By Lantern staff,
Kentucky Lantern
Jesse Crenshaw, a longtime Fayette County lawyer and legislator who broke many of Kentucky’s racial barriers, died on Sunday, April 26, after a short illness, his family said. He was 79 years old.
Crenshaw was born in Metcalfe County and attended high school in Glasgow at Ralph Bunche. He received his undergraduate degree from Kentucky State University and a law degree from the University of Kentucky’s Rosenberg College of Law with a two year break while he served in the Vietnam War. He was a long-time lecturer at Kentucky State University, and served as the first Black assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District.
In 1993, he won his first term to the Kentucky General Assembly, becoming the first Black resident of Fayette County to be elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives. He served until 2014, working on numerous issues and projects, including the building of the new Eastern State Hospital.
He worked with then-Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph Lambert, was instrumental in establishing and funding the Kentucky Legal Education Opportunity (KLEO) program to increase the number of underrepresented students in law school. He fought for many years, less successfully, to restore the voting rights of felons.
In 2020, he was inducted into the UK law school’s Hall of Fame.
“Jesse Crenshaw was a man of many firsts, breaking racial barriers and serving as an inspirational leader for Kentuckians,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement on Monday. “A veteran, lawyer, state representative, teacher and father, Jesse made a difference in the lives of many, and his legacy will live on for generations to come. Britainy and I are praying for his family during this difficult time.”
Crenshaw also had a private law practice in downtown Lexington next door to his home and was heavily involved with the local and state Democratic Party, even after he retired from the legislature.
Funeral arrangements are pending with Smith and Smith Funeral Home in Lexington.
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