Records show that Bruce Brown rarely used his first two initials, B.K. What was the source of his unusual name?

Born into slavery in Prince Edward County, Virginia, in 1841, Blanche Kelso Bruce, known as B.K. Bruce, was the first African-American to serve a full term in the United States Senate, representing Mississippi from 1875 to 1881. He died in 1898.

[Sidenote: B.K. Bruce Brown was not alone. My cousin Blancher K. Aldridge was born in nearby Fremont, Wayne County, in about 1893. Bekay Thompson was born in Wilson County in 1930.]