The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights will announce the latest inductees into the state’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame on Thursday.
The group will unveil which of the 35 nominees will receive the honor at a ceremony in Bowling Green at Western Kentucky University.Those nominated for the Hall of Fame have made contributions to a wide variety of causes throughout the commonwealth, said John Johnson, executive director of the state’s Human Rights Commission. Among the nominees are the late Frank Stanley Jr., who was the former publisher of the Louisville Defender, local civil rights activist Kathleen Parks and the late Gatewood Galbraith, a perennial political candidate who fought for equality in the criminal justice system.See the entire list of nominees for the 2014 Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame and their profiles here.Before the ceremony, the commission will rule on discrimination complaints submitted by Kentucky residents.Johnson said allegations of racial discrimination make up most of the complaints forwarded to this group, though complaints of another kind are on the rise. “We have an increased number of complaints based on disability now. And that’s been a rise over the last few years," he said.The Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame ceremony begins at 1 p.m. Thursday.
