On June 9, 1870, Elijah P. Marrs, a Union Army veteran, educator, and minister, became the first African American man known to vote in Kentucky following the ratification of the 15th Amendment. Marrs had founded schools for Black youth and advocated fiercely for education and political rights during Reconstruction. His vote symbolized a monumental shift in Kentucky, a border state with strong Confederate sympathies, and highlighted the precariousness of Black enfranchisement in hostile regions. His act was both civic and revolutionary, demonstrating early Black political agency during a brief window of hope in post-Civil War America.
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