♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ HI AND WELCOME "INSIDE LOUISVILLE" WHERE WE INTRODUCE YOU TO THE PEOPLE PLACES AND THINGS THAT MAKE UP KENTUCKY'S LARGEST CITY.

THIS WEEK MEET KEN CLAY, AN ARTS ICON IN LOUISVILLE.

MOST OF HIS 86 YEARS HAVE REVOLVED AROUND LIFTING UP MINORITIES IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY.

MANY CALL HIM LOUISVILLE'S RENAISSANCE MAN, AS HE CO-FOUNDED THE RENAISSANCE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IN 1978.

A VENTURE TO PROMOTE BLACK ART AND CULTURE IN KENTUCKY.

BUT PERHAPS HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS 21 YEARS AT THE KENTUCKY CENTER FOR THE ARTS, ULTIMATELY THE VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING.

HERE WHAT IS HE SAID ABOUT HIS VISION FOR THE KENTUCKY CENTER BACK IN 1993.

THE CENTER IS A CENTER FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF KENTUCKY.

>> THE CENTER IS CENTER FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF KENTUCKY.

AND I BELIEVE IT.

AND I SEE IT GOING IN THAT DIRECTION.

I THINK THE CENTER WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EXHIBITS FOR MAJOR SHOWINGS OF BLACK ARTISTS LOCALLY AND STATEWIDE.

>> DIVERSITY PROGRAM IS AN EFFORT TO ASSURE THAT THE VARIOUS CULTURAL POPULATIONS IN THE STATE ARE REPRESENTED BOTH IN THE AUDIENCE AND ALSO AS ARTISTS.

WHEN WE STARTED THE CENTER BACK 10 YEARS AGO, ONE OF THE MAJOR CONCERNS WAS THAT WE DIDN'T WANT THE CENTER TO BE CONSIDERED AS JUST AN ELITIST INSTITUTE.

AND I REMEMBER VERY VIVIDLY ON OPENING NIGHT, WHEN ALL THE BIG GALA WAS TAKING PLACE INSIDE THE BUILDING.

THERE WERE PEOPLE ACROSS THE STREET AS IF THEY COULDN'T GET IN BUT THEY WERE THERE TO HELP CELEBRATE IT TOO.

INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THE SECOND PUBLIC EVENT-- RATHER THE FIRST PUBLIC EVENT HERE AT THE CENTER, RIGHT AFTER THE BIG GALA THE NEXT NIGHT WAS A GOSPEL EXTRAVAGANZA FEATURING SOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN GOSS PEP GROUPS.

SO I THINK THAT WAS A STATEMENT IN ITSELF THAT WE WANTED TO REACH OUT TO VARIOUS ELEMENTS IN THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THEY FELT INCLUDED.

>> MANY OF THE PROGRAMS HE STARTED AT THE KENTUCKY CENTER CONTINUE TODAY, INCLUDING ARTS REACH AND THE BROWN FOREMAN MIDNIGHT RAMBLE.

IN 2020 HE WAS GIVEN A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR FUN FOR THE ARTS.

AND SOON HE WILL HAVE HIS OWN HOMETOWN HEROES BANNER HERE IN LOUISVILLE.

HERE IS OUR CONVERSATION WITH KEN CLAY, RENAISSANCE MAN.

KEN CLAY IS JOINING US HERE IN OUR LOUISVILLE STUDIO.

86 YEARS OLD.

>> OH BOY.

>> AND LOOKING BACK ON THIS INCREDIBLE LIFE YOU HAVE HAD AND GIVING BACK IN SO MANY WAYS TO THE ARTS COMMUNITY.

WE HEARD SOME OF THE WAYS YOU HAVE BEEN HONORED.

BUT I WANT TO START AT THE BEGINNING.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT GROWING UP IN LOUISVILLE.

YOU ARE BORN HERE IN 1939.

>> RIGHT.

>> IN SEGREGATED LOUISVILLE; WHICH I THINK IS HARD FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WAS LIKE GROWING UP HERE THEN.

>> YEAH, I GREW UP AND LIVED IN A HOUSING PROJECT FOR THE FIRST 18 YEARS OF MY LIFE.

IT WAS A FABULOUS EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW.

LOUISVILLE, OF COURSE, WAS A SEGREGATED CITY AND WE DIDN'T KNOW, AS YOUNGSTERS, WE DIDN'T REALLY MEET, YOU KNOW, SEGREGATION HEAD ON.

WE KIND OF LIVED WITHIN OUR OWN COMMUNITY.

WE HAD OUR OWN RESOURCES.

TREMENDOUS SUPPORTIVE BLACK COMMUNITY THAT LOUISVILLE HAD CREATED AND I WENT TO A BLACK SCHOOL AND I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH WAS THE ONLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL AVAILABLE, PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS, YOU KNOW.

BUT THERE WAS A KIND OF A SYNTHESIS THAT BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER ALL OVER THE CITY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS AT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL KNEW EACH OTHER.

IT WAS A MEETING PLACE, A GATHERING PLACE.

WE KNEW DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY, IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY.

AND IT KIND OF GAVE US A UNITY THAT WE REALLY REALLY ENJOYED AND I THINK REALLY BENEFITED US.

SO THE SEGREGATION WAS SOMETHING THAT CERTAINLY WAS GOING ON.

BUT WE WERE KIND OF SHIELDED.

I WAS KIND OF SHIELDED FROM █THE SLINGS AND ARROWS OF THE REAL STUFF WHILE GROWING UP.

>> WHEN WAS IT THAT YOU FELT DRAWN TO THE ARTS AS A YOUNG MAN?

IS IT-- IT'S MUSIC.

YOU WERE WRITING POETRY.

WAS THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE BROUGHT UP WITH IN YOUR FAMILY OR THE COMMUNITY REALLY BROUGHT OUT IN YOU?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, MY BROTHER AND I USED TO SING TOGETHER AND WE WOULD SING WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT WE PULLED TOGETHER.

AND WE WOULD DING DOO WOP-- WE WOULD SING DO WOP ON THE STREET CORNER AND WE LOVED BEING INVOLVED MUSICALLY, YOU KNOW.

AND I RECALL THAT IN HIGH SCHOOL, THERE WAS A Mrs. CROOMS, WHO WAS A MUSIC TEACHER.

SHE GOT ME INVOLVED IN MORE OF A SEMICLASSICAL GROUP THAT SANG NEGRO SPIRITUALS BUT ALSO SOME CLASSICAL SONGS, YOU KNOW.

AND REALLY GOT ME REALLY INTERESTED IN A DIFFERENT FORM OF MUSIC.

>> YEAH, SO MANY, I FEEL LIKE KIDS ARE-- IT'S THE HUMANITIES IN SCHOOLS THAT MANY TIMES BRINGS THAT OUT IN PEOPLE THE PASSION.

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, SO YOU OPENED CORNER OF JAZZ IN THE 1960S, WHICH BECAME A REAL ICONIC PLACE HERE.

IT WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE SHOCK.

>> YEAH >> WHAT WAS THE-- WHAT MADE YOU OPEN THAT AND THEN WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT LOOKING BACK?

>> WELL, AT THE TIME I WAS WORKING FOR THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY, THE ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAM HERE AND KNEW MANY PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I WAS IN CHARGE OF PUTTING TOGETHER THE TARGET AREAS, DRAWING THE OUTLINE OF THE TARGET AREAS, THE RUSSELLS, THE JACKSONS, THE PORTLANDS, AND THE PARK DUVALS.

IT WAS THE PARKLAND AND THEN THE DUVAL.

I MERGED THEM TOGETHER BECAUSE OF MY KNOWLEDGE OF THAT AREA.

SO THAT BECAME PARK DUVAL.

IT WAS A MIXED KIND OF AREA.

BUT YOU HAD POOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS LIVING IN A SECTION AND THEN OVER IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE PARKING AREA, THERE WERE DOCTORS AND LAWYERS AND PROFESSIONAL FOLKS LIKE THAT.

AND IT WAS INTERESTING HOW THEY MERGED AND WORKED TOWARD SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF POVERTY.

>> THE CORNER OF JAZZ, THOUGH, THAT WAS-- IT KIND OF BECAME A CENTRAL LOCATION... >> YEAH, IT WAS LOCATED RIGHT DOWN ON 28th AND GREENWOOD.

AND MOVED IN THERE AND WE SOLD AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC, AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE, BOOKS ABOUT BLACK AUTHORS, YOU KNOW, AND BY BLACK AUTHORS AND WE HAD SCULPTURES, AFRICAN PAINTING AND AFRICAN ART AND IT WAS JUST A TREMENDOUS PLACE.

AND THERE WERE A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD COME BY AND BUY BOOKS, GET A JAZZ RECORD, AND THEY WOULD GO HOME AND READ THEM AND THEY COULD GATHER BACK AT THE SHOP TO DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY HAD READ.

SO IT BECAME A KIND OF A COMMUNITY CENTER IN BRINGING ALL THOSE FOLKS TOGETHER THERE.

>> SURE, AND IT WAS ALSO A PLACE-- CENTRAL TO WHEN THERE WAS CIVIL UNREST TOUR THAT TIME CIVIL UNREST DURING THAT TIME IN THE 60S AND I READ HOW IT KIND OF BECAME A SAFE HAVEN IN A WAY.

>> YEAH, IT WAS A TIME WHEN THERE WERE RIOTS AND DISTURBANCES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

BUT THIS WAS IN 1968.

MARTIN LUTHER KING HAD BEEN KILLED, HAD BEEN SHOT, AND THERE WAS A REALLY NUMBER OF CASES OF POLICE BRUTALITY RIGHT HERE IN LOUISVILLE.

AND FOLKS GOT TOGETHER AND SAID WE WANT TO CALL TOGETHER A RALLY TO TALK ABOUT IT.

AND THEY HELD A RALLY RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF 28 AND GREENWOOD, RIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF MY SHOP.

AND IT WAS A TREMENDOUS DAY.

I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY, VERY POSITIVE AND VERY SUPPORTIVE EVENT.

WE SOLD OUT OF A LOT OF OUR INVENTORY AT THAT TIME DAY MUCH AND IT WAS PEACEFUL AND PEOPLE WERE LEAVING AND SO FORTH AND THERE WAS A MISTAKE, I THINK, MADE BY ONE OF THE POLICE OFFICERS DRIVING IN HIS CAR RIGHT UP INTO THE CROWD.

AND THAT KIND OF IGNITED THINGS.

AND THERE ARE PICTURES AVAILABLE WHERE YOU CAN SIGH WHERE-- YOU CAN SEE WHERE FOUR OR FIVE GUYS WERE PICKING UP THE POLICE CAR AND THROWING IT OVER AND THAT BEGAN THE WHOLE MESS.

YEAH.

>> WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THAT TIME IN OUR CITY, HOW DO YOU THINK THINGS HAVE CHANGED?

>> WELL, THERE HAS BEEN A BIG CHANGE, I THINK, AND WELL, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THINGS CHANGE AND SOMETIMES THINGS STAY THE SAME.

AND THAT'S LIKE PROGRESS AND THEN RETREAT FROM PROGRESS.

THAT IS GOING ON, BUT IT WAS A VERY-- I THOUGHT, A VERY UNIFYING TIME, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AN AREA THAT NEVER REALLY CAME BACK AFTER THE DISTURBANCE, YOU KNOW.

WE HAD TO MOVE.

WE HAD TO GIVE UP THE BUSINESS.

NOBODY CAME TO THE STRIP ANYMORE, YOU KNOW.

AND THIS WAS ALSO IN THE POST-WARNER STREET DAYS, WARNER STREET, OF COURSE, WAS A MAJOR STRIP THAT IS NOW MUHAMMAD ALI WHERE BLACK BUSINESSES FLOURISHED.

THERE WERE OVER 150 BLACK BUSINESSES ON WARPER STREET.

URBAN RENEWAL CAME IN AND TORE IT DOWN.

SOME OF THE BUSINESSES MOVED TO 28th AND GREENWOOD AREA AND SO IT WAS A POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH AND EXPANSION OF MORE BUSINESSES IN THAT AREA.

>> SO YOU WENT FROM THERE AND CO-FOUNDED THE RENAISSANCE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

>> YEAH.

>> TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

AND WHAT SPAWNED THAT.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT WAY?

>> RENAISSANCE KIND OF WAS BORN BECAUSE WE SAW A NEED FOR MORE ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATIONS PULLING TOGETHER OF THE ARTS ACTIVITIES THAT WERE TAKING PLACE IN LOUISVILLE'S BLACK COMMUNITY AND FEW PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT.

WE FELT IT NEEDED SOME DIRECTION AND SOME GUIDANCE AND, YOU KNOW, SOME HELP.

SO RENAISSANCE BECAME KIND OF LIKE AN ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION.

WE WOULD HAVE SOME VISUAL ARTISTS WITH THEIR EXHIBITS.

WE WOULD GET EXHIBITS FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HELP PROMOTE SOME THEATRICAL STUFF THAT WAS GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW.

WE JUST KIND OF LIKE WERE THERE FOR THEM TO TRY TO DO THEIR THING AND WE WERE THERE AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'M PROUD OF RENAISSANCE DID A STATEWIDE MINORITY ARTIST SURVEY AND THE STATEWIDE MINORITY ARTIST DIRECTORY, AND THEN WE PULLED TOGETHER A CONFERENCE OF STATEWIDE MINORITY CONFERENCE, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WAS THE FIRST THAT IT HAD EVER BEEN DONE.

IT WAS SUPPORTED BY THE KENTUCKY ARTS COUNCIL.

>> ALL OF THIS BEFORE THE KENTUCKY CENTER FOR THE ARTS NOW KENTUCKY PERFORMING ARTS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE MULTIPLE VENUES NOW BUT THEN IT WAS THE KENTUCKY CENTER, AND YOU SPENT OVER 20 YEARS THERE, 21 YEARS THERE, AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY KNOW YOU FROM THAT TIME.

BUT HAD YOU DONE ALL OF THAT WORK IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY PRIOR TO THAT.

AND SO TELL ME ABOUT YOUR TIME AT THE KENTUCKY CENTER.

AND WE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR VISION THEN AND WHAT YOU WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WHILE THERE.

THAT VISION CAME TO FRUITION.

>> I WAS ON A TRIP TRYING TO GET SUPPORT FOR RENAISSANCE, TALKING TO A POTENTIAL SPONSOR OF A PROGRAM AND HE SAID HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS NEW BUILDING THAT'S COMING?

THIS NEW PROGRAM THAT'S COMING?

KENTUCKY CENTER FOR THE ARTS?

I SAID NO, I HAVEN'T HEARD THE -- I HADN'T HEARD THAT.

HE SAID LET ME CALL AND INTRODUCE YOU TO THE GUY THAT THEY'RE BRINGING IN.

THEY BROUGHT IN TO RUN THE CENTER.

THAT WAS I GUY NAMED MARLOWE.

WE HOOKED UP AND JUST HAD AN IMMEDIATE BOOM, YOU KNOW, ATTRACTION, AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE WANTED TO DO, AND I, OF COURSE, WAS INTERESTED IN PRESENTING MULTICULTURALISM MAKING SURE THE CENTER WAS WELL REPRESENTED FOR THAT.

I RECALL GOING OUT ON THE STAGE IN THE THEATER AND LOOKING OUT THERE AT THE EMPTY SEATS AND I SAID TO MYSELF; MY JOB IS TO PUT AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THOSE SEATS.

THE ONLY WAY I CAN DO THAT IS TO PUT AFRICAN-AMERICANS ON THE STAGE AND I BEGAN TO DO THAT.

I CREATED A PROGRAM CALLED MIDNIGHT RAMBLE AND THAT'S A PROGRAM THAT ORIGINATED FROM LOUISVILLE.

WARNER STREET IN THE LYRIC THEATER AND IT WAS LIKE THE CHITLIN CIRCUIT WHERE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ENTERTAINERS CAME THROUGH TO PERFORM, YOU KNOW, IN MANY, MANY CITIES.

HERE THEY CALL IT THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLE.

AND I SAID TO MYSELF AFTER TALKING TO SOME OLD HEADS THAT KNEW ABOUT THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLE, I INCIDENTALLY USED TO GO TO THE THEATERS WHEN I WAS A YOUNGSTER ON SATURDAYS AND LOOK AT ALL THE MOVIES IN THE NEWS AND ALL OF THAT.

BUT THEN THEY WOULD HAVE THIS LIVE STAGE SHOW.

IT WAS CALLED THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLE.

WHAT WE SAW WAS A REHEARSAL FOR THE MIDNIGHT RAMBLE THAT TOOK PLACE AT MIDNIGHT FOR THE ADULTS OF THE COMMUNITY.

>> RIGHT.

>> BUT I HAD SOME CHALLENGE OF THAT.

>> YEAH.

>> AND MIDNIGHT RAMBLE I THINK PULLED TOGETHER, OH MY GOD, PULLED TOGETHER THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN SUPPORT OF WHAT WE WERE DOING IN THE ARTS.

IT REVEALED THE HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN LOUISVILLE AND WE BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

WE HAD AN EXHIBIT FROM PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO BROUGHT MEMORIES TO THAT.

AND CERTAINLY WITH THE ARTS REACH PROGRAM, I WAS INTERESTED IN MAKING SURE THE CENTER REACHED OUT TO THESE VARIOUS COMMUNITIES TO OUR YOUTH, YOU KNOW.

AND IT WAS A JAZZ MUSICIAN WHO WAS FROM LOUISVILLE WHO WAS WORKING AND LIVING IN NEW YORK, PIANO PLAYER.

HE CALLED ME AND SAID KEN, I'M COMING HOME FOR THE SUMMER.

I WANT SOMETHING TO DO.

YOU GOT ANYTHING FOR ME TO DO?

AND HE GOT TOGETHER AND I BROUGHT ANOTHER GUY IN.

AND WE STARTED GOING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO WORK WITH THE KIDS I WOULD CALL PEOPLE AT THE COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT I KNEW AND SAID I WANT TO BRING THESE ARTISTS OUT, GET SOME KIDS TOGETHER.

YOU KNOW, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, AND THAT IS THE BEGINNING OF ARTS REACH.

THE MAYOR'S OFFICE REALLY GOT INTERESTED IN IT AND SUPPORTED IT, YOU KNOW, AND IT BECAME A THING.

>> YEAH WELL, IT'S STATEWIDE NOW.

>> IT'S STATEWIDE, ABSOLUTELY.

>> AND IT'S A MODEL NATIONALLY.

>> NATIONAL MODEL.

>> IT'S INCREDIBLE.

AND ONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS THAT STILL HAPPENING TO THIS DAY.

>> SO PROUD OF IT.

I TURNED IT OVER TO OUR EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.

YOU KNOW, ONE THING I WANT TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

THE WAY WE DISCOVERED A WAY TO GET TO THE YOUTH WAS NOT DIRECTLY THROUGH THE YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY CENTERS.

COMMUNITY CENTERS AT THAT TIME WERE MORE ATHLETIC IN THE INCLINES, YOU KNOW, WE DECIDED TO BRING IN THOSE WORKERS AT THE CENTER WHO THEMSELVES KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE ARTS.

WE NEEDED TO TRAIN THEM FIRST BEFORE WE COULD COMMUNICATE AND CONNECT WITH THE KIDS SOY WE BROUGHT THEM IN FOR SESSIONS AND GAVE THEM EXPERIENCES IN THE ARTS.

WE WOULD GIVE THEM TICKETS AND THEY WOULD COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT IT.

>> LOOKING BACK AT YOUR TIME AT THE KENTUCKY CENTER, PARTICULARLY IN THOSE PROGRAMS, WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGACY TO BE?

>> OH, MY GOODNESS.

MY LEGACY IS JUST, YOU KNOW, I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT I WAS SINCERELY INTERESTED IN MAKING SURE THERE WAS MULTICULTURALISM, YOU KNOW, CULTURE DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS, IN THE PROGRAMS THAT WE PRESENTED, YOU KNOW.

AND I THINK MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE WORLD FEST AND BRINGING IN THE ARTISTS OF MANY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, ON TARGET AND VERY BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY.

LOUISVILLE IS BLESSED, I THINK, TO HAVE SUCH A DIVERSITY OF TALENT IN OUR COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, AND I WANT THEM TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN BE PRESENTED, APPRECIATED IT.

SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED FOR, HELPING THAT PROCESS TAKE PLACE.

>> YOU HAVE ALSO WRITTEN TWO BOOKS.

TWO CENTURIES OF BLACK LOUISVILLE, A HISTORICAL LOOK BACK AND ALSO SOULFUL SOUNDS OF DERBY TOWN THAT IS GETTING ALL KINDS OF AWARDS.

>> CO-AUTHOR.

>> CO-AUTHOR.

OKAY.

>> I PULLED THE THING TOGETHER AND SAID HEY, YOU GUYS, I NEED HELP.

[LAUGHTER] >> IT'S A TEAM EFFORT, I GET IT.

YEAH.

>> TWO CENTURIES CAME OUT WHEN I WAS LEAVING THE CENTER.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I DID.

THAT WAS MY NEXT BIG PROJECT, WRITING A BOOK ABOUT BLACK LOUISVILLE.

MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW RICH AND DIVERSE BLACK LOUISVILLE IS, YOU KNOW.

AND I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT THE WORD OUT, YOU KNOW, SO TWO CENTURIES COME IN A NUMBER OF AREAS, AND IT'S BEEN A FANTASTIC BOOK.

BEEN IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

SOMETHING THAT CAN EDUCATE AND IS EDUCATING OUR YOUTH.

THE SOULFUL SOUNDS OF DERBY TOWN, JUST RECENTLY CAME OUT LAST YEAR AND IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MUSICIANS AND ENTERTAINERS OF BLACK LOUISVILLE THAT MAKES CONTRIBUTIONS ET CETERA, BOTH INTERNATIONALLY AND LOCALLY.

>> WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT OR WHY IS IT A PASSION OF YOURS TO REACH YOUTH AND HELP THEM BELIEVE-- HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF THAT PART OF OUR CITY'S HISTORY?

>> YEAH, WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO KNOW.

AND AS ONE OF MY CO-AUTHORS TOLD ME ONE TIME, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T WRITE IT DOWN, IT DOESN'T EXIST.

THERE IS NO RECORD OF IT HAPPENING.

SO WE'VE GOT TO COMMUNICATE IT, PUT IT ON PAPER, PUT IT IN SOME KIND OF FORM OF COMMUNICATION WHERE PEOPLE KNOW, YOU KNOW, HOW RICH, HOW TALENTED, HOW GREAT OUR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PRODUCED RIGHT HERE IN OUR CITY.

THAT BOOK, TWO CENTURIES OF BLACK LOUISVILLE AND THAT BOOK SOULFUL SOUNDS, I KNOW, WILL BE MODELS TO THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

I WAS AT AN EVENT LAST WEEK AND THE GUY FROM TENNESSEE CAME UP AND BOUGHT A BOOK AND SAID OH NASHVILLE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

I'M GOING TO TAKE IT BACK.

AND TRY TO GET SOMETHING LIKE THIS GOES ON IN NASHVILLE.

IT CAN BE A MODEL OF HOW TO REALLY RECORD THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ACTIVITY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN EVERY CITY, IN DIFFERENT CITIES.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

IT CAN ALSO, I FEEL LIKE SPEAK TO YOUTH WHO MAYBE LIKE YOU HAD A PASSION FOR ART, HUMANITIES, GROWING UP.

AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT KID IS GOING TO HEAR THAT OR READ THAT AND UNDERSTAND THAT THAT IS, THAT'S A PATH.

THAT SPARKS A CREATIVITY IN THEM THAT CAN BE CARRIED ON IN SO MANY WAYS.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> WHY DO THEY CALL YOU THE RENAISSANCE MAN?

>> I THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH THE RENAISSANCE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WHICH I CO-FOUNDED WITH A FRIEND OF MINE, CLAYTON DUHANEY YEARS AGO.

AND I THINK THAT WAS THE MOST APPROPRIATE NAME THEY COULD COME UP WITH.

>> DO YOU LIKE IT?

>> I LOVE IT.

YES.

>> THAT'S A GOOD ONE.

I LIKE THAT, TOO.

BUT NOW, AND ALSO YOU ARE GETTING A HOMETOWN HEROS BANNER.

WOW.

>> YES.

I NEVER ANTICIPATED THAT.

BUT I KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE, GROUPS OF PEOPLE-- I DON'T WANT TO CALL ANY NAMES BUT THEY HAVE REALLY BEEN PUSHING THAT FOR ME TO BE RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE HOMETOWN HEROES.

AND LOW AND BEHOLD IT'S HAPPENING.

I DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT NOW BECAUSE THEY HAVE TAKEN THE BALL AND RUN WITH IT.

>> RIGHT.

WHAT IS THAT LIKE FOR YOU, TO BE HONORED IN THAT WAY AND KNOWING THAT YOU WILL BE ON A BANNER IN OUR CITY?

>> IT'S OVERWHELMING.

I MEAN IT'S-- I'M HONORED AND I FEEL SO GRATEFUL.

I HAVE GIVEN TO THIS COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY HAS GIVEN BACK TO ME.

SO THAT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL THING I THINK ONE CAN SAY ABOUT THE PLACE THAT YOU BROUGHT UP WITH.

I'M A NATIVE LOUISVILLIAN HERE SO I KNOW THE HISTORY.

I KNOW THE PAINS AND THE SUFFERING THAT WE HAVE HAD HERE, YOU KNOW?

BUT JUST TO BE RECOGNIZED, YOUR WORK MEANS SOMETHING TO OTHER PEOPLE, I THINK IS SO SIGNIFICANT AND SO BEAUTIFUL.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> AND HE ISN'T DONE YET.

HE HAS A NEW PROJECT IN THE WORKS AT THE SPEED MUSEUM.

YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU GIVE US A FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM AT KET IN LOU.

WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THAT HOMETOWN HERO BANNER IS GOING UP AND WHERE.

AND DON'T FORGET YOU CAN ALSO WATCH AND SHARE THIS EPISODE AT STREAMING ONLINE AT ket.org/"INSIDE LOUISVILLE."

THANKS FOR SPENDING A LITTLE TIME GETTING TO KNOW LOUISVILLE TODAY.

I HOPE WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME UNTIL THEN, MAKE IT A GREAT WEEK