Kentucky Board of Ed Moves to Correct Historic Injustice

At a special ceremony on August 3, the Kentucky Board of Education will present diplomas to African Americans who were enrolled at the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) in the mid-20th century, but did not receive recognition for graduation.

            “Through the research of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and KSD staff, we discovered that these students were segregated into the KSD ‘colored division,’” said David Karem, chair of the board. “This division did not have the same standards, expectations and opportunities for these students as compared to their white counterparts. This resulted in these students leaving KSD at extremely young ages or staying through adulthood and then being discharged without a diploma.”

            Approximately 75 individuals have been identified to receive diplomas. These individuals were enrolled at KSD between 1930 and 1955, but left the school without receiving official recognition of graduation or completion of courses.

“Although we can’t change history, we hope that this action will bring long-deserved closure for former KSD students,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday.

            The ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 3, at Grow Hall on KSD’s campus in Danville. Kentucky Board of Education members, Commissioner Holliday, KSD staff, former students and their family members, state agency officials, state legislators, and local officials will attend the ceremony.

FORMER KSD STUDENTS IDENTIFIED FOR RECOGNITION

Aaron Adams, Jr.

Betty Banks

Richard Bartlett

James Minos Brandon

Dorothy Brown

John Henry Brown

Fred Adolphus Burdette

Henrietta Duncan Burnette

Henry Reid Caldwell

Margaret Belle Caldwell

Martha Caldwell

Robert Caldwell

Arthur Caudill

Ruby Mae Norman Cherry

Emerson Lee Clay

Susie Morton Clay

Waldo Emerson Clay

Anna Lou Coleman

Wonderline Connor

Ruby Marie Cooper

George William Cornelious

Clarence Marvin Courtney

Robert Lee Croom

William Edward Dickinson

James W. Dunson

Virginia Evans

Elizabeth Caldwell Gardner

Oscar Hamilton

Emma Bell Hill Heard

Thomas W. Houser

Emilene Hunt

Margie Johnson Hunt

Walter Johnson, Jr.

Marilyn B. Allen Jones

Morris Arnett Lewis

Peggy A. Dorsey Lucas

Cecil McElroy

Augustine Miller

Nannie May Miller

Pearlene Briscoe Mollett

William Earnest Moorman

Arthur William Morton

James Newman

LeRoy Newton

Myrtle Annie O’Neal

Bobby Lee Oliver

Erma Bradley Payton

Irene Elizabeth Perdue

Jasper Potter

George Edward Rawlings

Richard David Riley

Ernest Robinson

Richard Allen Scales

Dorothy Mae Shaw

Holstin Skilman

Louis Joe Stewart

Mary Magadeline Caldwell Stewart

Elizabeth Lee Tarrance

Evelina Thomas

Mary Alice Thomas

Ruth Tooley

Roy Trice

Margaret Nell Martin Webster

Georgia Ann Whitt

Louise Wigfall

Robert Lee Wilkerson, Jr.

James Wallace Wilkinson

Sarah Allen Caldwell Wilkinson

Norma Jean Williams

Richard Williams

Fannie Mae Wilson

Ada May Florence Woods

Beatrice Mollet Woodson

Myrtle Young

 The Kentucky Board of Education also seeks information about any other former African-American students who were enrolled at KSD, but left the school without receiving recognition of graduation or completion of courses. Individuals should contact KSD Principal Rodney Buis at (859) 239-7017 or rodney.buis@ksd.kyschools.us.

In 1823, the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD) became the first state-supported school of its kind in the nation and the western hemisphere. KSD has a rich history of ensuring that deaf and hard-of-hearing children and youth in Kentucky have educational opportunities to develop their potential to become educated, life-long learners and productive citizens.

The school currently enrolls approximately 140 students, and the Kentucky Board of Education serves as the board of education for both KSD and the Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) in Louisville.

While research conducted by staff at the Kentucky Department of Education and KSB does not indicate that KSB had a similar practice in place, former KSB students who believe they were denied diplomas on the basis of race should contact KSB  Principal John Roberts at (502) 897-1583 or john.roberts@ksb.kyschools.us

SOURCE: KDE Press release