Exhibits

Second Quarter Programs and Exhibits April Saturday, April 19, from 1 to 3 pm Lexington Public Library Theater, 140 East Main Street Diane P. Coon tells the story of The Freedman's Bureau in Kentucky and documents the schools established which assisted newly freed African Americans in obtaining an education. Program is open to the public. The program was funded in part by the Kentucky Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. May Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky Saturday, May 24th, 1 to 3 pm Museum Gallery, Lexington History Center, Room 121  Reinette Jones, Diversity and Multicultural Activities Librarian, University of Kentucky, will talk about her motivation and research that led to the book publication. A photo gallery of images of library buildings, librarians and some patrons will be on display in the museum's gallery beginning in May and ending in December. June Emancipation's Legacy Opening Gallery - Saturday, June 14th, 2 to 4 pm Museum Gallery, Lexington History Center, Room 121 A photo and archival display will inform viewers of the issues Kentucky African Americans confronted following the close of the Civil War. It will chronicle the successful efforts to win the right to vote, the right to testify in courts, the right to travel without harassment and the right to obtain an education for themselves and their children. Leaders among the minority of those who had been free prior to the Civil War and the larger majority of newly freed individuals combined resources to form organizations which promoted educational, economical and political advancement for African Americans well into the 20th century. The Agricultural and Mechanical Fair of Colored People showcased the industry and progress of African Americans. It became one of the most success ventures, holding annual events until the mid 1960s. The Benevolent Societies, the United Brothers of Friendship, the African Masonic Lodges and other fraternal organizations promoted self-reliance and care for those less fortunate. Trustees of the Female Education Society established public schools and lobbied for public support and use of their tax dollars toward the education of their children and for the establishment of a school to train and educate teachers. Emancipation opened the door that allowed African Americans to come into full citizenship and participate in the democratic process. The display will be featured through December 2009 to coincide with the national traveling exhibit, Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation. Funded in part by the Kentucky Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. First Quarter Exhibits January   In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  On display in the museum's gallery will be: An original program of the Freedom March on Frankfort in 1964 A Martin Luther King, Jr. souvenir pen First edition of My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. by Coretta Scott King The autobiography of attorney Fred D. Gray, Sr., Bus Ride to Justice. On the cover of the book is a photo of him and the young Reverend King. Mr. Gray was the attorney for Rosa Parks and M.L. King, Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. To Acknowledge Earlier Civil Rights Leaders African-Americans in Kentucky were not freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Kentucky did not vote in favor of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which abolished slavery. Only upon ratification by the majority of states did enslaved Americans of African descent become free in Kentucky. The date was December 18, 1865. Kentucky African-Americans had been patient but realized that the state legislature had no intentions of granting them the same civil rights and privileges extended to their white citizens - including those who had been in rebellion against the Union. In March 1866, a call went out to all parts of the state for a Colored People's Convention. Delegates convened in Lexington for the first time to discuss the strategy needed in order for the state to recognize their claims as citizens. In the three day session, they hired attorneys to represent their concerns in federal and state legislatures. They prepared and published petitions and made very public their feelings and actions. On display will be: Resolutions of the Colored People's Convention of March 1866 Archive records of public appeal for support of schools in 1870 Archive records of protest against the Separate Coach Law of 1892 February Museums in the Lexington History Center are teaming up to present a display during February - Black History Month- honoring those who contributed to Lexington's history. Museums on the first floor (entrance on Short Street): The Hathaway Museum Gallery will feature information about early churches along with the Kentucky's First exhibit and A Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians posters produced by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights. The Kentucky Renaissance Pharmacy Museum will have a panel of information about W.H. Ballard, pharmacist who was the first in Lexington. The Public Safety Museum will highlight African-Americans who served in law enforcement, fire and corrections agencies. In the third floor courtroom The Lexington History Museum is featuring African-American lawyers who were practicing in Lexington at the time this courthouse was built in 1898 in addition to their photo exhibit "In Black and White." Programs and Exhibits During the Month at the Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum Gallery:  Saturday, February 9th, 2:30 pm Rosetta Quisenberry, local writer, was present to talk about and sign her books in the Black Family Saga series. Local artist, Melody Brooks and local community activist, Bruce Mundy discussed the design of the Dynamic Door featuring local writers Rosetta Quisenberry, Nikky Finney, Crystal Wilkinson, Dr. Seals and Dr. Gerald Smith. The Hathaway Museum Gallery on the first floor. Saturday, February 16th, 1:30 pm, Dr. Necia Harkless told an audience of children and adults of the importance of her research into the Nubian Pharaohs and Meriotic Kings: The Kingdom of Kush. At 2:30 pm, Rev. L.H. McIntyre shared insights into his book, One Grain of the Salt: The First African Baptist Church West of the Allegheny Mountains (Documented). Both authors had books for purchase. The Hathaway Museum Gallery on the first floor.    Going to Church: A collection of programs, fans, hymnals, bibles and clothing. A Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians poster series         Books written by Kentucky African-Americans         Exhibit at the Public Safety Museum on the first floor: A photo and biographical gallery of African-Americans who have served in the Law Enforcement and Fire Agencies has been developed and will be on display through the end of the year.          Program at the Lexington History Museum in the third floor courtroom: Thursday, February 21st, 7:30 pm, a Kentucky Humanities Chautauqua performance of Anna Mac Clarke, a military pioneer. Anna Mac was born in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and raised there by her maternal grandmother. In 1937 she enrolled at Kentucky State College in Frankfort. After graduating in 1941, she became a counselor at a Girl Scout Camp in New York. Anna Mac enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later shortened to the Women's Army Corps (WAC), following the entry of the United States into the military conflict of World War II. She was the only African-American to graduate from officer training class in 1943 and became the first to command an all white unit. She made national news by protesting against segregated seating in the base theater at Douglas Airfield. As a result Colonel Harvey E. Dyer, issued an order banning segregation on the base. Anna Mac died at the age of twenty-four from complications of a ruptured appendix.   March Paths to Freedom African-Americans who were enslaved sought and found their own ways to become free prior to the abolition of slavery. Advertisements for runaway slaves, documents of manumissions, wills of owners of the enslaved, enlistment and pension records of veterans of the United States Colored Troops all bring the stories to our awareness. A few who were released from bondage were among those sent to settle in Liberia, Africa. This movement was conceived and supported by the American Colonization Society founded in 1816. The story of Alfred Russell, former enslaved of Mary Owen Todd Russell Wickcliffe, is one which will be highlighted. Mr. Russell served as vice president and president of Liberia which declared independence in 1847. One Man's Story of Escape and Freedom In 1897, at the age of seventy-nine, Harry Slaughter was interviewed by a reporter of the local newspaper who asked for the details of his life. He told that he had been born on March 18, 1818, a slave of Captain John C. Graves. Mr. Graves gave Harry to his son, Ben F. Graves who operated a hat factory. When the factory failed, Harry was sold at auction and was purchased by Richard Pindell. Miss Sidney Edmiston asked her nephew Richard to loan Harry to her so that she could make him the 'dining room man.' When Harry was about thirty-two, he encountered Patrick Doyle who persuaded him to escape along with about twenty-five other enslaved men from Lexington and Fayette County. The group assembled and left on Saturday, August 5, 1848 to make their way across country to the Ohio River. They traveled at night and hid during the day. They got as far as Bracken County before they were discovered by some young boys who gave the alarm to men in the nearby town. About the same time, the owners of the runaways had posted a reward in the newspaper and had alerted a posse who began a pursuit. Having been discovered, the larger group split and began to run in various directions. Harry told that only Shadrach remained with him as they pushed north to the Licking River. After crossing the river, they were surrounded by men who had lain in wait for them. The men subdued Shadrach but were unable to do the same to him. He "knocked down" everyone who approached him until finally an older man in the posse asked Harry to surrender, promising not to let anyone harm him. Harry did so and was led to the Bracken County jail where he was confined until his trial. He was represented by attorneys Madison C. Johnson, Maury Pindell and Judge Graves who were able to secure his return to Lexington. He was later pardoned by the Governor on the charges of rebellion and insurrection. Harry spent nearly a month in Pullium's Slave jail located on Broadway. When Ms. Edmiston heard that he had encountered some difficulty at the jail, she sent a note for his release. Harry told that she asked him why he ran away. His reply was that she had treated him with great kindness but he just "wanted to be free." Ms. Edmiston loaned him money and secured loans from others she knew. These amounts were combined with the small amount which Harry had saved and he bought his freedom. It took him five years to repay the loans plus interest which amounted to $987, but he did so. Harry worked as a painter, paper hanger and at other odd jobs to pay his debt. Following his emancipation, he married his sweetheart, Susan Taylor who was a free woman; they raised a family of five children. In his closing statement, he said " I don't suppose I will last much longer, but thank God I have lived for forty-six years a free man." Harry died June 14,1906. (Lexington Herald, 7/20/1897. p8, c3)