This Kentucky Experience Honors Black Southern Trailblazers

When recalling Kentucky history, names like Alexander Beaumont (a cook and private in the U.S. Colored Troops) and Oliver Lewis (the first Kentucky Derby winner) are too often overlooked. Now, their stories and those of 17 other trailblazing African Americans are brought to life through Kentucky Black Trailblazers, an immersive augmented reality (AR) experience spanning six counties.

With the help of their smartphones, visitors can stand among war hero graves and hear Harlem Hellfighters recount WWI, or visit Muhammad Ali’s hometown to learn about the segregation he faced despite global fame, bringing long-overdue recognition to these impactful lives.

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How Kentucky Black Trailblazers Came to Be

Janette Marson, president and CEO of ShelbyKY Tourism, says the wine brand 19 Crimes initially sparked the idea for Kentucky Black Trailblazers. “You can use your smartphone on the QR codes on the wine bottles, and then an augmented reality experience appears before you,” she explains. “I’ve always wanted to use that technology in conjunction with tourism, but it was cost-prohibitive.”

Thanks to a multi-jurisdictional grant from the American Rescue Plan Act, Janette and ShelbyKY Tourism Vice President Mason Warren (along with partners in five other Kentucky counties) were able to secure funding for the project.

“Even though ShelbyKY Tourism took the lead,” Janette says, “there is no way that Mason and I could have done this by ourselves.” She adds that it took a team of more than 100 people to get the project up and running, and it all started with finding stories to tell. Each county team met with Black historians to determine which tales fit best. Once the stories were selected, they moved on to scriptwriting.

Writing Scripts and Writing Code

“The scripts were written by Black historians,” Janette adds, explaining that they went through the production process with three questions in mind: What does the Black community in each area want to hear? What stories do they want to tell? And in what way should those stories be told?

“The stories are wonderful … stories of resilience, triumph over adversity, and just some of the most incredible, not necessarily well-known people,” Janette adds. “They … are lesser known, but did incredible things — not just for Kentucky, but for the United States as well.”

With the help of Black actors, costume designers, and a Black director, the Kentucky counties hired Tactic — the same company that created the AR storytelling for 19 Crimes — to pull it all together.

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Using technology similar to Pokémon GO, which blends the real world with the virtual world through augmented reality and GPS technology, Kentucky Black Trailblazers came to life in July 2024. Since then, thousands of QR code scans have allowed people to experience Kentucky legacies in a new dimension.

Each location is linked to Google Maps coordinates, making it easy to find spots off the beaten path. Once someone gets started with their first QR code, the app acts as a digital passport of sorts, tracking their way along the trail.

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The Trailblazers

“You’ve got all 19 people listed on your app,” Janette explains, “and as you do an experience, it becomes full color — almost like you’re getting a digital sticker for completing that experience.”

The stories of strength and resilience include those of:

• Daniel Arthur Rudd, who co-founded the American Catholic Tribune and was a founding member of the Catholic Press Association
• Dorsey Wickliffe, a black enslaved nanny who cared for the children of some of Kentucky’s most prominent figures
• Mack Rowan, who was born with clubfoot and became a highly sought-after master boot and shoemaker for bespoke footwear
• The First Black Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, a testament to the enduring spirit and faith of the African American community
• General Braddock, a body servant to a British general during the French and Indian War, also believed to have served with George Washington before being enslaved
• Margaret “Ma” Collier, the first African American woman to serve as a hostess in military service clubs
• Mary Cunningham Smith, whose actions helped lead to African Americans securing the right to sit and ride on Louisville streetcars long before the civil rights movement
• ​​Muhammad Ali, a world-renowned symbol of greatness both inside and outside the boxing ring
• Oliver Lewis, a cook and private in Company E of the 116th Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops, who fought for liberation and justice
• Eliza Brooks, who escaped slavery at the age of 50 with her two children and a friend
• Henry Bibb, who was born into slavery and later became a leading abolitionist and advocate for freedom
• Elijah P. Marrs, who rallied 27 other African Americans to join the Union Army, enlisting in the 12th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery
• The Harlem Hellfighters, an award-winning African American combat unit during World War I
• Whitney M. Young Jr., the head of the National Urban League who worked to dismantle employment discrimination and improve government services for Black Americans
• Annie Mitchell Reed, a nanny, cook, laundress, and seamstress who survived the deadliest train wreck in Kentucky history
• Mattie Owens, a teacher who instructed first through eighth grade in a single room until desegregation
• Reverend Charles Henry Parrish Sr., a Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute graduate who co-founded Eckstein Norton University

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Janette recalls witnessing a visitor’s reaction during the Harlem Hellfighters experience: “I remember someone breaking down in tears at Calvary Cemetery because they knew that their loved one was buried there somewhere, but they had no idea [about] all that they had done in history,” she says. “That was surprising and wonderful.”

Though Kentucky Black Trailblazers currently features 19 stories, Janette hopes to eventually expand its coverage, perhaps adding more tales or expanding upon the existing ones.

“The project truly is an experience,” she exclaims. “It brings history to life in a completely new way. I don’t think I’ve been with anyone who didn’t walk away feeling … changed. It just feels immersive and transformational.”

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