UK to Host Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Next Week
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 8, 2019) — Next week, the University of Kentucky will host the annual Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame induction ceremony on campus. The event is part of the university's yearlong commemoration of 70 years of integration.
The ceremony will take place 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at UK's Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. The program is free, but seating is limited. Organizers ask those interested in attending to please RSVP by Nov. 11 to Mary Ann Taylor at the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights at maryann.taylor@ky.gov or 502-566-9961.
In addition to the new Hall of Fame inductees, the commission will also announce the recipients of the Sen. Georgia Davis Powers Award for Outstanding Achievement and the newest inductee into the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians.
Since 2013, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights has partnered with UK's Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and the Office of Community Engagement to create individual life stories of former Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame inductees through an oral history project. The collection of interviews is archived at the Nunn Center and available online.
The Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame was founded in 2000 to honor the brave women and men who have dedicated their lives to equality and the advancement of human rights. Since its inception, 174 people have been inducted into the hall of fame.
Past inductees include U.S. President Abraham Lincoln; Gov. Edward Breathitt, who signed the Kentucky Civil Rights Act in 1966; Gov. Bert Combs, who created the Kentucky Human Rights Commission in 1960; Sen. Georgia Davis Powers, the first African American woman to be elected to the Kentucky Senate; and Muhammad Ali, the three-time heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist.
The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights is the state agency that enforces the Kentucky Civil Rights Act that bans discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations and financial transactions (such as banking) based on race, color, gender, disability, national origin, religion and age.
For more information, contact Mary Ann Taylor at 502-566-9961 or email maryann.taylor@ky.gov.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.