By Sudie Eisenbarths

David Welch (left) and Galen Martin at their induction into the Ky. Civil Rights Hall of Fame

To celebrate 40 years of combating discrimination, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights named 22 men and women who fought for equality throughout the state as charter members of the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Two of these honored inductees, David O. Welch, ’55, and Galen Martin, ‘51, are Berea College alumni.

A current member of the College Board of Trustees, Welch is an attorney, the former mayor of Ashland and a former chairman of the Kentucky Human Rights Commission. In 1967 Welch chaired the Commission’s first public hearings supporting equal rights for minorities and women. As mayor, Welch supported the creation of the Ashland Commission on Human Rights and continues to play an active role on the commission.

"For me this is a very humbling experience to be among that group, particularly those who internally suffered to extend civil rights to every one," Welch says.

Recognized for his fight for change, Galen Martin thinks today’s fight is all about enforcement of the law. Appointed as the first director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights in 1961, Martin spearheaded the passage of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act, making Kentucky the first state in the South to have enforcement authority. Martin remained in the post until 1989.

The awards do not signal the end of the fight against injustice, says Martin. "Discrimination is an everyday fact of life in this state, and we’ve got to find the people who are discriminating and make them pay."

In 1960, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights was created by the General Assembly. The original mission was "to continue fair treatment to foster mutual understanding and respect among, and to discourage discrimination against any racial or ethnic group or its members." Since then the mission has grown. Now requests for assistance are as likely to come from Asian or Hispanic people, people with disabilities or the elderly. With the creation of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act in 1966 and subsequent amendments the law has been widened to include gender, age and disabilities as groups needing protection.

In an effort to honor those who have fought discrimination and to teach future generations what has been done to establish basic rights for all, the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights created the Civil Rights Hall of Fame. The inductees have been immortalized in a 40-foot by 12-foot wood and metal exhibit featuring their portraits. Lexington artist Garry R. Bibbs created the sculpture.