Honoring the West Louisville Branch Library & Thomas Fountain Blue

The Louisville Free Public Library, Lean Into Louisville, and the Frazier History Museum have partnered for a day of celebration, honoring the vision and legacy of Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue. He was a minister, educator, and civic leader who would become the nation's first African American to head a public library. In 1905, Blue was chosen to head the Louisville Western Branch Library, the first public library to serve African American patrons with an exclusively African American staff. He is currently buried in an unmarked grave at Eastern Cemetery with his beloved wife Cornelia.

Our partnering organizations, along with Friends of Eastern Cemetery, will dedicate a headstone on July 16 at 1:30 p.m. at Eastern Cemetery, where the public is invited to attend, Mayor Greg Fischer will be in attendance, along with members of the Blue family for the short ceremony.