Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage 2021 Annual Report

Lexington writer and Kentucky native, Crystal Wilkinson, was appointed by Governor Beshear to serve as the 20212022 poet laureate for the commonwealth. Wilkinson is the award-winning author of “The Birds of Opulence,” winner of the 2016 Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence; “Water Street” and “Blackberries, Blackberries.” She is the first African American women to serve as poet laureate.

The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage and The Courier-Journal hosted, Summer of 2020: Louisville’s Struggle for Racial Justice, an exhibition that documents the racial justice protests that erupted across Louisville sparked by the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, in partnership with Melannaire Marketplace and W. Health Bridges, also hosted a Juneteenth celebration at Fourth Street Live in Louisville. Over 45 African American vendors were showcased as part of the event at the artisan marketplace.

The Kentucky Historical Society received the National Genealogical Society 2021 SLAM! Idea Showcase award for Kentucky Ancestors Town Hall and the series was named one of “75 Best State Genealogy Websites of 2021” by Family Tree Magazine. Kentucky Ancestors Town Hall launched on 7 major Kentucky television networks. The first two episodes in the Louisville market reached nearly 53,000 viewers.

Songbird of the South tells the story of the life of Rhythm and Blues singer Mary Ann Fisher. The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage hosted this one-woman performance that portrays the chronicles Fisher’s life from her tragic and traumatic childhood beginning in Henderson, Kentucky.

A new historical marker is now located at Algonquin Park in Louisville to recognize the home of the historic Dirt Bowl. The Dirt Bowl is a basketball tradition created

by Janis Carter and Ben Watkins in 1969. In 2021, the Kentucky Historical Society invested $150,000 to address the backlog of historical markers. The project replaced or refurbished 82 markers in 57 counties, and the installation of 11 new markers.

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