February is Black History Month, and the McCracken County Public Library is celebrating with some amazing library programs. Come celebrate and learn with us about just some of the rich history of African Americans in Kentucky and in McCracken County.
On February 8th the Library is hosting a special program at the Goodwill Opportunity Center at 1601 Broadway from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Being Aunt Jemima, the Pancake Queen with actress Debra Faulk is a Kentucky Humanities Chuatuaqua Event and is presented in partnership with The Hotel Metropolitan.
On February 22nd, the Library is hosting an Evening Upstairs Program from 5:30 to 6:30 at the Library presented by Dr. Alicestyne Turley on the McCracken County Julius Rosenwald Schools. This program is co-sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities.
The Library is hosting this program at the Goodwill Opportunity Center at 1601 Broadway on February 8th at 5:30 pm.
Nancy Green became one of the first prosperous African American women in the U.S. Green was born enslaved in Montgomery County, Kentucky, in 1834. While in Kentucky she worked for the Walker family and moved with them to Chicago just after the Great Fire, in 1872. Eight years later, Nancy Green became "Aunt Jemima." Playing the role of "Aunt Jemima" gave Green financial independence few African Americans experienced at the time. She used her wealth as a means to empower her community.
Faulk previously served as a lecturer with the University of Kentucky Theatre and Dance. She has also served as an artist with the Theatre of Hearts in Los Angeles, and a teaching assistant at California State University, Los Angeles. She has been a part of many regional productions including performances with the University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance, the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center.
The show is part of the library's celebration of Black History Month and is also a Kentucky Humanities Chautauqua Event, and is presented in partnership with The Hotel Metropolitan.
This Evening Upstairs program will take place at the Library on February 22nd at 5:30 pm, and is Co-sponsored by Kentucky Humanities an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C.
At the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, one of the enduring goals of African Americans was the attainment of an education for their children. Julius Rosenwald, the President of Sears and Roebuck, joined forces with the president of Tuskegee Institute and African American social leader, Booker T. Washington, to secure that educational goal. Between 1917 and 1930, the collaboration between Washington and Rosenwald constructed over 50 schools in Western Kentucky, including four schools in McCracken County.
Dr. Alicestyne Turley is a historian and educator. Dr. Turley has served as Director of the Freedom Stories: Unearthing the Black Heritage of Appalachia for the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN and is currently the 3rd Vice President of the Kentucky Historical Society Governing Board.
Her book, Gospel of Freedom: Black Evangelicals and the Underground Railroad, is the winner of the 2022 Thomas D. Clark Medallion Book Award.