Education and EnterpriseCORP and JCPS and Junior Achievement 4:42 pm
On Jan. 19, more than 500 students in 13 Louisville high schools started a 13-week program called JA Company, a joint venture between GLI’s EnterpriseCorp and Junior Achievement. JA Company has been around since the beginning of Junior Achievement, but this … Continue reading Comments Off
000 Degrees and 55 and Education and NowSourcing 3:53 pm
If you’re still paying off student loans, it can be easy to question the worth of that fancy piece of paper hanging on your wall. But your grandparents were right when they urged you to stay in school and not … Continue reading Comments Off
Communities and Donna Hargens and Education and JCPS and Metro and Paul Barnwell 7:00 am
Paul Barnwell takes a thoughtful sip of his coffee. It’s a frigid January day, and we’re at Vint on Frankfort Avenue. The coffee shop is bustling, but Barnwell, 33, speaks clearly and with some volume; obviously 10 years as a … Continue reading Comments Off
Ali Center and Culture and Education and Events and Filson Historical Society and Larry Muhammad and Louisville and LoUnique and media and Politics and Rick 9:58 pm
It was “the good war.”
That’s how America portrayed its involvement in World War II: a righteous struggle of freedom against tyranny.
But America in the 1940s had legal restrictions denying its black citizens the vote, and segregated them in rundown neighborhoods, poor schools and low-paying jobs. Black GIs were assigned to building roads and waiting tables at officers clubs. Military hospitals kept black blood separate from white, and white officers treated Nazi prisoners more respectfully than they did black servicemen wearing the uniform of Uncle Sam.
Crusading African-American newspapers exposed these hateful contradictions with their Double V campaign – victory against Hitler overseas and victory against racism at home. They were harassed by the FBI, lost advertisers and got hate mail from bigots. But led by Louisville Defender publisher Frank Stanley, they helped persuade President Harry Truman to integrate the US military.
February 4 at 6 pm a talented ensemble of Louisville actors will perform a riveting docudrama of the period, “DOUBLE V”, in a Black History Month presentation of the Filson Historical Society and Muhammad Ali Center. The play will be preceded by a setup talk from playwright and director Larry Muhammad, a former Courier-Journal reporter who has written about the historical Black Press USA in Columba Journalism Review and Nieman Reports at The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
WHEN: Feb. 4 at 6 pm
WHERE: Muhammad Ali Center, 144 N. 6th St., Louisville
TICKETS: $10 at the door; Free to members of the Filson Historical Society and Muhammad Ali Center
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Education and Metro and Social Good and Wednesday's Child 1:38 pm
By Seiler Smith For those families looking to expand by way of adoption, there will be a free Adoption Information Fair held at University of Louisville’s Shelbyville Road campus on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 1-4 p.m. The event will feature … Continue reading Comments Off
actors theatre and Culture and Education and Events and I Was There and Louisville and LoUnique and media and Rick and The Brothers Size 1:49 pm
The Brothers Size, currently being performed at Actors Theatre, is promoted as a “lyrical tale of brotherly love (that) explores the tension between fear and desire on the elusive road to freedom.”
That is accurate, perhaps, but it doesn’t prepare you for the reality of the play’s raw emotions, street language and battle of wills between two brothers. One brother, Ogun, embodies hard work and the struggle to make a living (he’s an auto mechanic) running a business. His brother Oshoosi is just out of prison, returning home and prevailing upon his brother to help get him back on a path to success. But Ogun’s expectations and Oshoosi’s work ethic conflict, and Oshoosi must also deal with other temptations outside of his brother’s shop.
For 80 minutes, on a bare stage, the brothers explore their roles in life, using the rough and lewd language of the street, accompanied only by an ever-present drum beat. There is only one other character, Elegba, Oshoosi’s cellmate from jail, whose influence is opposite that of Ogun. He provides Oshoosi with a car, while Ogun pushes his brother to work.
The actors announce their comings and goings and intentions just off stage, then perform them on. Two are shirtless and lean, while Oshoosi wears a wifebeater t-shirt. In the intimate Bingham Theatre, the actors need no props to engage the audience visually.
There’s plenty more to Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s story. It’s not one that I’ll forget soon.
See it at Actors through February 1.
Ben Williamson (drummer) with Ronald Kirk, Che Ayende and Larry Powell in The Brothers Size
Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2015
Photo by Bill Brymer
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Education and government and Livability and Louisville Water and Metro 7:54 am
Not everyone knows where the shut-off valve controlling water flow into and out of their home is located. Louisville Water wants local residents to find it and tag it. Why? Because if a water pipe inside the home bursts, knowing … Continue reading Comments Off
Communities and Economic Development and Education and government and Livability and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Mayor Greg Fischer and Metro and Progress Louisville and sustainability and Vision 2:00 pm
The Progress Louisville 2014 annual report is now available; it provides a look back at economic and social growth in the city over the past year. The free, downloadable report touches on a number of economic accomplishments, educational advances, innovations, … Continue reading Comments Off
Education and Jefferson County Public Schools and Kent Oyler and Metro 8:00 am
To paraphrase a famous Robert Frost poem I’m pretty sure dates to my fourth grade experience: “Two paths diverged in a wood and I selected the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” Sad thing is that every … Continue reading Comments Off
Americana and Business and Dave Howard and Education and General and LMNEditor and Louisville Folk School 1:28 pm
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