William Henry Steward, up from slavery to Kentucky Republican civil rights leader
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor William Henry Steward, born in Kentucky, July 26th 1847. Though enslaved, he attended school, eventually becoming a teacher. After several years working for a railroad, the Rutherford Hayes administration hired him as the state’s first black letter-carrier. He edited The American Baptist as well as a local newspaper. This multi-talent also was music director at a church. Steward devoted himself to improving educational opportunities for black children in Louisville. He served on boards of directors for an orphanage and a college and the Young Men’s Christian Association. Democrats received his condemnation for backing Jim Crow and opposing the GOP’s civil rights agenda. Steward aligned with Booker T. Washington’s gradual approach to achieving racial equality. He attended the 1892 Republican National Convention and campaigned for William McKinl...