Rescuing “Eight Acres of History”
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 17, 2010) -- On Monday, Sept. 20, the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center will host the campus premiere of the film, “Eight Acres of History,” an engaging new documentary that tells the story of the historic African Cemetery No. 2, a Lexington cemetery that has a central role in local African-American history as well as the state’ equine industry.
The film, developed by the Lexington Public Library, traces the origin, significance and restoration of the cemetery, from its establishment in 1869 to the present. Members of the African Cemetery No. 2 Board of Directors, including local historian Yvonne Giles, will be on hand to facilitate a discussion and answer questions. The film will be shown at 3 p.m. in the MLK Cultural Center, located across from the UK Bookstore in the UK Student Center. Following the film, a guided tour with transportation to the cemetery is available at 4:30 p.m. The movie and the tour, co-sponsored by the African American Studies & Research Program, are free and open to the public.
Lexington’s African Cemetery No. 2 was built in 1869 by former slaves, who were members of the Union Benevolent Society No. 2. It is the final resting place of at least 80 known individuals who held a prominent place in the early days of thoroughbred racing. Some of the notable people interred there include Oliver Lewis, winning jockey of the first Kentucky Derby, James “Soup” Perkins, who is the youngest winning jockey of the Kentucky Derby, and Abraham “Abe” Perry, trainer of the 1885 Kentucky, Tennessee and Coney Island Derbies. Isaac Murphy, who rode three Kentucky Derby winners and is the jockey with the all-time highest winning percentage, was originally buried there as well. His remains are now located at the Kentucky Horse Park.
The film screening and the cemetery tour are part of the kickoff for the Young Equestrian Scholars (YES) program, sponsored as part of UK’s Commonwealth Collaboratives. As part of the YES project, a group of UK students affiliated with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center will mentor K-12 students in Lexington as they gather historical data on these individuals. This information will be placed on the markers with the goal of having a self-guided walking tour through the cemetery. Some students may choose to display their findings in other ways such as creative artwork, multi-media projects or public presentations.
Mark Coyne, one of the YES project directors and a UK professor in soil biology, said, “The more we do to bring these stories to light, the better reflection on Lexington, the better reflection on this community in Lexington and on the significance that we’ve had on a national basis for the equine industry and history in general.”
The MLK Cultural Center is located in room 133 UK Student Center. For more information on the film showing and the cemetery tour, please call (859) 257-4130.