Interview with Paul Oberst, August 22, 1978

Interview Summary

Dr. Oberst, a professor at the University of Kentucky Law School, received his law degree from U.K. in 1939. Following a stint in the United States Navy, Dr. Oberst accepted the position at U.K. in 1946. He recalls the John Hatch and Lyman Johnson court case which integrated the Graduate and Law Schools at U.K. in 1949, and the reaction of the faculty and students to Mr. Hatch. Dr. Oberst also recounts his involvement with such civil rights organizations at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Human Rights Commission, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Lexington Committee on Religion and Human Rights. He discusses the University of Kentucky's recruitment of African American faculty and students, and open housing.

Interview Keyword

African Americans African Americans in Lexington born 1915 in Owensboro Human Rights Commission Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky open housing in Lexington. Race relations

Interview LC Subject

African American families African Americans--Civil rights--Kentucky African Americans--Education--Kentucky--Lexington African Americans--Kentucky--Lexington--Economic conditions African Americans--Religion Oberst, Paul Oberst, Paul--Interviews African Americans African Americans--Race identity

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 be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.