City's African American Historic Context Report chronicles Frankfort's past

Birenberg, who worked for the Kentucky Heritage Council for 12 years prior to her role with the city, said that at the state and federal levels the focus on expanding historic preservation activity to include underrepresented communities has been very strong with identification and designation activity written into many state historic preservation plans — including Kentucky.

“There have been increases in funding to assist with projects like these. I was keenly aware of this as I began working for the city,” she explained. “In addition, the previous city commission had taken action in support of expanding our existing survey of resources to include the African American community. So I felt the stage had been set and the timing was very good.”

The city was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Kentucky Heritage Council and contributed a $10,000 cash match to complete the report.

“The history of Frankfort’s African American community is integral to understanding our past and informing our future,” explained Mayor Layne Wilkerson. “This important project supports the city’s efforts of equity and inclusion, as part of our strategic plan, and provides important context to telling the story of Kentucky’s capital city.”

The mayor added that the city is grateful for the assistance and enthusiasm of community members who helped develop the report, which will be “used to plan for the continued preservation of important places related to Frankfort’s Black heritage and to keep the stories of the individuals associated with those places alive and relevant.”

The report, which included in-depth research, an on-the-ground survey and documentation of historic resources and community engagement, focuses on places and events that occurred in Frankfort from the time of its founding in the 1790s to the 1970s because properties considered eligible for listing to the National Register of Historic Places are generally at least 50 years old.

According to Birenberg, one of the biggest challenges was the length of time that needed to be covered.

“I was naïve in that regard,” she admitted. “But the consultants we hired, Carolyn Brackett [of Cultural Heritage Works] and Robbie Jones [of Richard Grubb and Associates], pulled off a monumental task. They deserve tremendous accolades for pulling this off on a tight grant timeline.”

One thing that didn’t surprise Birenberg was that a good deal of Frankfort’s history is difficult to face and talk about.

“Some things can’t be sugar-coated. You just have to put them out there,” she stated.

“But talking about it and acknowledging what happened at different points in time is very necessary to the healing required to move us forward together.”

Birenberg sees tremendous value in the report and hopes that it will be used to build on Frankfort’s heritage tourism efforts — specifically in regards to recognizing and celebrating the Freedom March — and make the city part of a larger African American Heritage Trail that will bring more visitors to town.

Speaking of the Freedom March, she noted that the city should be proud of its role in civil rights history.

“There were strong organizers and leaders for change in this community and they successfully organized 10,000 citizens who marched peacefully in Frankfort in 1964 with Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.],” she pointed out. “That is no small thing and we should remember and celebrate it.”

The report focuses on three particular areas:

• Documenting and recognizing the contributions by the African American community to the city’s history by identifying the social, political, economic, educational, artistic and physical environment that influenced the growth of the Black community and how it has changed over time.

• Evaluating and identifying eligible buildings, structures, sites, districts and objects that could be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Providing a foundation for education, recognition and promotion of Frankfort’s Black heritage.

The report, which included in-depth research, an on-the-ground survey and documentation of historic resources and community engagement, focuses on places and events that occurred in Frankfort from the time of its founding in the 1790s to the 1970s because properties considered eligible for listing to the National Register of Historic Places are generally at least 50 years old.

“Much of our most architecturally and historically significant buildings — those with which our identity is strongly aligned with and are iconic to Frankfort — would not be here without the contributions of African Americans,” Birenberg remarked. “They very literally built this town.”

When examining Frankfort’s African American history, researchers considered how the city’s environment grew and changed over time as well as the events that involved Black residents; how state government influenced events both here and across the state; and the city’s connection to national historic events.

The report is divided into five chapters tracing Frankfort’s historical eras — founding to war, 1791-1860; Civil War, 1860-1865; reconstruction, 1865-1900; a new century, 1900-1954; and civil rights, 1954-1976. The final section of the report includes a summary of the onsite survey and recommendations of properties that are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as well as existing registry nominations that should be updated to include African American history and context.

“This not only raises awareness of the significance of our history, but it can also make new resources eligible for financial incentives, such as the federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits,” Birenberg told The State Journal.

Such tax credits have been instrumental in helping revitalize and renew the city’s historic neighborhoods and have facilitated more than $21 million in investments in the past 16 years — not including recent downtown and residential historic neighborhood projects that are currently underway but not yet complete.

“Kentucky’s state credit is also open to owner-occupied residential properties, which is not the case in other states,” she added. “Financial incentives can really be helpful to actually make long-term preservation a reality.”

Over the coming weeks, The State Journal will publish a series of comprehensive stories about each of the chapters as a service to our community and to better inform our readers of the history of African Americans in Frankfort.

“I invite you to read it, share it and use it to help reach a broader understanding of our inclusive history as we move forward together,” Wilkerson said of the report.