[CLOSED CAPTIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY CARDI'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES] >> TONIGHT ON "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY."

>> I THINK I SAY IN THE BOOK THAT THE MOTTO OF OUR ISLAND SHOULD BE "I KNOW I GUY."

DAVID: HIS BOOK HAS ITALIAN GANGSTERS ON FEDERAL HILL.

DON: I WANTED TO COME HOME IN A LITERARY SENSE AFTER HAVING SPENT FOUR DECADES WRITING ABOUT CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO AND NEW YORK.

>> THE MOST PROBLEMS I HAD WAS WHEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THEY SAYS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

YOU ARE BRINGING ALL OF THESE WHITES INTO A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> THE FOLKS IN CHARGE AND THE AUTHORITIES REALLY THOUGHT THIS WAS A PROBLEM AND THEY NEEDED TO STOP IT.

♪ >> GOOD EVENING.

WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY.

I AM PAMELA WATTS.

DAVID: AND I'M DAVID WRIGHT.

IN THE PANTHEON OF RHODE ISLAND WRITERS, FEW HAVE HAD MORE SUCCESS THAN OTHER DON WINSLOW.

WINSLOW'S CRIME NOVELS HAVE CAPTURED THE IMAGINATION OF WILL -- OF MILLIONS OF READERS.

HIS LATEST WORK IS NO EXCEPTION.

WE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM ON HIS BOOK TOUR HERE IN HIS HOME STATE.

>> YOU KNOW ABOUT IRISH ALZHEIMER'S.

THEY GET EVERYTHING BUT THE CRUSHES.

-- GRUDGES HE WRITES BEST-SELLING CRIME FICTION, MUCH OF IT SET IN CALIFORNIA.

♪ DAVID: WINSLOW'S BLOCK BUTTER -- BLOCKBUSTER "SAVAGES" WAS TURNED INTO A MOVIE DIRECTED BY OLIVER STONE, NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX.

SUN SOAKED SUCCESS THAT WINSLOW HAS NOW PUT AWAY TO RETURN TO HIS HOME STATE, RIGHT HERE, SOUTH COUNTY.

HE IS FROM PERRY'S VILLE IN SOUTH KINGSTOWN, NOT FAR FROM THE TUNIC.

YOU ARE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CRIME WRITERS IN AMERICA.

THIS IS YOUR 22ND BOOK AND YOUR FIRST SET AND RHODE ISLAND.

DON: YES.

HOW ABOUT THAT?

FINALLY GOT HOME.

DAVID: HIS NEW BOOK "CITY ON FIRE" IT MENTIONS THE 80'S ERA OF DOGTOWN, AND ITALIAN DATE -- ITALIAN GANGSTERS ON THE HILL.

DON: I SET IT HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE AREA I KNOW THE BEST.

I WANTED TO COME HOME IN A LITERARY SENSE AFTER HAVING SPENT FOUR DECADES WRITING ABOUT CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO AND NEW YORK.

BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE ORGANIZED CRIME WORLD IS INTIMATE.

IT'S SMALL.

EVERYBODY KNOWS EVERYBODY.

DAVID: IF EVER THERE WERE A PLACE WHERE THE OF WRITING ABOUT CRIME, ESPECIALLY, IT'S HERE.

DON: YEAH.

IT'S FUNNY, AS I'VE BEEN ON TOUR AND AS I TRAVEL THE COUNTRY, MOST PEOPLE EXPRESS SURPRISE THAT THERE WAS CRIME IN NEW ENGLAND.

THEY DO.

NO.

I HAVE THE SAME REACTION.

THEY GO, WOW, WE HAD NO IDEA.

NEW ENGLAND.

AUTUMN LEAVES AND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES AND CLAM CHOWDER BUT NOT NECESSARILY ORGANIZED CRIME.

I HAVE HOW TO EDUCATE THEM TO THAT.

DAVID: WHEREAS ANYBODY WHO IS FROM HERE KNOWS A GUY.

DON: KNOWS A GUY.

I THINK I SAY IN THE BOOK ABOUT THE MOTTO OF OUR ISLAND SHOULD BE "I KNOW A GUY."

DAVID: HE IS WELL AWARE OF THE ALLURE OF THE CRIME LORD.

.

HE HAS MADE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER WRITING ABOUT THEM.

DON: I HAVE GIVEN THIS A LOT OF THOUGHT.

HERE IS MY FAVORITE THEORY.

I THINK IT IS A POWER FANTASY.

IF YOU OR I HAVE A PROBLEM, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A BIG PROCESS TO GET IT SOLVED, AND IT MIGHT NOT GET SOLVED.

THE NOISY NEIGHBOR, THE PARKING TICKET.

WE HAVE A MORE SERIOUS SORT OF INJUSTICE, SOMETHING HAS BEEN DONE TO OUR LOVED ONES OR TO US.

AND WE FEEL WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN JUSTICE.

WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

AND ALMOST ALL OF US DO.

NOT IN THE MOB MOVIES.

DAVID: THERE IS A SHORT, BRUTAL VISIT.

BUT WINSLOW ADDS ANOTHER WRINKLE TO THIS BOOK.

ADAPTING HIS CHARACTERS AND HIS PLOT FROM HOMER AND VIRGIL, REIMAGINING THE TROJAN WAR ON THE STREETS OF 1980'S PROVIDENCE.

DON: I OFTEN SAY TO MY COLLEAGUES IN THE CRIME GENRE THAT I THINK WE LOOK AT OUR ROOTS IN TOO SALLOW A SOIL.

WE ALWAYS LOOK BACK, AND OF COURSE, WE SHOULD, AGATHA CHRISTIE AND SHERLOCK HOLMES, BUT I ALSO THINK WE CAN LOOK TO DICKENS AND THE GREEKS AND ROMANS.

DAVID: THE BOOK IS IN MANY WAYS A LOVE LETTER TO 1980'S RHODE ISLAND, THE HEIGHT OF THE PATRIARCH CRIME FAMILY, OR I SUPPOSE THE DOWNFALL.

DON: THE DOWNFALL, YEAH.

DAVID: SOME OF THE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT.

HOW MUCH OF IT IS STUFF THAT YOU KNOW?

DON: IT IS DEFINITELY A WORK OF FICTION, WITHOUT A DOUBT.

THERE IS NO CHARACTER BASED ON ANY REAL PERSON.

IN FACT, THEY ARE BASED ON CHARACTERS FROM THE ILIAD.

BUT GROWING UP AROUND HERE, AS YOU ALLUDED TO, YOU KNOW THESE GUYS.

YOU KNOW THE CULTURE.

THEY ARE ALWAYS AROUND.

THEY WERE IN THE NEWSPAPERS.

OCCASIONALLY YOU WOULD SEE SOMEBODY.

I FEEL I KNOW THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK PRETTY WELL, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY FICTION AND THERE IS NOBODY BASED ON ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL.

DAVID: YOU MENTIONED THE ILIAD.

I'M SURPRISED HOW WELL GREEK MYTHOLOGY LENDS ITSELF TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM.

[LAUGHTER] DON: THAT IS WHAT STARTED THIS PROJECT.

I CAME TO THE CLASSICS, THE GREEK AND ROMAN CLASSICS, LATE IN LIFE, IN MY 30'S.

AND I WAS STRUCK IMMEDIATELY BY THE PARALLELS BETWEEN STORIES AND CHARACTERS IN THIS CLASSIC ANCIENT WORKS, AND REAL-LIFE CRIME AND CRIME FICTION.

DAVID: IN THIS CASE, THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED THE THOUSAND SHIPS.

DON: THIS CLASSIC WASP WHO REALLY WANTS TO INFURIATE HER PARENTS.

SO SHE STARTS DATING FIRST AN ITALIAN MOBSTER, THEN AN IRISH ONE.

THE BOOK REALLY BEGINS WITH HER COMING OUT OF THE WATER, AND DANNY LOOKING AT HER SAYING, SHE IS OBJECTIFIED, WHICH WAS THE POINT.

>> HOW THEY HAD FOUGHT EACH OTHER, THESE TWO IMMIGRANT TRIBES FOR A PLACE TO PUT THEIR FEET.

THE IRISH AND -- IN DOGTOWN, THE ITALIANS ON FEDERAL HILL, TOEHOLDS OUT OF NEW ENGLAND GRANITE.

DAVID: YOUR MAIN CHARACTER HERE IS A MODERN STAND-IN FOR AENEAS.

DON: YES.

DAVID: HIS MOTHER, APHRODITE, A LAS VEGAS SHOWGIRL.

DON: RIGHT.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH APHRODITE IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND IN 1987?

THE FUN OF THIS BOOK AND THE CHALLENGE OF THIS, IT IS ACTUALLY A TRILOGY, THESE THREE BOOKS, WAS TO FIND THE MODERN EQUIVALENTS, SO I COULD MAKE THESE BOOKS ABSOLUTELY CONTEMPORARY CRIME NOVELS THAT YOU COULD READ WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF OR REFERENCE TO THE CLASSICS AT ALL.

BUT STILL BORROW FROM ALL OF THOSE THEMES.

DAVID: THE BOOK IS THE FIRST OF A TRILOGY.

AFTER ALL, THE TROJAN WAR INSPIRED MULTIPLE ANCIENT EPICS.

DON: I WROTE THESE BOOKS ON MY MOM'S FRONT PORCH.

BECAUSE I START WORK AT 5:30 A.M.

IN THE MORNING.

AND I DIDN'T WANT TO WAKE PEOPLE UP.

SO I GO IN THE KITCHEN AND MAKE A QUIET CUP OF COFFEE, SNEAK ONTO THE PORCH AND SIT ON THIS OLD FUTON WITH AN OLD COFFEE TABLE AND A LAPTOP AND WRITE BOOKS.

SOMETIMES IT WAS LIKE BROUGHT -- I WAS LIKE BOB CRATCHIT, I HAD GLOVES WITH THE FINGERS CUT OUT.

DAVID: AND YOU HAVE WRITTEN ALL THREE?

DON: ALL THREE ARE DONE.

DAVID: AND THESE ARE YOUR LAST BOOKS, WHY?

DON: FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, SINCE 2016, LET'S BE FRANK, I FELT THAT THE COUNTRY WAS IN A CRISIS.

DAVID: IN RECENT YEARS, WINSLOW HAS BEEN SO PREOCCUPIED WITH POLITICS -- >> TRUMP ALLIES HAVE EMPLOYED ONE STRATEGY WHEN FACING JUSTICE FOR THEIR POTENTIAL CRIMES.

IT IS CALLED RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK.

DAVID: HE HAS LAUNCHED A SECOND CAREER IN POLITICAL ACTIVISM.

HE PUTS OUT VIDEOS LIKE THIS ONE.

>> WHEN AMERICA NEEDED A COMMANDER IN CHIEF, AMERICA GOT A TRAITOR.

DON: I THINK WE NEED TO STOP BRINGING SPOONS TO A KNIFE FIGHT.

I THINK THE OTHER SIDE ARE BULLIES.

CLASSIC SCHOOLYARD BULLIES.

THEY ARE VERY, VERY TOUGH.

UNTIL YOU PUNCH THEM IN THE NOSE.

DAVID: DO YOU THINK TRUMP IS DONE WITH?

DON: NO.

LISTEN, HE IS SITTING ON A $100 MILLION WARCHEST.

NO, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE SEEN THE END OF HIM.

I THINK YOU WILL PROBABLY RUN.

I THINK IF HE DOES, THE NOMINATION IS HIS AND WE WILL HAVE TO BE IN IT AGAIN.

DAVID: ARE YOU CONFIDENT THE DEMOCRATS CAN?

DON: I AM NOT CONFIDENT.

I THINK WE HAVE TO.

DAVID: HIS ACTIVISM HAS COST HIM SOME READERS.

IF YOU HAD TO DO A VENN DIAGRAM OF DON WINSLOW READERS AND TRUMP VOTERS, HOW MUCH OVERLAP?

DON: NOT MUCH.

SOME, CERTAINLY.

I CERTAINLY GET THE MESSAGES OF WHAT I CALL SHUT UP AND TYPED MESSAGES, FROM REPUBLICAN VOTERS AND TRUMP VOTERS WHO SAY, WE LOVE YOUR CRIME NOVELS BUT WE DON'T LIKE YOUR POLITICS.

I CERTAINLY GET MUCH HARSHER MESSAGES THAN THAT.

EVERY DAY.

I GET A LOT OF HATE MAIL.

DAVID: YOU ARE NOT DETERRED BY THAT?

DON: NO.

I DON'T CARE.

MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE PHYSICAL AS WELL AS MORAL COWARDS, AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF SO THEY DON'T CARE -- THEY DON'T SCARE ME.

DAVID: AT LEAST UNTIL THE 2024 ELECTION, HE PLANS TO QUIT WRITING FICTION AND DOES VOTE HIMSELF FULL-TIME TO FIGHTING -- AND DEVOTE HIMSELF FULL-TIME TO FIGHTING THE REPUBLICANS.

DON: I THINK WE ARE AT AN EXISTENTIAL MOMENT IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

I JUST WANT TO TAKE WHATEVER ENERGY I HAVE AND WHATEVER TALENTS I HAVE AND PUT THEM TO THAT FIGHT.

DAVID: YOU ARE LAYING DOWN THE PEN FOR THE SWORD.

DON: IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING, YEAH.

THAT IS WELL PUT.

I WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF THAT.

DAVID: YOU CAN USE IT.

DON: THANK YOU.

PAMELA: WHAT ARE YOU ARE VISITING OR A RESIDENT OF RHODE ISLAND, YOU CAN TAKE A TOUR OF ITS ARCHITECTURE, FOOD, NATURAL SPACES, AND ALSO ITS AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE.

THERE ARE MORE THAN 100 SITES OF BLACK CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE IN PROVIDENCE ALONE.

ONE SITE WAS A JAZZ CLUB THAT DREW SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN SHOW BUSINESS, BUT IT STRUGGLED TO GET RECOGNIZED AND FEW REMEMBER.

BACK IN SEPTEMBER, MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL AND APRIL BROWN TOOK US ON A TOUR OF THIS ICONIC CLUB.

>> WE ARE GOING TO THE CELEBRITY CLUB.

THE FIRST INTEGRATED JAZZ CLUB HERE IN NEW ENGLAND.

>> THE CELEBRITY CLUB IS NOT EVEN HERE ANYMORE.

>> NO.

>> 34 RANDALL STREET ISN'T HERE, BUT THIS IS THE APPROXIMATE LOCATION.

WHAT MADE >>?

IT SO SPECIAL?

>> A LOCAL GUY WHO LOVED JAZZ MUSIC HAD THE GREAT IDEA TO OPEN AN INTEGRATED JAZZ CLUB.

IN 1950'S PROVIDENCE, A SEGREGATED PROVIDENCE, THERE WERE NOT A LOT PLACES FOR BLACKS TO MEET.

AT THE CELEBRITY CLUB, BLACKS AND WHITES COULD DANCE AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.

>> WHAT KINDS OF ARTISTS PERFORM THEIR?

>> EVERYBODY PLAYED.

DUKE ELLINGTON, LOUIS ARMSTRONG, EVERYBODY WHO WAS KNOWN PLAYED THEIR.

IN BLACK AND WHITE MUSICIANS COULD PLAY TOGETHER.

JUST IMAGINE THE CELEBRITY CLUB, THIS WAS THE PLACE TO BE.

♪ >> HE PASSED AWAY IN 1992 AND CARED ENOUGH TO HAVE A CLUB THAT WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO COME TOGETHER AT A TIME THAT THEY WERE NOT DOING IT.

>> PAUL WAS A REAL PIONEER.

AND I THINK HE HAD A REAL DIRECTED EFFORT THAT HE WANTED TO CHANGE THINGS, AND HE WANTED TO BRING FOLKS TOGETHER, REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY WERE AND THEIR COLOR.

>>> THEY USED TO SAY HOW THEY WANTED ENTERTAINMENT, IF THEY WOULD GO TO -- IF THEY WANTED ENTERTAINMENT, THEY WOULD GO TO BOSTON.

I HAD THIS IDEA THAT PERHAPS A NICE SUPPER CLUB IN THE PROVIDENCE AREA WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL.

AT THE TIME, BLACKS WERE NOT THERE -- BLACKS WENT THEIR WAY AND WHITES WENT THEIR WAY.

>> HE WAS OF ITALIAN-AMERICAN DISSENT AND THERE WERE DISCRIMINATIONS AGAINST ITALIAN TOO.

HE SAID HE HAD AN AFFINITY TO THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES BECAUSE THEY EXPERIENCED PROVIDENT -- PREJUDICE.

>> YOU SAW THE SEGREGATION AND I THINK HE WANTED TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY COULD COME AND FEEL WELCOME.

THERE WERE NOT PLACES LIKE THAT EVEN IN THE 50'S IN NEW ENGLAND.

THE JIM CROW LAWS WERE STILL THERE, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE UNSPOKEN IN THE NORTHERN PART OF HE COUNTRY.

>> ON NOVEMBER 18, 1949, WAS OPENING NIGHT.

MY WIFE AND I STOPPED AT THE CHURCH ON SMITH STREET, NORTH PROVIDENCE, AND SAID A LITTLE PRAYER THAT WE WOULD NOT GO BROKE.

AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING, WHEN WE CLOSED OUR DOORS, WE WERE $1100 RICHER, AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF WHAT BECAME ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CLUBS IN THE NORTHEAST.

>> WE WERE KNOWN AS A CELEBRITY QUOTE.

I BROUGHT IN CELEBRITIES.

>> IF YOU LOOK AT THE FOLKS THAT PLAYED AT THE CELEBRITY CLUB, AND PEOPLE THAT PAUL BROUGHT IN, IT WOULD NOT HAVE WORKED WITHOUT THOSE BIG NAMES HE BROUGHT IN.

IMAGINE GROWING UP IN A NEIGHBORHOOD AND THERE ARE THESE ARTISTS YOU HEAR ON THE RADIO, LISTEN TO THEIR RECORDS, AND HERE THEY ARE FOR A WEEK.

I THINK ABOUT THIS AND IT BLOWS MY MIND.

IF ONLY I COULD HAVE MY TIME MACHINE AND GO BACK, THAT IS WHERE I WOULD GO.

>> THAT KING COLE.

>> LOUIS ARMSTRONG.

BILLIE HOLIDAY.

>> I GAVE SAMMY DAVIS JUNIOR HIS FIRST BIG JOB.

I SAW THIS GROUP ON TELEVISION OUT OF HOLLYWOOD.

NEVER HEARD OF THEM BEFORE.

IT WAS CALLED THE WILL MESTON TRIO FEATURING SAMMY DAVIS JUNIOR.

AND I SAID, MY GOD, WHAT AN ENTERTAINER.

♪ >> SO I SAID -- SENT A TELEGRAM AND OFFERED $5,000 FOR A 10 DAY ENGAGEMENT.

>> THE LIST IS JUST ENDLESS.

MUSICIANS WOULD STAY FOR A WEEK AND PLAY EVERY NIGHT, AND THEY WOULD COME BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR.

IT WOULD BE LIKE THEY WERE HOME.

HIS ARMS WERE REACHING OUT, NOT ONLY ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

>> BUT HE GOT THE BEST NAMES IN THE WORLD TO COME TO LITTLE PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IT'S CRAZY.

IT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I WISH I HAD ASKED BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY.

I WAS 11 WHEN HE DIED.

DAD, HOW DID YOU GET THEM, WHAT IS THE SECRET SAUCE?

>> PAUL WAS A DOORMAN AT A HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN PROVIDENCE.

EVERYBODY KNEW HIM.

IT WAS LIKE HE WAS THE MAYOR.

HE WAS SO GREGARIOUS, SO WELL-LIKED.

AND I THINK THAT WHEN A LONG WAY.

ALSO I THINK BEING NESTLED BETWEEN NEW YORK CITY AND BOSTON ENABLED HIM TO GET A LOT OF GREAT ACTS.

>> THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS AWESOME.

THAT IS WHAT YOU WENT DOWN THEREFORE, WAS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT.

AND SOMEBODY DIFFERENT ALL THE TIME.

>> WE WOULD SIT THERE AND ENJOY THE MUSIC, AND WE HAD FUN.

THOSE WERE GOOD DAYS FOR US.

>> REMEMBER, THEY WERE IN A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD IN RANDALL SQUARE.

>> SO I HAD NO COMPETITION.

BECAUSE THERE WERE NO BLACK PLACES.

AND BECAUSE I DID SO WELL AND BECAUSE I WAS SO WELL PATRONIZED BY THE BLACK PEOPLE, I WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTY WITHOUT THE INFLUX OF WHITES.

THE BLACK PEOPLE SUPPORTED ME, BUSINESS WAS SO GREAT THAT I BOUGHT THE BUILDING AND BROUGHT IN NATIONALLY KNOWN STARS.

HOW THE HELL COULD YOU KEEP ANYBODY OUT?

IT WAS NOT THAT AN ENTERTAINER WAS BLACK THAT APPEALED, JUST LIKE PEOPLE.

CERTAIN ENTERTAINERS THAT WERE BLACK APPEALED TO WHITES.

♪ >> LOUIS ARMSTRONG WAS PRIMARILY A WHITE DRAW.

WHITE PEOPLE WOULD COME IN BECAUSE THEY KNEW IF THAT ENTERTAINMENT WAS GOING ON, IT HAS GOT TO BE A GREAT SHOW.

LET'S GO SEE IT.

SO I COULD BRING IN APRIL BAILEY THAT WOULD DRAW -- A PEARL BAILEY THAT WOULD DRAW IN A WHITE CROWD.

NOW WE HAD WHAT IS PERHAPS ONE OF THE GREATEST INTERRACIAL CLUBS THE COUNTRY HAS EVER KNOWN.

>> WE FIGURED WHITE PEOPLE, BLACK PEOPLE, EVERYBODY WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME.

AND I DID NOT REALLY THINK ABOUT IT BEING AN INTEGRATED CLUB.

THE WHITE PEOPLE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT US BEING IN THERE AND WE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THEM.

PAUL TREATED US LIKE WE WERE THE SAME AS HIM.

SO EVERYBODY GOT ALONG.

IT WAS A GREAT PLACE TO GO.

>> PAUL HAD ROOMS UPSTAIRS AT THE CLUB WHERE MUSICIANS COULD STAY, BECAUSE BLACK ARTISTS, BLACK MUSICIANS HAD A PROBLEM FINDING A GOOD HOTEL ROOM IN PROVIDENCE.

>> THERE WAS A BLACK HOTEL THEY COULD STAY AT.

>> THE HOTELS THAT WOULD ALLOW BLACKS INTO THEM WAS THE CAPITAL HOTEL WHICH WAS NOT THE VERY NICE HOTEL TO SPEAK OF, IF I MAY SAY.

AND THE CROWN HOTEL DID OPEN THEIR DOORS MORE WILLINGLY.

>> FOR THEY HAVE TO SLEEP IN SOMEONE'S SPARE ROOM WHO WAS A PATRON OF THE CELEBRITY QUOTE.

EVEN LOUIS ARMSTRONG, MOST FAMOUS MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD, COULD NOT STAY IN OUR NICE HOTELS.

>> PAUL WAS REALLY GREAT IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE EVERYONE WAS PAID EQUITABLY.

BLACK MUSICIANS GOT PAID THE SAME AS WHITE MUSICIANS, AND THAT DID NOT HAPPEN IN A LOT OF PLACES.

HE HIRED A LOT OF LOCAL MUSICIANS TO BACKUP AN ARTIST THAT WOULD COME TO PLAY.

HE HIRED YOUNGER BANDS TO PLAY IN INTERMISSIONS.

>> BACKS ROACH IS PLAYING THERE.

WE WERE AT THE INTERMISSION BAND AS THEY TOOK THEIR BREAK, WE WOULD PLAY.

I REMEMBER THAT EVENING AFTER THE GIG WAS OVER, SOMEBODY WAS PLAYING WITH MAX AT THE TIME AND HE CAME OUT AND SAID, HE HAD GREAT POTENTIAL.

AT 14, I DID NOT KNOW WHAT THAT WAS, BUT I ALREADY KNEW IT DID NOT SOUND LIKE A CUSS WORD.

WHEN I WENT HOME, I COULD NOT GET HOME FAST ENOUGH TO LOOK IN THE DICTIONARY AND SEE WHAT "POTENTIAL" MEANT.

THAT WAS INSPIRING FOR ME.

>> PAUL REALLY OPENED THE DOORS, THAT ALL OF THESE KIDS WHO BECAME LIFELONG MUSICIANS, THEY SAW THEIR HEROES AT THE CELEBRITY CLUB.

AND THAT REALLY ABATED THEM TO KEEP PLAYING.

>> THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE CELEBRITY CLUB.

NOTHING.

>> WHEN THE CLUB OPENED IN THE LATE 40'S, WHILE EVERYBODY LOVED IT, THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT DID NOT.

AND THAT WAS THE POLICE IN PROVIDENCE.

>> MOST PROBLEMS I HAD WAS WHEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THEY SAYS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

YOU ARE BRINGING ALL OF THESE WHITES INTO A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE BLACKS ARE GOING TO BE DOWNTOWN.

>> THE FOLKS IN CHARGE AND THE AUTHORITIES REALLY THOUGHT THIS WAS A PROBLEM, AND THEY NEEDED TO STOP IT AS BEST THEY COULD.

THE COPS WOULD COME DOWN AND THEY WOULD RAID THE CLUB ONE SUNDAY WHILE.

AUNT PAUL, HE REACHED A POINT WHERE IT WAS NOT WORTH IT FOR HIM.

>> THE RESOLVE -- ALSO THE CHANGE IN AMPLIFICATION.

THE SMALL SUPPER CLUB WAS NOT WITH THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S WERE DOING.

THE FIRST CLASS, THE GRAY THEY ACTS WERE NOW -- AND THE GRADE A ACTS WERE NOW PLAYING.

>> SOLD IN 58 BUT STAYED OPEN AS A CLUB FOR TWO MORE YEARS.

AND THEN BASICALLY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.

>> WE WERE SAD ABOUT THAT.

NO MORE CELEBRITY CLUB.

WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GO NOW?

>> I DON'T THINK I EVER REALLY KNEW WHAT I WAS ACHIEVING UNTIL I THINK AFTER I OPENED THE CELEBRITY CLUB.

I NEVER REALIZED WHAT A GREAT THING THAT I WAS DOING.

I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT A MAN SAID TO ME ONE TIME.

YOU WENT TO RANDALL SQUARE, WHICH WAS THE PIT OF PROVIDENCE, THE WORST, RUNDOWN SECTION IN THE ENTIRE CITY OF PROVIDENCE.

YOU TOOK OVER THE WORST RUNDOWN BUILDING IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, YOU RESTORED IT, YOU PUT BLACK-AND-WHITE TOGETHER WHICH WAS UNHEARD OF, ROT IN THE WORLD'S GREATEST -- BROUGHT IN THE WORLD'S GREATEST TALENT.

>> MY DAD AND I WERE DRIVING THROUGH THIS NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, AND A GROUP OF OLDER BLACK MEN YELLED, BROTHER PAUL, BROTHER PAUL!

AND STOPPED HIM.

THEY SURROUNDED THE CAR AND JUST TALKED FOR A HALF-HOUR.

THEY ALL HAD TEARS IN THEIR EYES, GROWN MEN, REMINISCING ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TOGETHER.

THAT IS THE STORY -- THAT IS THE STORY THAT WAS MOST POIGNANT FOR ME BECAUSE I SAW THE EMOTION.

>> A CITATION FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN RECOGNITION FOR THE EFFORTS TO OPEN THE CELEBRITY CLUB IN 1949.

THAT IS THE FIRST INTEGRATED CLUB IN NEW ENGLAND.

>> FATHER DIED ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO.

AND TO HAVE AN EVENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING TO ME AND SAYING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR FATHER.

>> IT WAS NICE MEETING YOU, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MUCH.

>> I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND THE WORDS TO EXPLAIN WHAT THAT'S LIKE.

PEOPLE WERE JUST THANKFUL THEY HAD A PLACE THAT THEY COULD HAVE FUN AND ENJOY LIFE.

THE RIGHT THING MAY NOT BE POPULAR AND YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW YOUR CONSCIENCE.

THAT IS WHAT HE DID.

AND IMPARTED ON ME.

FOLLOW YOUR CONSCIENCE, EVEN IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE YOU.

THAT IS HOW YOU BUILD LEGACY, A GOOD LEGACY.

FOR YOURSELF, YOUR FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY.

>> LIKE ALL GOOD CLUBS, THEY HAVE THEIR DAY, THEY HAVE THEIR TIME.

>> WHAT FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS, THE CELEBRITY CLUB WILL BE WHERE EVERYBODY MET AND BLACKS AND WHITES COULD LISTEN TO GREAT MUSIC TOGETHER.

>> IT IS SAID, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF AN HISTORIC SITE AND YOU WOULD HAVE NO IDEA LOOKING AT IT.

[APPLAUSE] >> FINALLY TONIGHT, LYLAH ALPHONSE OFFERS THIS COMMENTARY ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

LYLAH: THE PANDEMIC FORCED MANY VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO STAY IN DANGEROUS RELATIONSHIPS.

RHODE ISLAND'S HOUSING CRISIS HAS ONLY MADE THE SITUATION WORSE.

IT IS EASY TO ASK WHY DON'T THEY JUST LEAVE?

BUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS ABOUT CONTROL AND POWER.

THE ABUSIVE BEHAVIORS ARE NOT ALWAYS OBVIOUS TO OUTSIDERS.

AND MANY SURVIVORS ARE CONDITIONED TO BELIEVE THE PHYSICAL, SEXUAL, VERBAL, EMOTIONAL, AND FINANCIAL ABUSE THEY ENDURE IS UNAVOIDABLE.

MORE THAN 32% OF WOMEN AND 25% OF MEN IN RHODE ISLAND EXPERIENCED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIVES, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

ONCE A SURVIVOR DECIDES TO LEAVE, RESOURCES CAN BE HARD TO FIND.

.

WITH A AFFORDABLE HOUSING AVAILABLE, SURVIVORS CAN END UP STAYING IN SHELTERS FOR FAR LONGER THAN IN THE PAST.

WITH SHELTER SPACE AT A PREMIUM, SOME PEOPLE END UP COUCH SURFING, ON THE STREET, OR SLEEPING IN THEIR CARS.

SOMETIMES WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET THE DEMAND.

ACCORDING TO A RECENT REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL NETWORK TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DURING ONE 24 HOUR PERIOD IN SEPTEMBER, 2021, 8 OF THE 10 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROGRAMS IN RHODE ISLAND SERVED 493 ADULT AND CHILD VICTIMS.

HOTLINE STAFFERS FIELDED APPROXIMATELY SIX CONTACTS PER HOUR.

THE REQUESTS FOR HELP THEY DID NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MEET, 93% WERE FOR ASSISTANCE WITH HOUSING.

ONE SURVIVOR NAMED ELIZABETH DESCRIBED HOW SHE PACKED SMALL BAGS FOR HERSELF AND HER 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER BEFORE CALLING 911 TO ASK FOR HELP, LEAVING THE MAN WHO HAD ABUSED HER FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.

THEY STAYED AT A HOTEL FOR NEARLY THREE WEEKS, THANKS TO A TEMPORARY PROGRAM PAID FOR BY THE RHODE ISLAND COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS, BUT ENDED UP STAYING WITH A FRIEND SQUEEZING INTO HIS ONE-BEDROOM APARTMENT.

IT IS NOT A STABLE SITUATION FOR ANYONE.

IN APRIL, GOVERNOR DAN MCKEE CREATED THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WORKING GROUP, A TASK FORCE AIMED AT ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE STATE.

.

GOVERNOR HAS PROPOSED PUTTING $4.5 MILLION IN AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDING TOWARDS HOUSING AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

IT IS A GOOD STEP.

ONE HOPES IT IS NOT TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.

DAVID: OUR THANKS TO LYLAH ALPHONSE P THAT IS OUR BROADCAST.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I'M DAVID WRIGHT.

PAMELA: I AM PAMELA WATTS.

WE WILL BE BACK NEXT WEEK WITH ANOTHER EDITION OF "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY."

YOU CAN VISIT US ONLINE TO SEE ALL OF OUR STORIES AND PAST EPISODES AT RIPBS.ORG/WEEKLY, OR LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST AVAILABLE ON ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE AUDIO STREAMING PLATFORMS.

THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT.

[CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CAPTION CONTENT AND ACCURACY.

VISIT NCICAP.ORG]