Chinese Kites by Ellis Wilson ELLIS WILSON, an African-American, was born April 30, 1899 in Mayfield, Kentucky to Frank and Minnie Wilson.  His father was a barber but also an amateur painter who encouraged Ellis’ painting.  Ellis Wilson died January 1, 1977 in New York, New York. After high school in Mayfield, Ellis attended the all Black Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute in Frankfort, Kentucky (which is now Kentucky State University) and the Chicago School of the Art Institute.  He lived in Chicago for five (5) years working as a commercial artist and moved to New York City in 1928. …

Warren Thomas Museum, Hickman (Fulton Co.) Ky. The first black church, in Hickman, Fulton County, KY, was organized in 1867, by a group of newly freed slaves.   These men were Warren Thomas, the leader and organizer, Cato Thomas, Valentine Matson, Samuel Tyler, Henry Clark . The group signed a promissory note for $242.99 to purchase the church site from the East Hickman Operation, a local land development company owned by whites.   Blacks were now receiving pay for their labor.  However, in 1867 the Freedmen’s Bureau, under the auspices of the federal government, paid the balance due making Thomas Chapel the…