Interview with Louis A. Newby, Sarah Clark Newby, October 29, 2021

Interview Summary

Rev. Louis A. Newby served as the pastor of First Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky. Newby was born into a sharecropping family. As a result, Newby and his family moved constantly to different locations throughout rural central Kentucky. Newby attended segregated schools throughout his entire primary and secondary educational experiences, and graduated from Simmons School in Versailles. Newby began to understand the differences in equality between Black people and white people while stationed in Germany completing his military service. Newby recalls that he received first-class treatment while traveling throughout Western Europe. Newby had originally planned to go to college instead of serving in the military, but was unable to get a medical exemption from the draft. Newby explains that he was accidentally shot in the chest by a group of white frog hunters while working on his farm. Doctors had refused to remove the bullet from Newby's chest since it could help identify the white people who had shot him. When attempting to prove his injury, hospital administrators informed Newby that the bullet had been removed. Without proof of his injury, Newby was drafted into the Army, and Army doctors later confirmed that Newby still had a bullet lodged in his chest. After being discharged from the Army, Newby began to get involved with the civil rights movement, including staging his own sit-in at a Lexington bus station lunch counter. Newby explains what drew him to religious life and becoming a pastor. Newby initially preached at the Davistown Baptist Church in Lancaster before moving to First Corinthian in Frankfort. Newby explains why he was interested in attending the March on Frankfort. Newby also recalls some experiences he had of racism and discrimination prior to the March, including while he was attending Central State College in Ohio. Newby describes the participation of First Corinthian Baptist Church in civil rights demonstrations while he was pastor. Newby talks of some role models he had in his early life and shares memories of the March, including accidentally bumping into Martin Luther King Jr. Newby considers desegregation in Kentucky and how it impacted his life. Newby describes some of his views on race.

Newby's wife, Sarah Newby, then joins the interview and begins talking about their daughters and family. Sarah Newby was a teacher at Fayette County Public Schools for many years and helped to integrate Mary Todd Lincoln Elementary School. Sarah Newby describes her early life and background. Sarah Newby concludes the interview with a reflection on her father and his career as an ice man.

Interview Keyword

Martin Luther King Jr. JET Magazine cover First Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church (Frankfort, Ky.) March on Frankfort Simmons School (Versailles, Ky.) Wife Pastors Preaching Activism Kentucky Civil Rights Act of 1966 Family Desegregation Mary Todd Lincoln Elementary School (Lexington, Ky.) Frederick Douglass High School (Lexington, Ky.) Dunbar High School (Lexington, Ky.) Ice men

Interview LC Subject

Keene (Ky.) Parents Sharecroppers Sharecropping Farms Farmers Brothers Education Segregation Black people African Americans Kentucky Kentuckians Jessamine County (Ky.) United States. Army Germany Italy Europe Civil rights Civil rights movement Civil rights demonstrations Ministers Racism Central State College (Wilberforce, Ohio) Role models Awards Homeownership Education, Higher Lexington Theological Seminary Lexington (Ky.) Fayette County (Ky.) United Theological Seminary (Dayton, Ohio) Discrimination Prejudice Teachers Teaching Daughters Fayette County Public Schools (Fayette County, Ky.) Marriage Grandchildren Fathers Ice Baptists

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.