Black History Museum
Ashland, Kentucky
The C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum is a nonprofit museum in Ashland, Kentucky, dedicated to the collection, documentation, preservation and study of Black history in Ashland and across America. The museum will continuously cultivate a Black history experience and honor accomplishments of the past while providing an education for generations to come.
The C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum
was saddened to hear of the loss of Mr. Jerry Johnson!
Mr. Johnson was an amazing artist and well known around the country! He was “Black Excellence.”
Mr. Johnson was also a great friend, supporter and patron of the museum! We will truly miss you.
The C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum was saddened to hear of the loss of Mr. Jerry Johnson! Mr. Johnson was an amazing artist and well known around the country! He was “Black Excellence.”
Mr. Johnson was also a great friend, supporter and patron of the museum! We will truly miss you.
WHEREAS, we pause to remember Mr. Jerry Johnson, a lifelong resident of Ashland, KY who passed surrounded by his family on October 18, 2025.
WHEREAS, He left a legacy of love and courage in every stroke of his paint brush.
WHEREAS, Jerry’s talent grew with every new life experience and his ability to capture the story in a picture was second to none.
He owned and operated the Heritage Art Gallery where his beautiful paintings are featured. Jerry was a patron of the Black History Museum and donated his time, paintings, murals showing his many gifts and talents. Jerry was ever present in the community and the tri-state area. He was a faithful member of Christ Temple Church and praised God with his beautiful voice in the men’s choir.
His passing will leave a forever void in the whole community. He was the example of “Black Excellence” for Ashland’s African American community.
I, Darrell Smith and Bernice Henry, Co-Founders of the C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum of Ashland, Boyd County KY, will hereby designate a permanent place of tribute to Mr. Jerry Johnson recognizing his extraordinary works.
THEREFORE, we encourage all people, businesses, organizations, and institutions to join us in Honoring Mr. Jerry Austin Johnson’s lifetime works of Art.
In the Year of Our Lord, this Twenty Seventh Day of October, Two Thousand Twenty-Five.
—Darrell Smith and Bernice Henry
Make a Small Donation and Receive a Free T-Shirt
- $20 donations for sizes Medium-2X
- $23 donation for size 3X
- $25 donation for sizes 4-5X
- Out of town shipping is available for an additional donation of $9 per shirt up to a 3X (Priority First Class tracking will be provided).
IMPORTANT NOTE: You must write in your total and what shirt you would like (and whether you want a local pickup or shipping ~ and include shipping details) in the optional note area during your checkout; follow the link below to proceed.
Handmade jewelry is also available at the museum (donations are suggested). CONTACT THE MUSEUM FOR WAYS TO DONATE.
Educators, historians honored on Juneteenth for sharing stories of Black Kentuckians
Museum Operations
Hours
Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Saturdays by appointment only; please call to schedule tours)
Closed Sunday and Monday
Admission is a suggested donation of:
Adults ~ $6.00; Children ~ $3.00
Address
901 Kilgore Drive, Ashland, Ky 41101
Phone
Museum Operations
Hours
Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Saturdays by appointment only; please call to schedule tours)
Closed Sunday and Monday
Admission is a suggested donation of:
Adults ~ $6.00
Children ~ $3.00
Address
901 Kilgore Drive,
Ashland, Ky 41101
Phone
02/27/25 — 2025 Fundraising Dinner, Black History Museum
02/26/25 — Photo gallery from 2025 Fundraising Dinner, Shane W. Day Photography
02/14/25 — Black History Month fundraising dinner, WSAZ
02/13/25 — Ironton students learn about Black History Museum, Ironton Tribune
12/06/24 — Greenup County students visit Black History Musuem, Facebook
06/22/24 — Educators, historians honored on Juneteenth, Black History Museum
02/27/24 — Kentucky Edition | Black History Museum | Season 2 | Episode 193, PBS
02/26/24 — Ashland celebrates Black history, Daily Independent
02/26/24 — Photo gallery from 2024 Fundraising Dinner, Shane W. Day Photography
02/10/24 — Black History Museum grows, gains momentum, Herald-Dispatch
01/04/24 — Museum co-founder to be honored at OUS, Daily Independent
12/31/23 — TDI’s top news of 2023: No. 6, Black History Museum opens, Daily Independent
10/09/23 — Museum hosts Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, Black History Museum
04/25/23 — In Our View: New museum great addition, Daily Independent
04/23/23 — Grand opening for Black History Museum, Daily Independent
04/23/23 — Photo gallery from Grand Opening, Shane W. Day Photography
04/23/23 — Grand Opening Ceremony, Black History Museum
02/07/23 — Tri-State’s first Black history museum to open in Ashland, WSAZ
01/31/23 — Beshear visits Ashland to announce $4.1 million for Boyd County
11/20/22 — Sal’s fundraiser event
11/18/22 — Tree honors African American contributions, Daily Independent
FRONT PAGE DESIGN | FULL ARTICLE (dailyindependent.com)
The C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum is being created as an interactive institution for the education of Black history in and around Ashland, Kentucky. It is our goal to welcome the general public as well as be a popular attraction for school groups and personal tours. The Museum will be home to exhibits, educational programs, special activities, art, genealogical research and more. Our mission is to make the museum a cherished archive for all to enjoy!
Photos by Bruce Royal Photography
The C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum was founded in 2022 by Darrell Smith and Bernice Henry:
Darrell Smith
Born and raised in Ashland, Ky. He moved to Delaware to work for MBNA America Bank where he managed CD’s, Money Markets, IRA’s and the Credit Card Division. He then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and started working for Humana Insurance, processing claims and working as a customer advocate for several years till he decided to move back home to Ashland to be near his parents and work from home. Smith is also a member, trustee and financial secretary with New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. He is a volunteer at the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center and is the first African American to serve on the governing board in more than 12 years. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Ashland and the Kiwanis Club of Ashland Breakfast.
In 2024 Smith was presented the Drum Major Legacy Award by Ohio University Southern for being a champion of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and demonstrating a commitment to equality and inclusion in the Community. Also, in 2024 he received an award from the Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky during the Juneteenth celebration in Louisville, Ky.
Smith has always loved Black history and created the “Ashland, Ky Black History” page on Facebook in 2020, then decided to open the C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum in 2023. Smith has always strived to preserve Ashland’s Black History.
Bernice Henry
Henry has volunteered and chaired on numerous committees for over 50 years. Her activism includes serving as NAACP vice president, chairperson of the Ashland Human Rights Commission and commissioner of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (7th District). Her advocacy has helped improve community relations, education and housing opportunities for all residents of Ashland and the Boyd county area. She has also served on the board for Scope Towers for several years and worked for the Ashland Independent School District for over 30 years. Henry was the first African American woman to serve on the Ashland Board of City Commissioners.
Henry has been an active member of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church since childhood. She is currently the church clerk.
The Community Center is named after C.B. Nuckolls. Affectionately called “Professor Nuckolls,” he was principal of Booker T. Washington School in Ashland from 1922-1962. The school closed in 1962 due to desegregation. Nuckolls fought hard to provide black students equal opportunities and everything they needed in education.
The Booker T. Washington school was set on fire by vandals in 1975. All the pictures, books and trophies inside the school were destroyed.