One man.
One courageous step.
Seventy years of a journey that is still unfolding and evolving.
That is the story the University of Kentucky community is celebrating with particular reverence this month and throughout the next year.
It is the story of an institution intentionally striving to be a community of belonging, even while acknowledging that its evolution has not been a straight line of progress. It has been one of triumphs and trials, opportunities and obstacles.
The journey began with one man, who took one step.
In 1949, five years before the Supreme Court declared that “separate but equal” was anything but, Lyman T. Johnson became the first African-American to enroll at the University of Kentucky.
