Bardstown mayor is panelist today in discussion on race and politics
STAFF REPORT
MAYOR BILL SHECKLES
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 — Bardstown Mayor Bill Sheckles is a panelist today taking part in the William McAnulty Forum on African Americans and the Future of Kentucky Politics.
The forum begins at 2 p.m. at the Brown-Forman Room at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in downtown Frankfort.
The event honors the late Justice William E. McAnulty Jr., the first African American to serve on the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The discussion is being held in conjunction with the upcoming 50th anniversary commemoration of the civil rights march on Frankfort. The event is hosted by the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission (KAAHC) in partnership with the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office, the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.
Joining Mayor Sheckles on the panel are Perryville Mayor Anne Sleet, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman Chris Ford, and Owensboro City Commissioner Pamela Smith-Wright. KET’s Renee Shaw is the panel moderator.
The forum will explore past and present political participation by African Americans as candidates, party leaders and voters, and also examine opportunities awaiting African Americans in future state and local elections.
Panelists will be asked to share their political experiences and address the following questions, among others:
- What challenges have African Americans faced in seeking an elected office?
- Do African Americans still feel they are on the margins of Kentucky politics?
- What strategies can be employed to encourage and expand political participation?
- How do we inspire the next generation to pursue political opportunities?
McAnulty earned his law degree from the University of Louisville and served as a juvenile court judge, district judge and circuit court judge in Jefferson County prior to going into private practice. He was re-elected to the circuit court as chief judge in 1993, then appointed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1998. He was appointed to the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2006 by then-Governor Ernie Fletcher, and later that year was elected to a full eight-year term. He died in August 2007 of complications from lung cancer. A bust of McAnulty by noted sculptor Ed Hamilton was unveiled at the State Capitol in 2010.
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