Center of Excellence for the Study of Kentucky African Americans

“If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile traditions, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”
-Carter G. Woodson

The Center of Excellence for the Study of Kentucky African Americans is devoted to the collection, preservation, interpretation and dissemination of materials about African Americans in Kentucky and those with Kentucky connections residing throughout the nation and around the globe.

CESKAA focuses on uncovering documents and rare books, public and private records, photographs and audio visuals and other historic items that enable us to restore to public memory the myriad contributions that African Americans made and continue to make to help develop the Commonwealth and improve the quality of life for African Americans. This information has largely remained unrecorded and therefore absent from textbooks and historical narratives.

Materials that are collected, both print and three-dimensional artifacts, are maintained in archival and museum collections. These items are used for research and scholarly study, documentaries, exhibits and public education programs. Our scope of coverage includes documents and artifacts, people and historic places that provide context and that are dispersed across the entire Commonwealth. The collections include materials from KSU alumni and former faculty members.