African American

LANCASTER - When Janet Overstreet attended Camp Dick Robinson Elementary in the fall of 1964, it was the first year of integration for Garrard County Schools. As an African-American first-grader, Overstreet said she knew she was part of something special. "I can remember going to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) meetings with my parents, and listening to the adults talk about boycotts, the state of the community and so forth ... " Overstreet recalls.

African-American redistricting forum The Clark County Board of Education Redistricting Committee will hold a forum for African-American parents Monday, Jan. 26, at the People Helping People Building on Wainscott Avenue at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to all African-American parents in Clark County. Refreshments will be served. Rotary Club to meet The Rotary Club will meet today at noon at the Winchester Country Club. Scott True, girls varsity basketball and softball coach at George Rogers Clark High School, and Jackie McCloud, GRC athletics director, will be the speakers.

Dear Editor, "The Constant Star" by playwright Tazewell Thompson is an extraordinary play about an African-American woman named Ida B. Wells that is a must see. It is performed by an extremely talented African-American cast. The history of Ida B. Wells was brought to life by great spirituals sung by the cast. I truly enjoyed this performance and learning about the life and history of such a brave woman. This play is being performed at the Downtown Arts Center on East Main Street in Lexington.

Bate Middle School Council will hold a minority parent election from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday in the school office. All minority candidates must be from one of the following ethic groups: American Indian, Alaskan native, African-American or Hispanic. All nominating forms must be turned into the school office by 4 p.m. today.

Dear Editor, I've had a lot of time to think about what I was going to say in this letter, and each time I get a sad feeling in my soul that bigotry and ignorance is still alive. This is in reference to the Danville-Boyle County rivalry game. I went to Danville High School, and the rivalry was there, but it was was nowhere near what it has progressed to today. So to begin our history lesson - for those of you who threw cotton at Admiral Stadium last year and thought it was OK this year to wear the T-shirts that said "100 percent cotton", - slavery was abolished many years ago, so my mother didn't pick cotton.

The Jessamine County Fiscal Court will host Christmas at Olde Hall Church, located in Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, from 3-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5. Hall Church was built in the late 1800s by African American Union Soldiers and was restored by the fiscal court in 2005. Christmas at Olde Hall Church will feature a re-enactor of Frederick Douglass, the renowned American orator, writer and statesman who was a leader of the abolitionist movement. “We’re thrilled to have so many wonderful performers at the event,” event organizer Judy Woolums said.

Matthew Yates sees no special significance in him being the first African-American head basketball coach at Danville High School. "I was the first black coach at West Jessamine. The demographics were different at West Jessamine than Danville, but I am just another guy coming in trying to coach and do the best job he can do," said Yates today. Yates, 39, takes over the Danville boys basketball program from Craig Pippen, who resigned after guiding Danville to a 5-23 mark last season.

Danville High School Library November 2007 Roundtable organized and conducted by Herb Brock, Advocate News Department Still photos and audio and video by Gary Moyers, Advocate Online Department Youth Roundtable participants: Dominque Alcorn, 18, years old 12th grade, African-American Shakira Ball, 16 years old, 11th grade, African-American James Crawford, 17 years old, 11th grade, African-American ...

FRANKFORT - Richard Todd Duncan, a civil rights pioneer, teacher, and original Porgy in George Gershwin's opera, "Porgy and Bess," is being inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame today in a ceremony at Kentucky State University. Somerset Community College and Kentucky Community and Technical College System were operative in achieving the recognition for Duncan, according to a press release from the college. Duncan was born Feb. 12, 1903, in Danville, and grew up in Somerset.

McDowell House Museum officially has opened a new room on its tour during African American History Month to honor the enslaved African-Americans that lived at the house in the early 1800s. McDowell House recently has made several conscious changes to the way it deals with the issue of slavery, giving a more prominent voice to the people once enslaved on the property. This includes a change in the mission statement, an addition to the children's book, and the new room. It is likely that a house slave lived in a small room above the kitchen, which was previously used as museum storage.

In honor of Black History Month, Boyle Landmark Trust hosted a two-day celebration of Boyle County African-American history. Thursday and today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Boyle Landmark Trust Chairwoman Barbara Hulette and other members gathered at Grayson Tavern on Constitution Square. Hulette said the event, in its second consecutive year, is intended to share education regarding settlers, business people, educators and others who have impacted Boyle County. “Here, we have the history of Grayson Tavern, the Willis Russell House,” Hulette said.

Dozens of people including local dignitaries celebrated the dedication of a historical marker Monday in Danville. State Rep. Mike Harmon, Boyle County Judge-Executive Harold McKinney and Danville Mayor Bernie Hunstad were among those who honored the first African-American men allowed to enlist in the Union troops during the Civil War. Kentucky Historical Highway Marker No. 2388, at Constitution Square, honors the 250 men who left Boyle County to...

HARRODSBURG - The idea of an oral history project to document the African-American experience in Harrodsburg and Mercer County from the 1930s to the present came about in 2010 when the James Harrod Trust sponsored a ground census of the Maple Grove Cemetery. The census was taken to generate a database for burials in the cemetery that the city could use and also put on the Internet, said Kandie Adkinson, project director. “As we did research in the cemetery with representatives of the African-American churches and the James Harrod Trust, we realized that research was needed in African-American history,” she said.

He was an All-American at Duquesne and helped the Dukes reach the NCAA Elite Eight, became one of the first two African-Americans in the NBA to play on a championship team and even played with and against the Harlem Globetrotters. It was quite a successful basketball career for James D. Tucker of Paris - who is known as Jim or J.D. to his friends - and even today he says he owes it all to legendary University of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, the man often accused of being a racist . Tucker, 79, made it clear during a trip back to Kentucky for his induction into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame - he led Paris Western to four straight Kentucky High School League state tourney berths from 1947-50.

Centre College will present an “African Voices” festival that celebrates African and African-American culture Friday through Jan 18. Scholars, musicians, dancers and authors will give lectures and performances as part of the festival’s activities. African Voices events include an evening of music by drummer Yaya Diallo at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Weisiger Theatre. Diallo, a musician and author from Mali, performs both traditional and popular West African Kanza music. Diallo also will talk and perform at a program titled “The Healing Drum: African Wisdom and Teaching” at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Vahlkamp Theatre.

The Jessamine County Fiscal Court will host Christmas at Olde Hall Church, located in Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, from 3-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5. Hall Church was built in the late 1800s by African American Union Soldiers and was restored by the fiscal court in 2005. Christmas at Olde Hall Church will feature a re-enactor of Frederick Douglass, the renowned American orator, writer and statesman who was a leader of the abolitionist movement. “We’re thrilled to have so many wonderful performers at the event,” event organizer Judy Woolums said.

Bate Middle School Council will hold a minority parent election from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday in the school office. All minority candidates must be from one of the following ethic groups: American Indian, Alaskan native, African-American or Hispanic. All nominating forms must be turned into the school office by 4 p.m. today.

For the residents of the Poynterville community, it's a matter of remembering those who came before them, the legacy left behind and the businesses that occupied this once-vibrant community. Now some 60 years later, those living in the community will have a constant reminder of the businesses that once occupied the area and served as the social civic center for the African-American community. What once was considered just a "green space" has been designated as Heritage Park.

"The Wonder Team," a documentary by Centre College alumnus Tom Thurman about the celebrated Centre football team that beat Harvard 6-0 in 1921, will premiere at 7 p.m. Thursday at Vahlkamp Theater in Centre's Crounse Hall. The premiere begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. in the theater lobby. Both events are free and open to the public. A question and answer session will follow the film. The score of the game spawned graffiti that used to be seen often at Centre and around Danville: C6 H0. "Everyone's a sucker for a good David vs. Goliath story, and I'm no exception," said Thurman, who lives in Lexington.