Edythe J. Hayes B.A., ’58, University of Kentucky M.A., ’65, University of Kentucky
Edythe J. Hayes was not known for answering questions with a sugar coating. She once described her own response about desegregation as cocky when she was asked what she thought about “the black and white issue.” Her immediate reply was, “My troubles don’t come in black and white, they come in green,” presumably referring to the economic disparities that plagued African Americans. She was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, by her grandparents who probably were the economic exception to the rule. They owned their own home, a farm, a grist mill and a country store in the early 1930s. All of the children in their home attended private and/or parochial school. Her grandparents had very high standards and expectations, and made the financial sacrifice for their children’s education. Hayes attended a Baptist-run school through Selma University. By the end of eighth grade she had already completed four years of Latin, high school math and could play the violin. She graduated from high school and college by 18, and one year later she had completed her master’s degree at UK. She chose UK because she wanted to be near her future husband who was serving in the military at Camp Breckinridge in western Kentucky. She laughed upon recollecting that her lack of knowledge about Kentucky geography did not serve her well.
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Her reputation preceded her and she began teaching in Lexington after graduation, at just 19 years old. She later became a principal and earned promotions to become the first African American to be deputy superintendent of Fayette County Schools. She served the school district for 37 years. In 1980, she became the first African-American woman appointed to the UK Board of Trustees. Edythe J. Hayes Middle School was opened in 2004, named in her honor.
“As I tell blacks all the time, what we’ve somehow got to get back to is that old thing that was instilled in me — you stay in school, you behave yourself. Yeah, you get in a little trouble, get your bottom probably spanked, but basically you know where you’re headed, and you have the family to push you, and you also have the family to say we’ll accept nothing less.”