In 1964, Kentuckians were fed up. It was time for citizens of the Commonwealth to be treated fairly. The winds of civil rights reform were blowing across the nation, and citizens of the Bluegrass State were ready for a change.
Frank Stanley, Jr., editor of the Louisville Defender newspaper, organized the March on Frankfort. Stanley recruited baseball legend Jackie Robinson, folk singers Peter, Paul, and Mary, and activist Martin Luther King, Jr. to attend the March, which was held on March 5, 1964.
The following day, the Courier-Journal reported that "The marchers and singers — from the coal mines of Appalachia, the bluegrass of Lexington, the factories of Louisville, the cotton fields of the Purchase — came to press for passage of a stiff and workable public accommodations bill."
Dr. King's speech noted that the crowd had gathered to "challenge the immorality of the social system that permits segregation." His repeated refrain in his stirring speech was that "Now is the time" for change. The March is credited as a catalyst for the passage of the 1966 Kentucky Civil Rights Act, which Dr. King called "the strongest and most comprehensive civil rights bill passed by a Southern state."
For this impact on our Commonwealth, as well as Dr. King's legacy which still resonates throughout our nation fifty years later, we say Thank You, Dr. King!