WKU News

KY Human Rights Commission inducts 19 new members to Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights tonight inducted 19 new members to the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place in front of 500 people at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage where a special celebration was held to announce the inductees and celebrate civil rights. Also, the Georgia Davis Powers Legacy Award was presented to a surprised recipient, and the commission inducted four past University of Kentucky football athletes into the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians.

The event was produced by the Kentucky Human Rights Commission and cosponsored by the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage and the University of Kentucky.

The 2017 Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame Inductees are:

Jennifer Kumari Adams-Tucker (of Louisville)
Michael Aldridge (of Louisville)
The late Muhammad Ali (of Louisville); b. 1942 d. 2016)
The late Alfred M. Carroll (of Louisville); b. 1912 d. 1966
Father Patrick Delahanty (of Louisville)
The late Martha “Momfeather” Erickson (of Shepherdsville); b. 1939 d. 2017
Ira Grupper (of Louisville)
The late John E. Haycraft (of Louisville); b. 1908 d. 1982
The late W. J. Hodge (of Louisville); b. 1920 d. 2000
The late Fermon Wendell Knox (of Erlanger); b. 1923 d. 2001
Brenda Martin (of Russell)
The late Rev. K.L. Moore (of Frankfort); b. 1923 d. 2006
The late Charles B. Nuckolls Sr. (of Ashland); b. 1891 d. 1965
Renee Shaw (of Lexington)
The late Leslie Shively Smith (of  Drakesboro); b. 1908 d. 1997
The late Archie Surratt (of Frankfort); b. 1919 d. 2003
David W. Tandy (of Louisville)
The late Joan Neal Taylor (of Lexington) b. 1934 d. 2013
The late Joseph Mansir Tydings (of Louisville); b. 1905 d. 1974

The commission also presented the Georgia Davis Powers Legacy Award to Raoul Cunningham of Louisville during the evening festivity. He is the president of the Kentucky NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). He has been an equal treatment and equal opportunity leader for over 50 years, pushing for the end of segregation during his youth and for a civil rights law. The Kentucky Civil Rights Act passed in 1966. He continues to dedicate his life to achieving and ensuring equality through his leadership of the NAACP. He worked alongside the late retired Kentucky senator for whom the award was named, Georgia Powers, many times through the years.

The Commission in collaboration with the University of Kentucky also inducted four Great Black Kentuckians to its Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. They are the college athletes who became the first African American football players in the South Eastern Conference and at UK in 1966 and 1967: Nathan Northington, the late Greg Page, Wilbur Hackett Jr., and Houston Hogg.
This year there were 29 nominees to the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Any member of the public over age 18 years may nominate a person for the Hall of Fame. An independent panel of judges made up of civil rights advocates and business and education professionals score the nominees based on the information submitted by nominators. The results are tabulated by an independent auditor.

The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights created the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in the year 2000 to recognize Kentucky men and women who have helped improve the quality of life for Kentucky and beyond in the areas of civil and human rights. Nominees and inductees have worked in a variety of areas and have served in many capacities. They may be from past or present eras and nominations may be made for individuals either living or deceased. Inductions are currently held on a bi-annual basis. The Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame is the largest statewide civil rights program in the state.

The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights is the state government authority that enforces the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and, through its affiliation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, enforces federal civil rights laws.