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

Sweeney, Pruitt Owsley, Sr.

(born: 1893  -  died: 1960) 

Born in Boyle County, KY, P. O. Sweeney became a dentist and later president of the Louisville, KY, Dental Association. He was also president of the Louisville NAACP branch and the Teachers' Equalization Committee. In 1947 he filed a lawsuit against the city of Louisville for operating a segregated public golf course. The suit was settled in 1952 when the city-owned golf course was opened to all citizens. Sweeney, a Kentucky native who was born in Junction City, KY, was the son of Edgar and Florence Sweeney. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan; and Who's Who in Colored America 1927. For more general information see African American golfers during the Jim Crow Era by M. P. Dawkins and G. C. Kinloch; and Forbidden Fairways: African Americans and the game of golf, by C. H. Sinnette.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Boyle County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Junction City, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Item Relations

Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Sweeney, Pruitt Owsley, Sr.,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed July 26, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/625.

Last modified: 2017-08-09 17:40:23