African-American Genealogy Group of Kentucky
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Third Saturdays


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October 2016
Frankfort, KY, Kentucky History Center - Guest speaker, James S. Long, retired professional jockey shared the history and legacy of African-Americans in the racing industry!   Mr. Long, who retired in 2008 after riding for 33 years, has ridden at Churchill Downs, Hialeah, Belmont and more of the famous race courses.  He has studied the history of black jockeys such as Isaac Murphy and Jimmy Winkfield.  Says Mr. Long, “The very first professional athlete in America was not a basketball player, not a football player, not a baseball player. He rode horses, the sport of kings, and he was African-American. That was the sport back then. And it was primarily African-Americans who worked in it because the jobs either were too dirty or too dangerous for anyone else."

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September 2016
Lexington, KY, Lexington Public Library -  Our presenter, Donald Blevins, Jr., the Fayette County Clerk, showed us the records that can be found in the Fayette County Courthouse and in what offices they can be found. In Fayette County, the office contains records that date back to before Kentucky's statehood in 1792. Fayette County is one of the three original counties formed in 1780.

August 2016
Frankfort, KY "Confined Femininity: Race, Gender and Incarceration in Kentucky, 1865-1920".
This program focused on two Black women incarcerated at the Old Frankfort Penitentiary in the 1890's.  Our presenter, Charlene J. Fletcher-Brown, a PH.D. candidate at Indiana University-Bloomington and an Editorial Assistant at the American Historical Review, outlined the parallel lives of two completely different women who ended up at the penitentiary in Frankfort.  It was an eye-opening account of the treatment of women in the prison system.

July 2016
Richmond, KY  "Can We Make a Rock Talk?"
Our presenter, Sharyn Mitchell, past President and co-founder of AAGGKY, is a Research Specialist at the Berea College Special Collections and Archives. Sharyn told the story of a United States Colored Troop (USCT) tombstone that was recently found in Richmond. She revealed what we can learn from just having the information on a tombstone.  We found who it belonged to, where he came from and something about his life. She discussed her research strategy for uncovering the life of this soldier!

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June 2016
Lexington, KY, In June, instead of having a separate meeting, the AAGGKY joined the folks at African Cemetery No. 2 in the celebration of Juneteenth.

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May 2016
Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, KY "Black Jenny" - A Mystery Revealed Through Supplemental Records!
Cheri Daniels, head of Reference Services at the Kentucky Historical Society, told of how her search to untangle the identity of three wives, lead to a story that had been hidden from subsequent generations. Attendees learned about the variable nature of supplemental records and why they might just lead you to further documents. Outstanding presentation!

April 2016
Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY. We met in the Chapel at the historic Frankfort Cemetery.  Ann Johnson, staff at the cemetery and former Kentucky Historical Society cemetery preservation advocate,  gave us some of the history of the cemetery and profiled some of the more prominent African-Americans buried there in the Glenn's Creek section.  After the meeting, some of us toured the section picking out graves of U.S. Colored Troops and other prominent citizens. 

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March 2016
Mike Denis and Charles Grey of Boyle County presented the fascinating story of Dennis and Diademia Doram.  Born into slavery in 1796, Dennis Doram went on to become a successful business man and property owner in Boyle County.  It was rare for African Americans to attain the wealth and social status of the Dorams.  This was a very interesting story.

February 2016
Georgetown-Scott Co. Museum, Georgetown, KY.  LeDatta Grimes talked to us about the history of Rosenwald schools in Kentucky and the impact these schools had on African-American communities.

January 2016
Hopewell Museum, Paris, KY. Our speaker was Amy Madsen, a teacher at Geo. Rogers Clark High School, Winchester. Amy talked to us about some of the programs at her school and how they have affected experiences with African-American students. This was also the 5th Anniversary of the AAGGKY!!
P.O. Box 1211, Frankfort, KY 40602
aaggky@yahoo.com

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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Logo
    • Officers
    • Contact Us
  • Membership
  • Calendar of Events
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Recommended Video
    • Genealogical Societies
    • Museums
    • Repositories
    • Websites
    • Links to Databases
    • Digging Deeper >
      • County by County Data >
        • Bourbon County
        • Boyle County
        • Franklin County