Clarence L. Timberlake was an African American activist who sought to improve and expand educational opportunities for black Kentuckians during the early and mid 20th Century. He was born in Fleming County, Kentucky in 1885. He graduated from Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute in 1904 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simmons University in 1930. Timberlake established a four year high school in Madisonville and teacher training schools at Pembroke and Greenville, Kentucky. He also organized Kentucky Negro Farmers Conferences from 1914 to 1948 and was president of West Kentucky Vocational School at Paducah from 1948 to 1957. He authored numerous pamphlets and articles on African American education, Kentucky politics and civil rights. He later was successful in sponsoring the first two black students from Kentucky to attend West Point Military Academy. He died in 1979.
From the description of Clarence L. Timberlake papers, 1914-1960 (Murray State University). WorldCat record id: 654432672
