Family, sorority of groundbreaking lawyer Alberta Jones join county attorney in statue push

Alberta O. Jones was always one to break the mold.

In just 35 years, she accomplished a lengthy list of firsts ― first Black woman to pass the Kentucky bar, first female city attorney, first female prosecutor for the Domestic Relations Court, first attorney for a young Black boxer who the world would come to know as Muhammad Ali.

Now, nearly 60 years after she was brutally murdered and her body thrown from the Sherman Minton Bridge, Jones' family, her Zeta Phi Beta sorority and Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell are hoping for Alberta O. Jones to break one more mold — this time of a bronze statue.

The interest started in 2017 because of the desire of Flora Shanklin, Jones' younger sister, for a lasting legacy of Alberta Odell Jones.

"It's something that when I’m dead and gone and my family is dead and gone, children coming along will take a second and say, 'Who is this?' and they'll learn about her," Shanklin said.

Jones was previously honored as a Hometown Hero — although each sunny day, her smile fades a bit more from the banner hung on the corner of River City Bank.

She was honored with a mock courtroom at Central High School, her alma mater, and a conference room in the County Attorney's new downtown office.

Last year, the city's newest park was named after Jones .

"I don't know how long she'll be on the bank," Shanklin said. "The park is a permanent thing. I'm very proud of the park and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart, but a statue is something that will last forever."

O'Connell believes it will be the first life-size statue of a Black woman in the city.

The National Organization of Women president Christian F. Nunes told The Courier Journal: "We know that the more women statues, the better. After all, the more we can talk about what women have contributed to our country and their importance, the better it is for our future women leaders to envision what’s possible."

The family and sorority agreed on artist LaQuincey Reed — a former art teacher in, of all places, Jones, Oklahoma — who's now a full-time sculptor.

Last year, Reed completed a life-size sculpture of Oklahoma civil rights icon Clara Luper .

Reed visited Louisville last week to meet with the family and learn more about the trailblazing attorney. He said he is very early in the process.

"It was good visiting with Ms. Flora, so I can get a feel for what kind of person Alberta was," Reed said. "It's changed how I'm going to depict her in terms of the pose. What I was going to do isn't what I'm going to do now."

Once the funds are raised, it will take about a year and a half to go from a small-scale sculpture to a life-size bronze patina statue.

Earlier this month, O'Connell sent letters to a dozen of Louisville philanthropists.

" A statue of Alberta Jones is long overdue, " O'Connell wrote. " Alberta’s story is still unknown to most in our city. ... Generations of women, men and children will look upon Alberta’s statue in wonderment and be inspired. "

Jones' niece, Vickie, used to work in O'Connell's office as a director of restitution. Keeping her legacy alive became important to him. It's why he chose to hang her photo in the county attorney's office and name the largest conference room after her.

When Alberta O. Jones attended the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes, no one knew the legacy she would build in just 35 years of life. She graduated third in her class from the University of Louisville, where she sat next to another Jones: David Jones, the late co-founder of Humana.

The Joneses became friends, attending each others' parties until Alberta's murder on Aug. 5, 1965, a murder that remains unsolved by both Louisville Metro Police and the FBI.

Earlier this year, and five years after his death, a statue of David Jones was unveiled outside of Humana's Waterside Building.

Jones joined the Eta Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., a graduate chapter, in Louisville, after she started practicing law.

Now, the sorority and family hope to raise $150,000, of which $50,000 would go toward an endowment that would maintain the upkeep of the statue.

"Having a statue in her honor, it’s tangible," said Keisha Smith, the Great Lakes Regional Director of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. "It’s a strong representation of Alberta’s legacy being right there before you. We’re inspired by her, period. But a statue is a constant reminder of her humanity, of the values ... and the legacy that lives on.

On Saturday, while in town to watch former Courier Journal reporter Larry Muhammad's play titled "Who Killed Alberta Jones," Reed and his wife drove around with O'Connell to look at the city's statues and open spaces.

A space near the courthouse was mentioned since Jones was an attorney, but the site for the statue is still a long list of possibilities in a yet-to-be-determined location downtown.

"She was a young Black woman who had a clear idea and understanding on how she wanted to be intentional in her actions, and she was," Smith said. "She wanted to be the voice for those who were voiceless and those who wanted to be empowered, she provided resources and tools and education. ...

"Ms. Flora just continues to make sure we never forget about Alberta ― that she existed, that she lived among us and was the leader we needed, both then and now."

Other statues of Black pioneers around Kentucky

Elmer Lucille Allen

A bronze bust of Elmer Lucille Allen was unveiled on Juneteenth at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisville. Allen was a chemist and the first Black woman scientist hired by Brown-Forman.

The Wildcats who integrated the SEC

In September 2016, the University of Kentucky unveiled a statue of the four men who integrated football in the SEC , including Nate Northington, Greg Page, Houston Hogg and Wilbur Hackett. Northington was the first Black athlete to play in a football game involving two SEC teams in September 1967 when Ole Miss came to UK. Page played with Northington. Hogg and Hackett joined the team in 1968. The statue is located outside the Wildcats' football stadium.

York

Dedicated in the fall of 2003, the bronze statue of York, a slave who accompanied famed explorers Lewis and Clark, stands atop the Belvedere, at the corner of Fifth and Main streets, overlooking the Ohio River. Louisville commissioned the sculpture, created by renowned Louisville artist and sculptor Ed Hamilton , to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the historic expedition.

Civil War soldiers

While not a statue of a singular person, The Kentucky African American Civil Veterans Monument, previously known as the Colored Soldiers Monument, is one of only four such monuments in the nation. It honors the lives of Black Civil War soldiers. It is located in Green Hill Cemetery in Frankfort. It was commissioned by the KY Woman's Relief Corps No. 8, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in July 1924. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Other statues of females around Kentucky

Alice Allison Dunnigan

A civil rights pioneer, Alice Allison Dunnigan was a journalist who started writing news briefs for the Owensboro Enterprise, one of the state's Black newspapers, at age 13. She braved racism and sexism to become the first Black woman to cover the White House, Congress and Supreme Court. A life-size bronze statue was unveiled of her in 2018 at the now-closed Newseum, a museum dedicated to journalism in Washington, D.C. Her statue was also created by Allison Matthews, who sculpted the statue of Kentucky educator Nettie Depp. The statue now stands outside the SEEK museum in Dunnigan's hometown of Russellville .

Mary Breckinridge

The bronze statue in Hyden (Leslie County) is of the founder of the Frontier Nursing Services . Breckinridge is on horseback, leaning to touch a child's hand reaching toward her. The statue, erected in 2010, is down the street from Mary Breckinridge ARH Hospital.

Mary Gaylord McClean

Located at the entrance to the Shelbyville Fairgrounds, Mary Gaylord McClean is a champion American Saddlebred show horsewoman . She also breeds, owns and sells horses. The bronze sculpture shows her riding world champion equine Santana Lass. It was dedicated in 1997.

Mother Catherine Spalding.

The bronze statue in downtown Louisville honored the co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth . The long-time educator founded several Catholic schools across Kentucky. Spalding University is named in her honor. Her statue, created by Louisville artist Raymond Graf and unveiled in 2015, stands before the Cathedral of the Assumption on Fifth Street. It portrays her with two children and was the first statue of a woman on public land in Louisville.

Nettie Depp

The monument of Nettie Depp came following several years of lobbying state officials for a monument honoring a woman. Depp was the first woman to be elected as Superintendent of Barren County Schools, but also built and repaired schoolhouses and advocated for fair pay for teachers, according to the Monumental Women of Kentucky Committee. It was the first monument honoring a woman on state-owned land. The statue, designed by Lexington-based sculptor Amanda Matthews, was unveiled at the Kentucky Capitol in 2021. Matthews also designed the statue of Alice Allison Dunnigan, a Kentucky journalist.

Olivia Hatcher

Octavia Hatcher's marble statue stands above her grave in the Pikeville Cemetery (which now sits on the University of Pikeville's campus), across town from the famous grave site of the McCoy family of the Hatfield and McCoy Feud. The story behind Hatcher's statue is one of Pike County lore of her being buried alive, but more likely was erected by a grieving husband in honor of his wife.

Wooldridge Family Monument

Erected in Maplewood Cemetery, the series of monuments is a statuary, or a memorial to loved ones, according to the Kentucky Historical Society . The monuments include several marble statues of family members and loved ones of Col. Henry G. Wooldridge life, including multiple statues of women.

S tephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com . Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy .

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Family, sorority of groundbreaking lawyer Alberta Jones join county attorney in statue push