Twyman, Luska Joseph
(born: 1913 - died: 1988)Luska J. Twyman was born in Hiseville, KY, the son of Eliza Twyman. In 1968 he became the first African American mayor of Glasgow, KY and for 17 years the only African American mayor in Kentucky. He was also the first African American to serve on the U.S. Commission of Human Rights.
Twyman was a 1939 graduate of Kentucky State University, earned a Master's degree at Indiana State University, and did post-graduate work at Peabody College. He served as a principal of the Ralph Bunche School for African Americans in Glasgow and assistant principal at the new Glasgow County High School. He was also a World War II veteran.
The Luska J. Twyman Memorial Park in Glasgow is named in his honor. There is also a Kentucky Historical Marker [#2019] honoring Twyman in the Glasgow Public Square.
For more see "Kentucky City Council Names Black Mayor," Jet, vol. 35, issue 1 (Oct. 10, 1968), p. 4; Luska Twyman in the Kentucky Files - Biography at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives; S. Brown, "Luska Twyman, Kentucky's first Black mayor, dies," Lexington Herald-Leader, 1/29/1988, City/State section, p. C1; Sam Terry, "Luska Twyman: Kentucky First Black Mayor," 10/15/2019, The Sentinel Echo; and
"Kentucky's First African American Mayor," at WNKY News 40 (includes video).