Two organizations focused on African-American history and heritage have appointed Dr. Alicestyne Turley of Berea College to their executive boards. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), in Washington, D.C., named Dr. Turley to its Executive Council. In December, Kentucky Governor Steven Brashear appointed Turley to the Governing Board of the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage (KCAAH) in Louisville, KY.
Turley, a noted scholar, author and consultant who holds degrees in Anthropology/Sociology, Public Policy Administration and History, is Director of Berea College’s Carter G. Woodson Center and Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies. She has been at Berea since 2012.
Dr. Turley will serve on ASALH’s Executive Council, a 23-member governing board that oversees operations of the organization founded in 1915 by Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History. Woodson graduated from Berea College in 1903 and established Negro History Week in 1926 to address the lack of information about the accomplishments of African Americans. In 1976 that observance became a month-long celebration. Now in its centennial year, ASALH continues Woodson’s legacy by operating local, state and international branches promoting greater knowledge of African-American history through research, publishing and educational programs.
The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage is governed by a state board comprised of educators, artists and historians appointed by the governor. KCAAH is responsible for preserving and promoting the state’s history, heritage and cultural contributions of African-Americans in communities where events took place across the Commonwealth. Dr. Turley was involved with the creation of the African American Heritage Foundation (AAHF) in 1994. The Foundation encouraged the preservation of African-American sites and culture, starting with the preservation of historic structures in the African-American community and recognition of important sites through an historic marker program. Now, the AAHF has opened a Center, located at 18th and Muhammad Ali Blvd. in Louisville, dedicated to showcasing these accomplishments.