At a special ceremony Wednesday, the Kentucky Board of Education will present diplomas to African-Americans who were enrolled at Kentucky School for the Deaf 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, chairman 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.”
About 75 individuals have been identified to receive diplomas. They 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. Wednesday 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 students identified for recognition are:
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 and 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 and 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, 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 about 140 students, and the Kentucky Board of Education serves as the board of education for both KSD and the Kentucky School for the Blind 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.
“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, chairman 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.”
“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. Wednesday 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 students identified for recognition are:
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 and 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 and 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, 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 about 140 students, and the Kentucky Board of Education serves as the board of education for both KSD and the Kentucky School for the Blind 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.
