University Press of Kentucky Co-Editors Gerald Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John Hardin Receive the 2015 Kentucky Archives Month Certificate

University Press of Kentucky co-editors Gerald Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John Hardin have been selected to receive the 2015 Kentucky Archives Month Certificate for Merit for Writing/Publication for their editorship of The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. This award is presented by The Kentucky State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) in order to recognize individuals who made a significant contribution to the conservation of Kentucky history through extensive research within the state's archival system. Kentucky Archives Month is an annual celebration of the importance of archives and historical records and of the work of institutions which preserve these unique resources.

Editors Smith, McDaniel, and Hardin gathered over 150 authors to contribute to The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Featuring over 1000 entries on the individuals, events, places, organizations, movements, and institutions that have shaped the state's history since its origins, the volume also includes topical essays on the civil rights movement, Eastern Kentucky coalfields, business, education, and women. "This seminal work is a wonderful reference tool that will be valued by all who use it," said Valerie Edgeworth, Chair of the Kentucky Archives Month Coordinating Committee.

This year's award will be presented on Thursday, October 29, at 4 p.m. at the Visitor and Information Center on the ground floor of the Carroll Academic Services Building at Kentucky State University. The presentation will be followed by a book signing. Smith, McDaniel, and Hardin join fellow UPK author Thomas Kiffmeyer who received theaward in 2010 for his book Reformers to Radicals: The Appalachian Volunteers and the War on Poverty.

Gerald L. Smith is a professor of history and the holder of the Theodore A. Hallam Professorship (2015-2017) in the department of history at the University of Kentucky. He is the author, editor, or coeditor of three books and other publications on history. He pastors the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.

Karen Cotton McDaniel is professor emeritus at Kentucky State University, where she was a tenured full professor and director of libraries. She has more than twenty publications on black Kentuckians, including book chapters, articles, and encyclopedic essays. She has also taught at Eastern Kentucky University and Berea College.

John A. Hardin, professor of history at Western Kentucky University, is the author of two books, several major articles, and numerous book reviews on Kentucky African American history. He has taught at Kentucky State University and Eastern Washington University and has also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky.

The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia

Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin

Publication Date: August 28, 2015 ♦ $49.95 cloth, ISBN: 978-0-8131-6065-8 ♦ ebook available

For more information, contact: Mack McCormick, Publicity Manager, 859/257-5200, permissions@uky.edu

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