Kenneth Kilgore

Kenneth Kilgore (January 26, 1947 – April 14, 2011) was an American jazz musician, a Minister of Music, and an educator. He founded the Ambassadors' Concert Choir in 1979 and the choir performed with other musicians at multiple events. He won several awards and a bridge in Oklahoma City was named in his honor two years after his death.

Personal life Kenneth Kilgore was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on January 26, 1947, and spent his childhood there. His father Leonard Kilgore died when Kenneth was 16 years old and his mother was Lola Peters Kilgore. Of all the children his parents had from prior relationships, Kilgore was the youngest child and the only child from his parents' relationship together. He graduated from Douglass High School and attended Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, where he received a bachelor's degree.

In January 1969, Kilgore began teaching at the mostly white Herald Elementary School in Oklahoma City. At the time, public schools in Oklahoma City were going through racial integration and Kilgore was placed there as the first black teacher. Kilgore attended Langston University in Oklahoma after deciding that he wanted more schooling in the 1990s. In 1992, Kilgore was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Politician Mike Shelton said, I am very proud of his accomplishments and what he did to influence the musical arts in this state. His career was long, successful and left a legacy behind. We miss him to this day, but with this naming we all will be able to see his name on the highway on a daily basis. This sign going up will keep his memory alive for generations to come.