Interview with Sonia Sanders, February 14, 2022

Interview Summary

Sonia Sanders is the Director of Public Engagement at the University of Kentucky. She discusses the many times she has served as an organization’s first Black woman from being the first Black majorette at her Western Kentucky high school to being the first black president of Kentucky Business and Professional Women. She taps into her experiences growing up with her mother and great grandmother and her lengthy background in leadership roles to offer advice to other Black women who plan to pursue predominantly white industries. She also reflects on her first memories of Bourbon growing up in Western Kentucky and uses the skills she has accumulated as a member of the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild to discuss the impact of having a Fermentation and Distillation program at a historically Black land grant institution on the Bourbon Industry.

Interview Keyword

Bourbon Industry Western Kentucky African American History Kentucky State University Black Bourbon Organizations Community Engagement Black women in Bourbon

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.