RESOLUTION NO. __________, SERIES 2016
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A RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JUDGE BENJAMIN SHOBE.
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SPONSORED BY: COUNCILMEMBERS TANDY, BRYANT HAMILTON, GREEN, SHANKLIN, WOOLDRIDGE, JAMES, HOLLANDER, BENSON, STUCKEL AND BUTLER
WHEREAS, Benjamin Shobe was born on Oct. 2, 1920, in Bowling Green, KY and grew up in a black enclave called Jonesville. Both of his parents were educators with his father being the first African American to serve on the State Parole Board. Ben passed away on Friday, January 29, 2016 surrounded by his loved ones.
WHEREAS, Benjamin Shobe received his bachelor's degree from Kentucky State College in 1941. Shobe wanted to attend the University of Kentucky or the University of Louisville Law Schools, but blacks were not allowed to attend graduate or professional schools in the state of Kentucky at that time. Kentucky paid Shobe's tuition at the University of Michigan under the Anderson-Mayer Bill. This bill paid tuition for black students to attend out of state schools to pursue educational opportunities that were offered only to white students in Kentucky.
WHEREAS, In 1946, He earned his law degree and came back to Kentucky to use it to resolve the discrimination that would not allow him to earn it in Kentucky. In 1949, as a young attorney, Shobe participated with Justice Thurgood Marshall, James Nabritt, and James A. Crumlin in the celebrated higher education desegregation case of Lyman T. Johnson verses University of Kentucky. This successful lawsuit ended segregation at the University of Kentucky graduate schools and forced them to admit minorities to its graduate and professional schools.
WHEREAS, Shobe's career grew as he fought to integrate Louisville's public parks in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, Shobe defended teenagers arrested in protests that led to the passage of legislation to prohibit discrimination in hiring, housing and public accommodations.
WHEREAS, Janu...
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