Owensboro’s Black Chautauqua | Dr. Cynthia Patterson

On August 12, 2022, noted author Salman Rushdie was stabbed multiple times as he was about to deliver a talk at the Chautauqua Institute, in Chautauqua, New York. Popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Chautauquas have declined in popularity over the years, although they are still held throughout the United States. Join us today for a discussion with a KHS research fellow who has written an article about a Black Chautauqua that was held in Owensboro, Kentucky, as we delve into the local history of Chautauquas. Dr. Patterson is an associate professor of English at the University of South Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University. In 2010, she published Art for the Middle Classes: America’s Illustrated Magazines of the 1840s with the University Press of Mississippi. She has held many fellowships, including the Library Company of Philadelphia and the American Antiquarian Society. Kentucky Chronicles is inspired by the work of researchers from across the world who have conducted research at the Kentucky Historical Society, or who have contributed to the scholarly journal, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, which has been published continuously, since 1903. Hosted by Dr. Daniel J. Burge, associate editor of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and coordinator of our Research Fellows program, which brings in researchers from across the world to conduct research in the rich archival holdings of the Kentucky Historical Society. KHS Chronicles is presented by the Kentucky Historical Society, with support from the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation. https://history.ky.gov/about/khs-foundation Our show is recorded and edited by Gregory Hardison, who also wrote the original underscoring of the interview. Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Lang for her support and guidance. Our theme music, “Modern Documentary” was created by Mood Mode and is used courtesy of Pixabay. To learn more about our publication of The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, or to learn more about our Research Fellows program, please visit our website: https://history.ky.gov/