission donated 150 bushels of coal so that the library could remain open during the winter months. The library committee members were Rosa M. Hopson, Ora L. Brewer, and Dolly R. Brown.
For more see "Colored library to be helped by city," Kentucky New Era, 10/24/1936, p. 6.