Fifty years of segregation

by John A. Hardin

Kentucky stands out as being the last state in the South to introduce racially segregated schools and one of the first to break down racial barriers in higher education. What happened in the intervening years, during which the Commonwealth seemingly followed the typical southern patterns of separation? John Hardin reveals how the history of segregated higher education in Kentucky was shaped by the state's inherent, though subtle, racism. Civil racism indirectly defined the mission of black higher education through scarce fiscal appropriations from state government. It also promoted a dated nineteenth-century emphasis on agricultural and vocational education for African Americans well into the 1920s. Racial prejudice also played a role in the complex leadership struggles within the ranks of black higher education.