Hopkinsville Community College held a virtual presentation in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Wednesday, where attendees were able to learn more about the history of civil rights in Hopkinsville.
Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County Executive Director Alissa Keller says it’s a harder subject to present on that one would think, due to a lack of recording keeping about the lives of African-Americans from the time of around the Civil War. She says the tobacco industry played a big role in what made the area so diverse, and that only continued once African-Americans had their freedom and began making the community a true home.
Keller says Hopkinsville saw little turmoil when integration took place, with several African-American children entering the local school system—but it’s likely it was more contentious than reported, with mysterious fires and demonstrations against it.
Keller says Hopkinsville and Christian County have had a winding road when it comes to race relations, and further advances can be made even today if the community comes together as a whole.
The Human Relations Commission—now called the Human Rights Commission—was established here early on in the 1950’s and a group calling themselves The Progressive Citizens Committee began boycotting businesses that were not hiring black citizens to fill key roles, paving the road for further desegregation.
In 1963, the Hopkinsville Fire Department hired their first black fire fighter, theaters began to integrate, as did the school system in a much larger way, accepting all students at any grade level, and not just at Attucks High School.
