Barnes, Walter Leland
(born: 1929 - died: 2014)Walter L. Barnes was the founder of the Black Achievers Program in Louisville, KY. He also served as the executive director of the Chestnut Street YMCA in Louisville; he started working there in the fall of 1953 and was named Executive Director in 1968. In 2003, the City of Louisville honored him by renaming Tenth Street to Walter Barnes Way. Walter L. Barnes had come to Kentucky to attend college, he was a 1953 graduate from Kentucky State University (KSU). Walter L. Barnes was captain of the 1951 KSU football team and was named All -American End. He was inducted into the KSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980. He was a member of the KSU National Alumni Association, and for 61 years he was a member of the Louisville Alumni Chapter of KSU. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Walter L. Barnes was born in Huntington, WV, and in 1948 graduated from the Douglass High School in Huntington. He was the last of the six children of U. L. Barnes, Jr. and Bennie Mae Williams Barnes. He was the husband of Martha J. Washington Barnes. For more see H. Taylor, "In Memoriam: Barnes known for community service," Louisville Courier-Journal, 08/13/2014, p.A.9; and funeral program "Homegoing Services for Walter Leland Barnes," services at Calvary Baptist Church, A.D. Porter & Sons Funeral Home.
*This entry and supporting documents were provided by Juanita L. White, Louisville, KY.