Slavery and Freedom in the Bluegrass State: Revisiting My Old Kentucky Home
Slavery and Freedom in the Bluegrass State: Revisiting My Old Kentucky Home
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Abstract
Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home" has been designated as the official state song and performed at the Kentucky Derby for decades. In light of the ongoing social justice movement to end racial inequality, many have questioned whether the song should be played at public events, given its inaccurate depiction of slavery in the state. In Slavery and Freedom in the Bluegrass State, editor Gerald L. Smith presents a collection of powerful essays that uncover the long-forgotten stories of pain, protest, and perseverance of African Americans in Kentucky. Using the song and the museum site of My Old Kentucky Home as a central motif, the chapters move beyond historical myths to bring into sharper focus the many nuances of Black life. Chronologically arranged, they present fresh insights on topics such as the domestic slave trade, Black Shakers, rebellion and racial violence prior to the Civil War, Reconstruction, the fortitude of Black women as they pressed for political and educational equality, the intersection of race and sports, and the controversy over a historic monument. Taken as a whole, this groundbreaking collection introduces readers to the strategies African Americans cultivated to negotiate race and place within the context of a border state. Ultimately, the book gives voice to the thoughts, desires, and sacrifices of generations of African Americans whose stories have been buried in the past.
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Front Matter
- Introduction
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1
149 North Broadway: Slave Incarceration at the Foundation of Kentucky Finance
Brandon R. Wilson
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2
Race Matters in Utopia: The Shakers and Slavery at Pleasant Hill
Jacob A. Glover
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3
“This Priceless Jewell—Liberty”: The Doyle Conspiracy of 1848
James M. Prichard
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4
Necessary Violence: African American Self-Preservation, Violence, and Survival in Civil War–Era Kentucky
Charles R. Welsko
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5
Unfinished Freedom: The Legal History of Reconstruction in Kentucky
Giuliana Perrone
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6
William J. Simmons and the Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute
Erin Wiggins Gilliam
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7
“Very Strong Colored Women”: Black Women’s Uplift, Activism, and Contributions to the Rosenwald Rural School-Building Program in Kentucky
Le Datta Denise Grimes
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8
“Home Ain’t Always Where the Heart Is”: African American Women, Confinement, and Domestic Violence in the Gilded Age Bluegrass
Charlene J. Fletcher
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9
The “Live Issue” of Black Women Voters in Kentucky
Melanie Beals Goan
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10
“Give ‘Us’ Something to Yell For!”: Athletics and the Black Campus Movement at the University of Kentucky, 1965–1969
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11
Archer Alexander and Freedom’s Memorial
Alicestyne Turley
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End Matter
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