Honoring Black Stories in Midway group will march Friday, anniversary of 1868 attack on Second Christian

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Honoring Black Stories in Midway, a group dedicated to honoring African American history in the city, will hold a march at midday Friday to honor those affected by the July 31, 1868, attack on the Second Christian Church.

"We are in a day in age where it's open to talk about race, but it makes people uncomfortable," event organizer Milan Bush told the Messenger. "In Midway, much work has been done regarding researching our Black history, but many people are unaware.”

Brenda Jackson, left, and Barbara Holcomb of We're Digging It Metal
Detectors found evidence in 2017 of the original log building of Second
Christian Church. They found foundation stones and handmade nails.
(Lexington Herald-Leader photo by Tom Eblen)

Three years after the Civil War, the church served a vital role in the local Black community, and housed a school. Whites who were determined to uphold the racial status quo attacked and burned the wood structure.

"Being a teacher, I begin researching school information for Blacks. The initial finding was a brief sentence of a colored school being attacked on July 31, 1868," Bush said. "The incident is really disturbing. While no one is alive from that time, I believe it served as a major turning point for Black-white relations in Midway. Nevertheless, the Black community rebuilt and thrived, something many of us didn't know. So we march for awareness and to celebrate their resilience.”

Wednesday the City Council approved a parade permit for the event. Council Member John Holloway, who said he will be marching, told his colleagues that marchers plan to use sidewalks, won't block any streets, and have agreed to break into groups of 10 or less to adhere to the state’s latest social-distancing rules.

"I want people to realize we have been communicating with them (Honoring Black Stories group) about covid restrictions," Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said during the special council meeting called to issue the permit. "They're completely compliant, everyone will have masks on. . . . They will also be socially distanced, making it virtually impossible for an asymptomatic carrier to spread."

Vandegrift added that he will take part in the march and is confident in the social distancing measures in place.

The march will begin at noon at City Hall and will go down East Main Street to Gratz Street, then out East Stephens Street to its intersection with Smith Street, where the church was located on what is now Midway University's campus. From there, the march will go back down Stephens Street, then up Turner Street and on Bruen Street to the Sons and Daughters of Relief Cemetery facing Wausau Place, then back to City Hall at 2 p.m.

"Many of the graves at Sons and Daughters cemetery say 'Gone, but not forgotten'," Bush said. "Honoring Black Stories wants to change that narrative and bring to life those people we have indeed forgotten."

A 2017 Lexington Herald-Leader story about the attack is here.