By Jay Blanton

(Feb. 4, 2016) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto has formed a broad-based committee to recommend a long-term resolution for a mural in UK's Memorial Hall that has sparked dialogue across the campus.

The Mural Committee is co-chaired by Melynda Price, a professor of law and director of the African American and Africana Studies Program at UK, and Terry Allen, interim vice president for institutional diversity.

"I have asked these dedicated members of our campus and broader community to move expeditiously, but thoughtfully, in recommending a long-term step with respect to the mural,"

University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information senior Kristyn Cherry will serve as student speaker during the December 2015 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony Friday, Dec. 18.  Read more here

By Gail Hairston

(Nov. 16, 2015) — Two films highlighting America’s racial conflicts will be shown on the University of Kentucky campus this week, with time scheduled for discussion afterward.

At 6 p.m. today, the documentary “Let the Fire Burn,” will be shown at the UK Athletics Auditorium in William T. Young Library, followed by a panel discussion hosted by the UK Martin Luther King Center and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and the African American and Africana Studies Program. 

“Let the Fire Burn” recounts the 1985 tragedy when Philadelphia police, with authorization from the mayor, responded to a stand-off with a black liberation group the city was trying to evict from its communal house in West Philadelphia by dropping a firebomb on the roof, burning the house to the ground and

By Whitney Hale

(Oct. 20, 2015) — The University of Kentucky's Gaines Center for the Humanities and the Department of Gender and Women's Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences are teaming up with the Office of LGBTQ* Resources, the Martin Luther King Center, the African American and Africana Studies Program and Black Student Union to present three events

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 8, 2015) — Roxane Gay was born in Nebraska, of Haitian descent, but her family moved quite a bit during her childhood. That doesn’t completely explain the divergent, eclectic nature of her writing, but perhaps it’s a starting point.

Like many children who felt a bit isolated from their peers, Gay turned to books to find friends. By the time she was in her teens, she was already writing essays. But it’s only been in the past few years that her books and stories began flying from bookstore shelves and garnering the favorable attention of critics.

She is the author of the short story collection "Ayiti" (2011), the novel “An Untamed State” (2014), the essay collection "Bad Feminist" (2014), and “Hunger” (forthcoming 2016). She also edited the book “Girl Crush: Women's Erotic Fantasies.”

By Whitney Hale

(Sept. 17, 2015) — In recent months, there has been much discussion of both the LGBTQ* and African-American experience in the nation. However, very little discussion to date looks at the experience of African-American members of the LGBTQ* community.

A new panel discussion, "WE ARE HERE!," hopes to bring that conversation to light in the Bluegrass from 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Lexington Public Library's Farish Theater, located in downtown Lexington. The event is free and open to the public. 

"WE ARE HERE!" will explore the range of different life experiences and well-being, as well as the importance of keeping those memories alive and preserved. It will also

By Whitney Hale

(Sept. 1, 2015) — For centuries, African Americans in the United States have had to overcome a lack of resources chronicling individuals' lives and culture in the nation's early history based on bigotry and societal status. Today, the black community's LGBTQ* members face similar obstacles in capturing their story. Scholar Jennifer Jones will speak to these difficulties at a talk at the University of Kentucky beginning 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Library Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Jones' talk, "A Complicity of Silence: Aaron Henry, 'The Fire Ever Burning' and the possibilities of archiving Black genders/

By Whitney Hale

(Aug. 25, 2015) — Legendary 81-year-old poet Sonia Sanchez will return to the upcoming Kentucky Women Writers Conference on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the conference series named for her. The Sonia Sanchez Series, which brings a major thinker in multicultural and human rights issues to Lexington to speak throughout the community, will this year present the nation's fourth screening of "BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez: a new documentary," on the life and work of the celebrated writer, at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center.

For Sonia Sanchez, writing is

By Whitney Hale

(Aug. 11, 2015) — Legendary 81-year-old poet Sonia Sanchez will return to the upcoming Kentucky Women Writers Conference on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the conference series named for her. The Sonia Sanchez Series, which brings a major thinker in multicultural and human rights issues to Lexington to speak throughout the community, will this year include a free public screening of "BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez: a new documentary," on the life and work of the celebrated writer, at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center.

For Sonia Sanchez, writing is both a personal

About Flight, the new poetry chapter from artist and Kentucky native, Frank X. Walker, has been released.  For more information and to order your copy, please check out the press release

By Whitney Harder

(July 17, 2015) — Summer: a time to catch up on neglected projects, reconnect with old friends and tackle that summer reading list. Whether it's an inspiring autobiography, the latest science fiction, or re-reading the classics, many are immersing themselves in a range of literature this season. For professors at the University of Kentucky, they are not only cracking open new books, but reflecting on those that have impacted their lives and careers in surprising ways. 

Read below for the first in a series of professors reflecting on the books that shaped them. 

John Anthony

J. C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry

Quite a few books have resonated with me over the years. The earliest would be the "Lord of the

By Kody Kiser, Amy Jones-Timoney

(May 13, 2015) — The University of Kentucky continues to celebrate its 150-year history with a special video featuring the poetry of Frank X Walker.   

The UK English professor and poet, noted for coining the term Affrilachia and co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets, wrote “Seedtime in the Commonwealth” and presented it during the Founder’s Day Convocation in February.

The

By Katy Bennett

(April 14, 2015) — Join the University of Kentucky Student Activities Board's Multicultural Affairs Committee in enjoying poetry readings by the Affrilachian Poets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesay, April 15, in the auditorium of William T. Young Library.

Students, faculty and staff can enjoy exciting and culturally captivating poetry by a group of talented poets brought together by Danville native and UK faculty member, Frank X Walker, who has also served as Kentucky's poet laureate. Five of the poets will share their personal history of being a minority in the Appalachian area and how their identity has been shaped because of their ethnicity. Light refreshments will be served.

“This poetry gives a voice to the Appalachian area,” Lee Mengistu, associate director of

Congratulations to DaMaris Hill, whose poetry manuscript, Bound, was a semi-finalist in the Crab Orchard Poetry Series Prize. Her chapbook, Visible Textures, is entering production and is set to be released in April, 2015. DaMaris Hill is Assistant Professor of English Creative Writing and African American and Africana Studies.

By Yan Wang

(Feb. 26, 2015) — Students from the African Students Association (ASA) at the University of Kentucky recently gathered in the Student Center to participate in a photography project to raise awareness of stereotypes about Africa.

“We organize this event to help the UK community become aware that Africa is not a continent of just poverty,” said Bill Kofi Aboagye, president of UK African Students Association.

About 20 to 30 students participated in the event. Students were holding signs with quotes like "Africa is not a country," "I do not speak African," and "Africa is not filled with diseases."

Aboagye said a lot of students at UK have little knowledge about Africa.

“Many times when you run into people who do not have a lot of information about

By Gail Hairston

(Feb. 16, 2015) — The Lexington NAACP continues to make history by co-sponsoring events at the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King Center.

The civil rights organization is supporting the center’s January and February Soup & Substance programs, a monthly public discussion group that typically debates a current event.

On Jan. 15, the Lexington NAACP co-sponsored the successful Martin Luther King Jr. Silent March and Vigil. On Feb. 19, the event will focus on cultural segregation, the second part of a Soup & Substance discussion held in November. The continuation of the discussion was not initially planned, but was scheduled because “attendees overwhelmingly asked us to continue, and the Lexington NAACP generously offered to sponsor,” said

by: Gail Hairston

(Feb. 2, 2015) — Today, the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King Center continues its tradition of sponsoring a month of events in recognition of Black History Month.

February will include such popular events as the Apollo, an opportunity for UK students to present their theatrical talents; a sampling of soul food; a rap battle; and a King Center and Late Night Film Series presentation of “Dear White People” and a conversation with director Justin Simien.

“The Martin Luther King Center is proud to provide the university community with a strong calendar of events to celebrate Black History Month. The events run the gamut – from rap battles to soul food to black Latino history to the ever-popular Apollo. We are especially honored to offer a screening of “Dear White People” followed by a chat with the film’s director Justin

by: Whitney Hale

(Feb. 2, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Special Collections and Research Center (SCRC) is presenting a new exhibition on LGBTQ members of the African-American community in the Commonwealth. "A Pictorial History of African American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer Persons in Kentucky," the 2015 Black History Month Exhibit, brings visibility to a history that has not been well represented within most special collections and archives. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

The exhibition's display of images comes from photo collections at UK SCRC and from generous loans by individuals and organizations in the general public. The earliest image is the text of the more than century old Kentucky Court of Appeals case, 

by: Whitney Hale

(Jan. 22, 2015) — Nathan Moore, a University of Kentucky English senior from Louisville, Kentucky, has been selected to present the 21st annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Moore's free public lecture focuses on intersections of African American literature, history and cultural memory.

The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK alumnus who showed an exceptional interest in higher education and the humanities, Gov. Edward T. Breathitt. The lectureship is awarded to an

by Gail Hairston

(Jan. 16, 2015) — The theme for Lexington’s 2015 celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is MLK Today: The Courage to Change.

The day, Monday, Jan. 19, begins with the Freedom March lineup at 9 a.m. in the corridor outside Heritage Hall, downtown Lexington Center. Those participating in the Freedom March will depart Heritage Hall at 10 a.m., and return in time for the kickoff to the commemorative program at 11 a.m.

Lexington is always eager to learn who the MLK Day commemorative program’s keynote speaker will be. And the event planners rarely disappoint.

This year, Susan L. Taylor, the visionary leader and former chief editor of Essence magazine, will present the keynote address.

At Essence