Gerald L. Smith is a professor of history and the holder of the Theodore A. Hallam Professorship (2015–2017) in the department of history at the University of Kentucky. He is the author, editor, or coeditor of three books and other publications on history. He pastors the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Karen Cotton McDaniel is professor emeritus at Kentucky State University, where she was a tenured full professor and director of libraries. She has more than twenty publications on black Kentuckians, including book chapters, articles, and encyclopedic essays. She has also taught at Eastern Kentucky University and Berea College. John A. Hardin, professor of history at Western Kentucky University, is the author of two books, several major articles, and numerous book reviews on Kentucky African American history. He has taught at Kentucky State University and Eastern Washington University and has also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky.