This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Kentucky. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
John D. White was an American politician who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1841 to 1843. A member of the Whig Party, he represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives from the 9th and 6th districts between 1835 and 1845. He also served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1832. White died by suicide in 1845.
The Carmel Indians are a group of Melungeons who lived in Magoffin County, Kentucky and moved to Highland County, Ohio. Dr. Edward Price observed that the most common surnames among the families were Gibson, Nichols and Perkins. His research found that the ancestors of the group were listed as free people of color on census records. Paternal line descendants of Bryson Gibson and Valentine Collins who participated in the Melungeon DNA Project belong to Haplogroup E-M2. The group were listed as free Black and Mulatto in Kentucky prior to the American Civil War.
Darryl T. Owens was an American politician who was a Democratic Party member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 43 from 2005 to 2019. Owens retired from the House in 2018. He died on January 4, 2022, at the age of 84.
NAACP in Kentucky is very active with branches all over the state, largest being in Louisville and Lexington. The Kentucky State Conference of NAACP continues today to fight against injustices and for the equality of all people.
Sallie J. Seals White was Kentucky’s first African American female lawyer.
Eleanor Young Love (1922–2006) was an African-American librarian from Kentucky. She was the daughter of Whitney Young and the sister of Whitney Young Jr. She worked at the Lincoln Institute., an all-black boarding high school in Lincoln Ridge, KY, formed when schools were segregated in Kentucky., where her father was president. She received her degree from Atlanta University, now Clark Atlanta University, her M.Ed. from the University of Louisville, and her D.Ed. from the University of Illinois.
Charles W. Anderson Jr. was a lawyer, state legislator and civil rights leader in Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1935 until 1946.