Preserving History

by Tanzi Merritt

Smiley Pete Publishing

The Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at the University of Kentucky came into being in 2020, as the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor became part of a national conversation at the height of the global pandemic. But its roots within the university had been established well before. Read more here. 

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2024) — February marks the start of Black History Month — a time dedicated to recognizing the achievements, contributions and rich heritage of Black Americans throughout history. 

Black Americans were, and continue to be, instrumental in shaping our country. During February, we honor their legacy by highlighting and celebrating the stories that were often neglected or silenced. 

“This month is a significant celebration that recognizes the leadership and legacy forged by Black Americans,” said University of Kentucky Vice President for Institutional Diversity Katrice A. Albert. “It is our annual moment to commemorate the remarkable cultural heritage that just might

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Lauren Parsons 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 15, 2023) — More than 77,000 physical pages of Fayette County’s historical records, spanning from the late 1700s through 1865, are now digitized and publicly accessible online, thanks to a project led by University of Kentucky scholars, students and community partners. The project aims to help families and researchers piece together information and previously unknown

By Tatum Armstrong

The Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative (KBWC) and the University of Kentucky's 91.3 WUKY will host "SAY IT LOUD: STAND UP," featuring prominent and emerging Black writers. The event will take place 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, located at 251 West 2nd St.

Readings by Jude “JC” McPherson, Frank X Walker, Dwayne Parker and Shawn Pryor will take place throughout the event, and recordings of the presentations will be published here. Admission is free to the public and set to encourage attendees to nurture their development while removing financial obstacles for as long as needed.

"SAY IT LOUD: STAND UP" is sponsored by

By C. Lynn Hiler 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 25, 2023) — The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence recently named 34 new fellows, five endowed professorships and three faculty fellows.

The Chellgren Student Fellows Program is open to all majors and takes place during the student’s second year at UK. During this time, students receive help understanding the process of research within their discipline, a research mentor to oversee a spring research project and assistance in preparing for the next phase of their career. Student Fellows also benefit from a variety of extracurricular events designed to broaden cultural and intellectual horizons. Among them are: 

The following op-ed was written by Aria Halliday, an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies, African American and Africana Studies and International Film Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 31, 2023) — Growing up, I was — what we called in the '90s — a “tomboy.” Other than the dreadful laffy taffy-colored taffeta dresses with ruffles and white lace-trimmed socks, which my

By C.E. Huffman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 21, 2023) — Appalachia has a rich history and culture. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the region spans north from New York, down the expansive mountain range as far south and west to Mississippi with Kentucky in the middle. Many times, lost in the overall conversation of Appalachia are Black Americans contributions to the region.

Frank X Walker, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences English professor, wanted to make

By C.E. Huffman

The University of Kentucky community and the public are invited to join Sharyn Mitchell for her presentation of “We, Too, Were Here!” The event will be held at the William T. Young Library’s UK Athletics Auditorium 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15.

Mitchell is a former research services specialist at Berea College Special Collections and Archives.

"I got paid to play,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell's presentation will explore the often-hidden contributions that Black Americans have made to Kentucky history. During

By Ryan Girves

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2023) — In celebrating Black History Month, the University of Kentucky will host events on campus throughout February.

"Black History Month is a time to publicly honor the invaluable contributions of Black Americans. It is also a special time for each of us to focus on and challenge ourselves to growing our own Cultural Intelligence (CQ) — awareness, knowledge and action — toward bona fide inclusion," said Katrice Albert, UK vice president for institutional diversity. "For our campus, Black History Month is yet another opportunity to highlight and celebrate the remarkable people who help us fulfill our promise as Kentucky’s university."

Events include the following in the College of Arts & Sciences:

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky – As Black women gained economic status in the United States, one of the big issues that arose involved what their daughters’ toys would look like. It’s an issue Aria S. Halliday finds fascinating.  

"At the turn of the 20th century, a lot more Black people were able to participate in the consumer marketplace,” said Halliday, assistant professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and Program in African American and Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences. “They want stuff that represents their culture and who they think they are. From then to the present, we've been debating that. And I think that’s part of the thrust of the book.” 

Her book, “Buy Black: How Black Women

By Lauren Parsons

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 20, 2022) — More than 60,000 pages of Fayette County’s historical property records containing information about enslaved people from the late 1700s through 1865 will soon be available to the public online thanks to a partnership between the Fayette County Clerk, University of Kentucky’s Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies (CIBS), the Lexington Black Prosperity Initiative, Blue Grass Community Foundation and its Knight Foundation Donor Advised Charitable Fund.

The Fayette County Clerk began digitizing documents during the 1990s, but the books of historical property records remained on paper, including transactions detailing names of individuals sold and bought as slaves, mortgages naming enslaved people as

By Kody Kiser and Ryan Girves

Sunday, June 19, 2022, will mark the second year of the federally celebrated holiday, Juneteenth. 

Long celebrated in the Black community, Juneteenth marks the day U.S. Army Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Galveston, Texas, that slavery was over — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

In recent years, we as a country have pushed for more. More discussion, more acknowledgment, more reform. With that has come more recognition of African American history that has been largely marginalized.

As the country continues to progress, so does the University of Kentucky, who made Juneteenth an academic holiday in 2020. The announcement came after the release of a multi-step action plan to increase the commitment to — and investments

by Jenny Wells-Hosley

This week, the University of Kentucky and surrounding communities will celebrate Juneteenth — the federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans — with a variety of community events.

While the Emancipation Proclamation was issued Jan. 1, 1863, declaring more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states free, it was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, two years later, on June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved U.S. populations were informed of the proclamation. Since then, the date has served as a symbol for freedom and celebration for Black communities. This year marks the second time Juneteenth will be observed as a federal holiday in the U.S., as well as the second year the University of Kentucky will be closed in observance (Monday, June 20).  

Below is a list of

By Jennifer Haynes

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2022) — Eleven university faculty and teaching assistants were recognized by the University of Kentucky with the 2022 Outstanding Teaching Awards on Thursday, April 21, in the J. David Rosenberg College of Law Grand Courtroom. 

This annual award program recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching.

Each winner received an award certificate, a

University of Kentucky African American and Africana Studies (AAAS) and The Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies (CIBS) will host the 27th annual Black Women’s Conference from 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Friday, April 15. The conference will be on Zoom.

This theme this year is “Appalachian Mountains, Digital Valleys, and Everything in Between: Black Feminist Subjectivities.” Anastasia C. Curwood, director of AAAS and CIBS, will begin the conference by welcoming audiences and introducing the four topics that will be covered during the event.

“The

By Olaoluwapo Onitiri

Many people grew up playing video games throughout their childhood. Gaming has become an important culture in the world today. It has inspired many, including Kishonna Gray, who is using her gaming experiences to create platforms to talk about important topics, such as Black people in the cyber world and intersectional feminism.

Gray is an associate professor in Writing, Rhetoric and Digital studies and African American and Africana studies and an affiliate faculty in Gender and Women studies and International Film studies. In her latest book, Intersectional Tech from Louisiana State University Press, she talks about blackness in gaming at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and (dis)ability in-depth.

“While my

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 15, 2021) — “We cannot understand where humanity has been and where we are going without Black Studies.”

This is the mantra of the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies (CIBS) — a multidisciplinary research institute based in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of African American and Africana Studies.  

The institute hosts more than 50 nationally and internationally recognized researchers with expertise in fields such as Black futures and 21st century race in digital cultures; slavery and inequality in Central Kentucky; race and sport; global Blackness (from Appalachia to Zimbabwe); and gender and sexuality in Black lives. These affiliated faculty represent 11 colleges across UK, and they are

By Kody Kiser and Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2022) — In the fall of 2020, the University of Kentucky announced plans to establish the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies (CIBS) — a multidisciplinary program designed to highlight UK’s growing research around issues of race and racism.

The interdisciplinary institute establishes research clusters across the campus and promotes the university’s growing research and scholarship on topics of importance in African history and African American history, such as slavery and the quest for freedom, racial discrimination and violence, and the long struggle for civil rights.

This year, the university announced continued annual funding of $200,000 through UK’s

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 11, 2022) — A legacy is passed from one generation to the next and often refers to gifts of money or property. But leaving a lasting impact also is about actions — the ones you take and the way they affect how people remember you.

“When I looked at her, I saw a hero — like she was some type of superstar,” said Taylor Morton.

As children, our heroes were often the classic characters we enviously watched on Saturday morning cartoons. But for as long as they can remember, twins Taylor and Tyler Morton’s version of a hero was far more realistic.

“My grandmother knocked down barriers and overpowered hate with love,” Tyler said. “Many are unaware of her legacy. She was very humble — she wasn’t one to brag or want recognition.”

To those who didn’t

By Ryan Girves

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2022) — The University of Kentucky is home to decades of rich Black history. To celebrate that history and to reflect on all the contributions Black Americans have made since this country’s conception, the Martin Luther King Center, along with units across campus, will celebrate Black History Month with a series of virtual and in-person events and programs throughout February. 

“This month is an opportunity to commemorate the lives, struggles and achievements of Black Americans,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “We are today’s University of Kentucky because of the remarkable Black alumni who pushed open our doors and paved a path for those who would follow. I am excited to see our community