MLK Center kicks off month with photo exhibit

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The images of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement captured by Calvert McCann fill the pages of Lexington’s history.

An exhibit of McCann’s work is one of the events hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center in celebration of Black History Month. Like McCann’s photo exhibit, other events are held throughout February to honor the rich cultural history of African Americans.

The civil rights movement grew in the 1960s with the help of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a preacher who led the Civil Rights Movement with a “non-violence” approach. Throughout the U.S., black Americans, as well as white Americans, marched for peace and equality, making headlines on newspapers across the globe.

But not in Lexington.

During the 1960s, what is now the Lexington Herald-Leader two newspapers, the morning Herald and the afternoon Leader, said Tom Eblen, UK journalism ethics professor and Herald-Leader columnist. Fred Wachs, the general manager of the newspaper during this period, published national stories about the movement, but the local stories rarely made the front page.

“It (the movement) was considered criminal activity,” said Chester Grundy, Interim Director for the MLK Center. “Stories appeared in police reports as ‘public nuisance’ or ‘trespassing.’ It was never put in any political context.”

In 2004, Herald-Leader reporter Linda Blackford wrote an apology for the Herald’s lack of coverage. A series of stories followed, receiving national attention.

McCann, who was unavailable for comment, was a high school student during the Civil Rights Movement, according to Blackford’s 2004 article. His photos are the only public documentation of the movement in Lexington.

The 18 photos on display in the MLK Center in the Student Center capture a range of images, such as sit-in, marches and even photos of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marching in Frankfort.

Michele Davis, a social work sophomore, said even though she is not from Kentucky, she still appreciates its history.

“I’d like to see, not only African Americans stop by, because this history is everyone’s history,” Davis said.

The exhibit was on display Wednesday and will be available for viewing Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.