Browse Collections (3014 total)

Event: First major celebration of July 4th by Kentucky’s African American community at Camp Nelson. Sgt William A. Warfield, of the 119th US Colored Infantry pronounced the event evidence of “an age of wonders”: “to see so many thousands, who a year ago were slaves, congregate in the heart of a slave State and celebrate the day sacred to the cause of freedom, ‘with none to molest or make afraid,’ was a grand spectacle. It was the first time we have ever been permitted to celebrate the Nation’s Day.”

View the items in Event: First major celebration of July 4th by Kentucky’s African American community at Camp Nelson. Sgt William A. Warfield, of the 119th US Colored Infantry pronounced the event evidence of “an age of wonders”: “to see so many thousands, who a year ago were slaves, congregate in the heart of a slave State and celebrate the day sacred to the cause of freedom, ‘with none to molest or make afraid,’ was a grand spectacle. It was the first time we have ever been permitted to celebrate the Nation’s Day.”

Event: Following a campaign led by Mae Street Kidd, Kentucky General Assembly ratifies the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, a century after they became law.

View the items in Event: Following a campaign led by Mae Street Kidd, Kentucky General Assembly ratifies the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, a century after they became law.

Event: following a lengthy process of debate and legislative process in the aftermath of the Charleston shootings, the city of New Orleans removes four Confederate statues from its public spaces.

View the items in Event: following a lengthy process of debate and legislative process in the aftermath of the Charleston shootings, the city of New Orleans removes four Confederate statues from its public spaces.

Event: Following a successful suit brought against Jessamine County Board of Education by a group of African-American students in September 1962, which argued that the county’s school system remained segregated and Black educational facilities were inferior to those of white county schools, Black and white children attend public school together for the first time in Jessamine County history.

View the items in Event: Following a successful suit brought against Jessamine County Board of Education by a group of African-American students in September 1962, which argued that the county’s school system remained segregated and Black educational facilities were inferior to those of white county schools, Black and white children attend public school together for the first time in Jessamine County history.

Event: Following the Kentucky State Colored Convention, held in Frankfort, delegates submit a document to the US Senate challenging the rise of racial violence in the state, pointing to “organized bands of desperate and lawless men, mainly composed of soldiers of the late rebel armies, armed, disciplined, and disguised” as the perpetrators.

View the items in Event: Following the Kentucky State Colored Convention, held in Frankfort, delegates submit a document to the US Senate challenging the rise of racial violence in the state, pointing to “organized bands of desperate and lawless men, mainly composed of soldiers of the late rebel armies, armed, disciplined, and disguised” as the perpetrators.

Event: Freedom March on Frankfort, KY. 10,000 people, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders, march in peaceful protest against the Kentucky legislature’s failure to support a bill for the removal of racial barriers in public accommodations.

View the items in Event: Freedom March on Frankfort, KY. 10,000 people, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders, march in peaceful protest against the Kentucky legislature’s failure to support a bill for the removal of racial barriers in public accommodations.

Event: Further intensive excavations by the University of Kentucky on sites of Camp Nelson refugee cottages and huts reveals rim lock fragments and keys, suggesting that residents actively worked to secure their possessions, while ink bottle and slate board fragments point to the presence of literate residents, or those involved in learning at the camp’s schoolhouse. Professor Stephen McBride argues that these finds “may reflect the transition from slavery to freedom at Camp Nelson.”

View the items in Event: Further intensive excavations by the University of Kentucky on sites of Camp Nelson refugee cottages and huts reveals rim lock fragments and keys, suggesting that residents actively worked to secure their possessions, while ink bottle and slate board fragments point to the presence of literate residents, or those involved in learning at the camp’s schoolhouse. Professor Stephen McBride argues that these finds “may reflect the transition from slavery to freedom at Camp Nelson.”

Event: General Burnside orders the establishment of Camp Nelson, a fortified supply depot to support a military campaign to East Tennessee.

View the items in Event: General Burnside orders the establishment of Camp Nelson, a fortified supply depot to support a military campaign to East Tennessee.

Event: General Orders No. 20 formalizes African American enlistment in Kentucky and authorizes the creation of eight training centers for United States Colored Troops (USCT), including at Camp Nelson.

View the items in Event: General Orders No. 20 formalizes African American enlistment in Kentucky and authorizes the creation of eight training centers for United States Colored Troops (USCT), including at Camp Nelson.

Event: General Orders No. 34 permits African American men (free and enslaved) to enlist with US military forces in Kentucky, with their enslaver’s permission.

View the items in Event: General Orders No. 34 permits African American men (free and enslaved) to enlist with US military forces in Kentucky, with their enslaver’s permission.