From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Cross, Oscar Mansfield

(born: August 10, 1906 - died: April 19, 1999)

Born in Fulton, KY, Oscar M. Cross was the first African American juvenile officer in Paducah KY, founding the Boys Club of Paducah in 1949 for African American boys. He served as director for 50 years and is credited as a leader in bringing about the first interracial board of directors of the Boys Club in Paducah, Inc. In 1980, the club was renamed the Oscar Cross Boys Club of Paducah and is now called the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club of Paducah.

For more see Profiles of Contemporary Black Achievers of Kentucky, by J. B. Horton.

Subject

Corrections and Police

External Digital Object Link

Hyperlink for external related resource

See a photograph and additional information about Oscar Cross at the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Hall of Fame website.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Fulton County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Read about McCracken County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Fulton, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Read about Paducah, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Item Relations

Cited in this Entry

NKAA Source: Profiles of contemporary black achievers of Kentucky: a brief account of individual Black achievers of Kentucky whose qualities and attainments against the odds of circumstance distinguish them from the unexceptional

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Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Cross, Oscar Mansfield,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed October 11, 2026, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/297.

Last modified: 2023-06-01 19:10:39