‘We’re opening doors.’ Lexington’s top 3 criminal justice jobs now held by people of color.

Lexington and the state of Kentucky took a long overdue step forward on Monday, when Gov. Andy Beshear appointed Kimberly Henderson Baird as Fayette Commonwealth Attorney.

She becomes the first Black woman in the state of Kentucky to hold the post. She is, as Beshear pointed out, more than qualified, having worked in the office since 1996. She was recommended by her boss, Lou Anna Red Corn, who announced her retirement in August. Red Corn was the first Native American commonwealth’s attorney in the state, and the first female commonwealth’s attorney in Fayette County.

It’s an exciting if overdue moment for a city and state once ruled by Jim Crow segregation, particularly because Lexington’s top three criminal justice positions are now held by people of color: Angela Evans won the Democratic primary for Fayette County Attorney and starts Oct. 3, while Police Chief Lawrence Weathers has been in the job since 2018.

It’s important because we need more than white, male perspectives in all facets of our society, but particularly in a criminal justice system long plagued by racial inequities and discrimination.

“It’s time the city recognized that the talent we’re blessed with in Lexington comes in very diverse forms and we need to take advantage of that if we’re going to be the best city we can be,” said Rev. C.B. Akins, former pastor at Bracktown Baptist Church.

These jobs were filled by appointment, hiring and by election. Evans, notably, won the primary by a large majority over longtime incumbent Larry Roberts. Voters were clearly motivated by many issues, including Roberts’ prosecution of peaceful protesters from the Black Lives Matter marches of 2020. City leaders were motivated by those protests about racial injustice in many sectors of Lexington to create the Racial Justice and Equality Commission.

Rev. Clark Williams, a spokesman for the Black Faith Leaders of Lexington, noted these leaders will help bring systemic change, but can’t do it alone.

“I think that it’s an opportunity to move us toward improvements in the criminal justice system, but that’s also predicated on willingness of those who work with them to see the need to shift thinking and transform culture in the process,” he said.

Yes, it’s overdue. But it’s positive for everyone, especially our young people, to see that our community’s diversity can be reflected in what were once bastions of exclusivity.

“We’re opening doors ...it’s reflective of how far Lexington and the state have come, but it also shows how much more is needed,” Evans said. “If we’re the firsts ... we still have these ceilings that need to be broken.”

Evans also pointed out that these kinds of hires and appointments can help the business community recruit, showing that a once sleepy Southern town has moved forward.

“People want to see that their government is reflective of them, especially when they’re coming from cities with larger population,” she said. “This could be an amazing recruiting tool.”