The Owensboro branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), in collaboration with the Owensboro NAACP and the H.L. Neblett Center, will host an event this Sunday honoring the critical contributions of African American women to the suffrage movement and the broader struggle for voting rights.
Titled “I Got a Right to the Tree of Life: Women’s Suffrage and African American Women’s Voices,” the program will take place at 2 p.m. on February 9 at the H. L. Neblett Community Center (801 West 5th Street).
“Through songs and stories, this presentation will share the journey and the contributions of African American women in the struggle for the right to vote in the U.S.,” event organizers said in a release. “As part of the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the Woman’s Suffrage Movement, this program will highlight stories and struggles of African American women leaders, from the late 1870s up to the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and beyond.”
Dr. Kathy Bullock, a renowned scholar, educator, and performer specializing in African American music and culture, will lead the presentation. A Professor Emerita of Music at Berea College, Bullock has earned international acclaim for her work connecting African American music to its roots in West African and Appalachian traditions. Her dynamic programs explore spirituals, gospel, the music of the Civil Rights Movement, and the roles of African American women in history.
Bullock’s distinguished career includes a Ph.D. and M.A. in Music Theory from Washington University in St. Louis, and a B.A. in Music from Brandeis University. She has directed the Berea College Black Music Ensemble, collaborated with organizations such as the Kentucky Humanities Council, and taught workshops worldwide. Currently, she serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Kentucky’s School of Music, where she continues to teach and inspire.
The event is part of the centennial celebration of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and is funded in part by the Kentucky Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
