Black History Month

A novelist who was the first African-American to be published abroad. A former slave who sued her master for freedom. And one of the first black men to graduate from West Point. These are just some of the historical figures actors with the Kentucky Chautauqua program portray, telling their stories in communities across the Commonwealth.

When discussing baseball and breaking the color barrier in America’s pastime, trailblazers such as Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige are frequently mentioned. But a player some remember as “the Mayfield Mounder” helped integrate minor league baseball in western Kentucky.

Though not known to many, Stovepipe No. 1 – a west Kentucky musician nicknamed for his hat and instrument of choice – left a unique mark on the history of jug band music.

A far western Kentucky city honored the memory of a Black artist who called the town home over the weekend with a guest author sharing their recent children's book about his life.

A pair of Paducah art exhibits – one curated by a Graves County art institution at Paducah City Hall and another at the National Quilt Museum – are among the many options available to west Kentucky residents and visitors observing Black History Month.

Austin Carter speaks to Murray State professor of history Dr. Brian Clardy about his upcoming lecture as part of the university's Black Heritage Lecture series.

Austin Carter speaks to Dr. Alicestyne Turley ahead of her McLib Evening Upstairs presentation: African Americans in the Civil War.

West Kentucky Community & Technical College is renaming its office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to memorialize the Paducah institution’s first Black graduate.

WKMS celebrates Black History Month with special programming each Thursday in February. Programs include historical, musical, and social subject matter that analyzes and celebrates the Black experience in the U.S.

A symposium discussing the history of African American recreation during the Jim Crow era is planned for Friday.