Black History Archives

Music icon Little Richard played for Black clubs in Hopkinsville during the 1950s

by Jennifer P. Brown
June 4, 2020

As part of the Chitlin' Circuit, Hopkinsville was host to Little Richard, Ray Charles, Ike and Tina Turner and many other famous Black musicians from the 1930s through the '60s.

Hopkinsville rally speaker: ‘It could happen to me. It could happen to you’

by Jennifer P. Brown
May 31, 2020

Protestors gather at Christian County Justice Center to rally against police brutality and call on local residents to get involved to address racism.

Susan B. Anthony spoke in 1879 to a Hopkinsville audience that overwhelmingly did not support women’s suffrage

by Jennifer P. Brown
March 20, 2020

The South Kentuckian newspaper reported on Anthony's speech and stated local men "don't want the woman dabbling in politics ..."

Civil rights attorney Louis McHenry’s teenage daughter Gail was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 28, 2020

Gail McHenry was 19 years old when she served as the youngest delegate at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Ebony magazine carried a three-page story about her that fall.

Wendell Lynch, Hopkinsville’s new mayor, reflects on family history and the city’s future during oath ceremony

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 24, 2020

Hopkinsville native and retired bank president, Wendell Lynch was sworn in as Hopkinsville's first Black mayor on Feb. 23, 2021.

Philip C. Brooks Sr. built Hopkinsville’s only hospital for Black patients during segregation

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 20, 2020

Dr. Phillip C. Brooks Sr. was a graduate of Attucks High School. He built the hospital in his hometown during World War II.

Honoring the past and inspiring the future this Black History Month

by Constance Alexander
February 18, 2020

The rich cultural heritage of Calloway County’s African American communities gets scant attention from the community at large, so a booklet like the one marking the 50th reunion of Douglass High School is precious.

Local man’s UBS cemetery research is enhancing Hopkinsville’s Black history archive

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 14, 2020

The Union Benevolent Society established the cemetery for African Americans shortly after the Civil War.

There was more than one ambitious journalist in Hopkinsville’s Poston family

by Jennifer P. Brown
February 6, 2020

Robert Lincoln Poston started his newspaper work in Hopkinsville before moving to Detroit and then New York City. In 1934, he led a delegation to Liberia for black nationalist Marcus Garvey's organization.