KY women and civil rights history

The Kentucky General Assembly passes the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and Governor Edward T. Breahitt signs it into law on January 27, 1966. The Act prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on race, national origin, color, and religion. Kentucky becomes the first state in the South pass a civil rights law. It becomes the first in the south to establish enforcement powers over civil rights violations on a state level. The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights becomes the state enforcement authority of the Act.    The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights publishes "Negro Employment in Kentucky State Agencies" in February 1966, tracking for the first time African American employment statistics of the state government workforce. On August 26, 1966, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights opens an office in Louisville, Ky., to “increase field service activities in the western half of the state, where some 70 percent of Kentucky’s Negroes live,” say state officials.

Dr Lillian Herald South   Born:  January 31, 1879 Died:  September 13, 1966  A native of Warren County, KY, Lillian South exerted a powerful influence on Kentucky’s public health. She was born the daughter of a doctor, JF South and his wife Martha (nee Moore).  Lillian went to public school in Bowling Green and graduated with a BA degree from Potter College (at the present location of WKU) when she was only 18 years old.  She then traveled to Patterson, NJ, where she studied for two years for her RN degree in nursing. Having “aced” every course in nursing school, she decided to pursue a doctoral degree in medicine. After 5 years, she earned her MD degree  from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (1904). She returned to practice in Bowling Green, joining the successful practice of Dr J N McCormack and Dr A T McCormack. Two years later the three doctors established St Joseph Hospital in the South family home on (what is now) 12th Avenue. The home was re-built to accommodate 42 beds.  Just a few years later, in 1910, Dr South was appointed as state bacteriologist at the State Board of Health in Louisville, a position that she held for 40 years. In this capacity, she gained national recognition for her many years of research on hookworms, rabies, and leprosy in Kentucky. She is credited for virtually eradicating the once widely prevalent hookworm from the state, through public health campaigns to exterminate houseflies which are the vector. She also led the movement to ban the use of the public drinking cup.  Dr South was also very active in state and national organizations, and was the first woman to be elected vice president of the AMA (1914). She was an active member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Kentucky Medical Association, the Jefferson County Medical Society, and the Tri-County Medical Society.     [Note: the Warren County Medical Society was formerly called the Tri-County Medical Society].  She was president of the Association of Southern Medical Women, and councilor of the American Association of Medical Women.  Dr South traveled extensively to learn as much as she could about the science of medicine. She studied at Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, the Pasteur Lab in Paris, as well as the Madame Curie Radium Institute. She was a delegate to the International Hygiene Congress in Dresden, Germany, and to the Public Health Division of the League of Nations in Geneva, Switz.

The parties to this action include: Plaintiffs (1) South Hill Neighborhood Association, Inc. (South Hill), a non-profit Kentucky corporation having as one of its purposes the preservation of historical buildings; (2) The Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc. (Bluegrass Trust), a non-profit Kentucky corporation having as one of its purposes the preservation of historical buildings; (3) Curtis Harrison, a citizen, taxpayer and President of South Hill; (4) Mrs. Stathis Kafoglis, a citizen, taxpayer and owner of property within the area in controversy; (5) Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Dennis, citizens, taxpayers and owners of property within the area in controversy; and Defendants (1) George Romney, Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); (2) The City of Lexington, Kentucky, a municipal corporation, duly organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky; (3) Honorable Charles Wylie, Mayor of Lexington, Kentucky; (4) The Board of City Commissioners of the City of Lexington, authorized city board for the City of Lexington; (5) Joseph Graves, Harry Sykes, Thomas Fugazzi, duly elected and qualified members of the Lexington Board of City Commissioners; (6) Urban Renewal and Community Development Agency of the City of Lexington (Lexington Urban Renewal Agency), a municipal corporation organized under and existing by virtue of the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky; (7) Robert E. Featherston, William R. Embry, Byron Romanowitz, D. C. Noble and H. J. Hagler, duly appointed, qualified and acting members of the Lexington Urban Renewal Agency; (8) Jennie Bryant, director of the Lexington Urban Renewal Agency; (9) Citizens Union National Bank and Trust Company, Inc. (Citizens Union Bank), a national banking corporation organized under and existing by virtue of the laws of the United States of America; (10) Norwood Construction Company, Inc. (Norwood Construction Co.), a Kentucky corporation; and (11) J. Norwood Hodge, President of Norwood Construction Co.

It is likewise clear that none of the plaintiffs have any real interest in this litigation. None of the plaintiffs own or have owned any of the seven buildings in controversy. None of the plaintiffs had legal control or title to the buildings when they were placed on the National Register. The Lexington Urban Renewal Agency had acquired title to these buildings in February, 1969, and the buildings were placed on the Register in July, 1969. None of the plaintiffs, though informed of the urban renewal plan's alternate use for historic preservation, submitted a proposal for development of the area. The plaintiffs' interest in the litigation is not sufficient to give them standing to bring a mandamus action under 28 U.S.C. § 1361, an injunction under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, or court review of administrative action under 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. They do not have a personal stake in the outcome. Norwalk Core v. Norwalk Redevelopment Agency, 395 F.2d 920, 927 (2 Cir.1968).

In fact, black women have long been regarded as the backbone of the black church. But their extensive and significant contributions are made as lay leaders, not as religious heads of churches.

During the African-American Civil Rights Movement, it was the black churches that held the leadership role. Black churches were the main points of operations in regards to the Civil Rights Movement.

John W. Smith

was then the Jackson Funeral Home, owned by Ashby Jackson

Embalming

“Affirmative action” means positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity—affirmative action generates intense controversy.

nlike African-Americans and Hispanics, women were getting PhDs in substantial and growing numbers. If the affirmative action required of federal contractors was a recipe for “proportional representation,” then Revised Order No. 4 was bound to leave a large footprint on campus. Some among the professoriate exploded in a fury of opposition to the new rules, while others responded with an equally vehement defense of them.[3]