"This is where I'm from. Basically, man, you get what you give, in the West. I'm from here and I never been no where else. To me, it's home. The people around me make the West home. We're friendly and chill. You see a lot of shit going on but all of that's for a reason. It's not even like how the news makes it. They make the West seem like it's Monsterville. When people come down here, we open our arms. 

The West needs better housing, better cops, and better roads. You got the cops that patrol and ride pass and mean mug you, then back up and ask you what you're looking at. I almost got arrested for walking, yesterday. They're starting to fuck with people for no reason. I came from a place where police didn't have control over anything. We didn't need them because we looked out for each other. Now, you have people with these guns. 

We need something like this because it's coming from us. People out there don't know what's really going on inside. They tell people what they think but we don't feel that. They need the information from the people on the inside. I hate how the news will stress shit and make it something that it really isn't." - Shawn & Jay, California

"Stop labeling everything. Everyone identifies themselves as something. The problem with that is that it's divisive. We're all the same creature, we're all human. Instead of going by race, we should consider each other as the same creature and the same family. We wouldn't be so divided but together. That's why I don't like labels. Like, my daughter's half Hispanic but she doesn't look half Hispanic but white. Someone will come up to her and say that she's white but she's actually half Puerto Rican. A lot of people wouldn't notice that and that's why I don't like labels. 

It's hard to get away from labels because everyone is proud of their heritage. When you go to fill out your paperwork, they always ask you about your race. They should just do away with all that shit. It doesn't matter if you're a Pacific Islander or Latino. It's just silly. When people do the Ancestry.com, you see that everybody has a little bit of everything in them. I mean, some white people have a little bit of African and Indian in them. You can't tell by looking at them. If you're going to fill out your paperwork, you should fill in the 'other' circle. All that stuff is superficial.

One of the happiest moments in my life is raising my kid. That's what we're here for. Regardless of what you believe in, the human race needs to continue. If you believe in God, it's your responsibility, as a believer, to propagate the human race. If you don't, it's still your obligation to propagate the human race. So, we're on this earth to raise our kids and it's not about ourselves but watching how they go through life. I feel like I passed up a bunch of stuff to raise my kid. It's not about me, it's about her. It's my chance to sit back and watch her story unfold. All I do is make sure to help her out and see to it that she finds her own way through life. " - Lex, Russell

"There's nothing like the West. It's the neighborhood that I love. I've been here all my days, since 1948. We came from Alabama. My dad came here after he left the military. I came here when I was four and been here ever since. I've been in Shawnee since 1970. When I first came here, we couldn't move in this neighborhood, now we own the neighborhood!

I don't know everybody like I used to because I'm older but everybody takes care of everybody. It's a quiet place. It's one of the few places in the city of Louisville where you can enjoy yourself. It's nice. That's why I stayed here. I wouldn't move anywhere else. Now, the wife may not agree with me but I love the West End. There's a lot of history here and a lot of good folks. 

The happiest moments of my life would be the transitions of change. Well, it was very inspiring. I bought my first house. I never owned a house. I got my first good job, the only job I had. You know, I was blessed with the changes. I know that and it comes from the man above. My parents didn't get a chance to do that. Well, they did it a little bit before they left  but they got their own. It was great for us to have our own and to be able to say that it's our own and it doesn't belong to someone else. We worked hard everyday and raised our kids. That's the joy of my life.

The biggest influence of my life was my father. He set standards. He didn't live that long but he set standards. He worked hard. He had nine kids and he provided for all of us. We didn't have everything but we had what we needed. 

Do the best that you can do. Have a little faith, as faith will help and guide you. You will get the desires of your heart. You have to keep on keeping on. Don't quit and don't let anyone turn you around. Make up your mind and then trust the Lord. 

There's no other school like Male High School. Male High School is one of a kind. It's the greatest of all time. My was 1958. There were people that tried to stop us but we just kept on pushing on. There's nothing like Male. It's all about the Bulldogs and that purple and gold. Make sure you put that in there." - Mr. Lawrence, Shawnee 

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"I used to have two construction companies and then the economy went bad. A friend of mine owned this building and it used to be Screaming Eagles and the Elks Club. I was looking around for something so I wouldn't sink and I knew that when the situation is bad that people are going to drink, regardless. I was either gonna get me a liquor store or this building. The man offered to sell me this whole building and I knew I could work with it because all of my friends do construction. So, we came in here and got it together. I seen Louisville growing and I didn’t want to be just a Band-Aid. So, I wanted this to be a cornerstone. I reached out and tried to buy this old junkyard, back here. I bought it and got it cleaned up and created more parking spots. Then, we just kept on woking to get it where it is, now. 

I hate when they say that there’s nothing west of 9th Street. My opinion is that when people leave their jobs and go home, there’s nothing that draws them out here. Then if you look at the weekend, you’ve got the whole damn state of Kentucky down here. So, Cole’s is like a magnet. This is probably the only spot that you can cater to the whole city. We got a stigma because we’re in the West End. If this place was somewhere else, the stigma wouldn’t be on us. No matter what, it’s Cole’s. I take the negative and try to make a positive out of it. What you see on TV can either make you or break you. They really don’t research the truth, but deal with the situation by what they hear. So, if something happens down the street and they can’t get to it, they’ll park right in front of my place and put their cameras on it, so everybody can see Cole’s. They’ll do it even if we’re not open. But if something happens here, people will think that we’re bad. Yet, we have more security, metal detectors, police and bouncers. So, I took that and ran with it. We are probably the only place that lets people use the building after funeral gatherings, baby showers and anything else. If people need a hall, they can use Cole’s. 

Really, the West End is like it’s own little entity, it’s own little city. I told the Mayor that if you look down here after nine o’clock, it’s just us and Mr. Jerry, cooking in that trailer. We’re in Louisville but we ain’t. You come from Market to Algonquin, we’re just existing. They ain’t really putting anything down here. I’m 60 years old, now, and 28th Street has been the same since the riot. Think about it, they don’t want us on Bardstown Road. When you do go down there, it’s nice. They got nice lights and it looks like a whole different atmosphere. We’re trying to generate that around here and give people a nice little spot to come to. Everybody respects each other here. 

I always worked with kids, you know with the Flaget Rams. My son was six years old when I was the president of the Rams organization. As time progressed, those kids are adults, now. The kids out here in the streets, aren’t bad but in a situation. They know me. If they don’t know me, they know my sisters, because they’re all school teachers. If they don’t know them, they know my son because he coaches them. We’re a product and affiliation of the hood. We are the product. That’s why we all respect each other. That’s how we got to be where we’re at. My goal is to do more for the kids aged fourteen and down, so we can bring more awareness. All the other stuff, I can’t control it but I’m working with the kids. These kids are going to be good kids.

We’re fortunate enough to have our concerts. What I do is if I make a dollar, I’ll fifty cents in the product, which is this place. We just kept on growing and growing and put it back into the place. We wouldn’t just squeeze the lemon until it’s dry, we kept the lemon juicy. That’s how we roll with it. I know if I were to sell this, the West End would be dead. Somebody would change the whole scene and atmosphere. I fixed this place so that you can come here after work, get you a drink and hang out. It’s more like you’re going to somebody’s basement and hanging out with your friends. Now, you come in here on Sundays, it’s all older people. If you drive up here on Sunday’s there’s people that are ninety years old in here. It’s old school Sunday. We give them a free buffet and they’re in here jamming. The young one don’t dance with each other, but on Sundays the older ones are out here dancing. They’re doing their thing. We cater to everybody. We’re a community oriented club. 

Cole’s is going to be here like Ford. We got a lot of people depending on this place. It’s not just us but we have others living off this like the bartenders, waitresses, and the police. If we don’t do this, west of 9th Street will be dead. We have more volume than anybody. We gotta concert Sunday night and then on Monday, we’ll have a celebration. We honor everything and respect everything. This is a long term thing, so I’m gonna be here forever. I was born down here and I’ll be planted down here. 

Research your place. When you market yourself, you want to be where your people are comfortable and don’t have to worry about anything. We’re right here. There’s a lot of money in the West End. The stereotypes about us is that we don’t know how to act, we’re this and that. We’re just as intelligent as the next man. You know, it’s just that shit happens. 

We need to vote. We need to gather together when the elections come up. Our voices need to be heard. We need to get together and say, ‘Look, ya’ll putting money in Portland, Downtown, and everywhere. But this little square, in the West End, there’s nothing going down’. They’re going to say, ‘Well, we tried to put a Wal-Mart down there but it’s didn’t happen’. That’s just one thing. They’re always gonna say that they’ve tried. If they tried, they could get anything they want done. It’s just that they don’t care. With the elections coming up, we need to put our foot down. Our officials will ride down here but won’t do nothing down here. The mayor’s cool, I like him, but it’s time to do something. 

You can talk to people and create a panel and discuss things that we need to do. Get people together and meet once a month. I hate meetings. I don’t want to meet every week, but once a month, I’ll go. We can invite them down here and they can sit in on it. Reach out to the people and do what you gotta do. 

Deal with scenario and situations. Whenever you try anything, it seems like something will go wrong. It’s never gonna go as you intend. It might flip flop but you have to deal with the situation. ” - Mr. Cole, Owner of Cole’s Place, Parkland

"Well, I'm not originally from here, I'm from Detroit. The West End kind of feels like home. You get the bad rap because we're the hood. To me, it just feels like home because everybody is actually nice. People are nicer than what everybody assumes, which is kind of shocking. When I moved down here, people were telling me that everybody was going to be mean and that you had to watch what you do and say. So far, everybody's been friendly. It's like one big family. That's what the West is to me, one big family and we have to remember that. If we forget, everything will go backwards. 

This year, I am aiming for spiritual and metal growth. You can't really do much if you're not mentally there and last year I kinda lost myself. I'm trying to play catch up and get myself back to me and move forward. This is year will be a push year to get to 2019 and everything will flourish then. I'm still working on a game plan and trying to figure out where I'm trying to go. I got to center myself and focus. 

Never feel like you're alone because you always have yourself, at the end of the day. You can't let yourself down no matter who is and isn't in your life. That's the main thing that I forgot. You're never alone." - Alanna, Parkland

"I never realized West Louisville was considered the dangerous part of town, until I left West Louisville and I started connecting, befriending, and collaborating with people who lived outside of our nine neighborhoods. Yeah, so at one point in time, my mother moved way out to Valley Station, in South Louisville. I was telling people where I was from and where I grew up and they kind of feared the environment and looked at me differently. I had no clue, as a young innocent kid growing up, that it was dangerous or it was the dark side of town, until someone else told me. To me, it was always home. 

My great grandmother had ten children and on my father's side, his mother had ten children. I have a huge family and most of them were based in West Louisville. The commute between holidays, family gatherings and feasts were always short. We knew where everyone stayed, so we had someone in every hood. The fact that all my family was down here is what definitely made it home. 

I was never really interested in what a lot my peers were. So everyone thought that because I was somewhat tall and heavy set, that I was supposed to be athletic and play football or basketball. I was also never really interested in Hip-Hop, as to perform it. I saw the movie Drumline and I joined the band. Then when I met my father's side of the family, I saw that they had a recording studio in their basement. Around that time, I was totally inspired, as a musician, to learn percussion but also to learn the art of recording. Then over the next decade or so, I devoted all my time to it. High school came around, I was about to graduate, I didn't know what to do with the rest of my life. I had a choice between studying and pursuing classical music education or be a recording engineer. I went the classical route but over time, I still try to practice that craft and fuse the two together.

At one point I traveled to Switzerland with the University of Louisville Wind Symphony. That was the first time I left the country. That was also the first time I flew on a plane. Being from Parkland, most of my life, not really traveling anywhere, it was a culture shock, in a positive way. I was around people that spoke several languages, being around an environment that was crisp clean, there was a lick of trash in the streets. The water looked like Frost Ice Gatorade. It was a totally different environment for me to experience and be in. It took me out of my realm for a minute. When we came back, I knew that I wanted to travel the world, in some way, shape or form. I wanted to see other parts of it and it was important for other people to do the same. I have family members who never left West Louisville. I have friends that never left West Louisville. That opens up your mind in a totally different way and since then, I've traveled. I haven't been back to Switzerland but I plan to eventually. 

Anything that challenges tradition inspires me. I don't even celebrate holidays. I'm interested in challenging tradition because so many people complain or so many people feel that we have this issue or that issue in the world. Well, let's do something about it. I remember when I was younger, I used to hear people say, 'There's nothing to do in Louisville,' As I got older, as a musician, I performed, composed, and taught a lot. So I have this fourth hat that I wear, where I organize events around town. Part of it was just to show people that there's plenty to do. We have these festivals in Central Park, where the kids can come and experience music and art activities. We have festivals all over the city. We have events that are for you. Anyone and everyone can come and experience. Not only to be entertained but to let go and experience something that you wouldn't experience on your block.

There are a number of missing resources in West Louisville. The fact that me, as a musician, I know people who are in the music scene who have no about certain venues and artists that exists across 9th Street. That doesn't make any sense to me and also breaks my heart because I exist in both worlds. I know the people over that make a certain kind of music, as well as the people on the other side that make a certain kind of music. Until we recognize one another, acknowledge one another and learn how to collaborate with one another, we'll never grow to our full potential, as a city, in terms of having an arts culture.

Russell, forever ago, used to be considered 'Little Harlem of Louisville'. So, where are the music venues, now? Where are the black owned stores? What happened to our culture that shifted that mindset, to the point where many of these black artists or many of these people who practice black art form don't exist in West Louisville? And if they do, it's almost like a desert, which people often call it a food desert. I like it's a culture desert as well. People are struggling to get their art heard and get their vision out. So, until we have those resources and those conversations with people on the other side, neither one of us will grow. 

We need an across the board system for communication. There's nine neighborhoods and none the neighborhoods have similar associations. Example, I've been in Russell a few months. I bought this house in August, I've been getting the Russell Vision newsletter in the mail and I love it. I'm seeing what's happening in this neighborhood, that I never lived in. When I lived in Parkland, we didn't have an active neighborhood association, let alone a newsletter that let us know what was happening in the neighborhood. So, when someone got shot across the street, where I grew up at, we had to find to find out from people next to us or on the news. We didn't get a full story or idea of the context of what was happening within our very block. So I think we need an across the board system of the communication. We have the oldest of the old that lived here their whole lives and they don't know how to connect with the younger generation. The younger generation doesn't know how to connect with the older generation and that's important if we're going to grow in any way. We also need understanding; not only of our past, but also our present and then what we want our future to look like. Within the art scene, there are people that have this notion that unless you blow up  and you make it and you're this world wide figure that you don't succeed as an artist. But if I'm a chef and I'm making some of the best burgers in Louisville and my burger spot is poppin' every weekend, I'm a successful chef, even if you never heard of me. Artists don't have the same mentality, they want to be rich and famous. They look beyond what they could be doing. We just need to have some conversations outside of our four walls, across 9th St, with some people that can inform us and let us know. Not in the sense of they're coming to save and be the great white hope, but a conversation where they're teaching men to fish. There are often times, when I find myself working with non-profits and even artists and business owners who want to get this money from somebody who already has it, these rich figures. They want that dollar but they don't want to learn how to get that dollar on their own. So, they're not teaching us how to fish, but throwing the fish. So that conversation needs to be fruitful and productive in a sense of us helping ourselves.

Creativity, in my opinion, is when you do something that is rooted in your own thought process. It can sometimes be inspired outside of your own brain but essentially it's when it's always rooted within your own thought process. I've seen anybody rap and play a marimba, xylophone, or a vibraphone. So, when I decided to do it, and I'm not trying to do it for the sake of doing it, but from 6th through 12th grade I played these instruments. I also grew up listening to hip-hop and nobody can tell me that you can't do both at the same time, so I do it. It's considered creative because it's never been done before but it's rooted in my mind and in my identity.

I'm most creative in the middle of the night. I have a bar that says, 'I don't write lyrics, I just dream of these songs' and it feels real. I feel like we're vessels, as artists. We don't get these ideas, they come to us from a higher being. Whether you believe in God, Buddha, Zeus, whatever god, they come from somewhere else and we act on these missions. That came from somewhere and you're the vessel that carrying out this mission in these streets, telling these stories. You're needed, you're necessary.

I grew up in a Baptist Christian church my whole life. My family has always owned the church that we went to. As I got older, I stopped going because most of my religious faith was based off my grandmother, who wanted me to go to church. Since I stopped going, between then and now, I have been around so many different religious groups and the most that I connected with the most was the Muslim community. I went on an artist retreat in Chicago and I never felt liberated, spiritually, with those people. I never knew it. Also, studying this Ali Opera and digging into his life and what he went through and his religious background. It was kind of scary to think that how is it that I'm mostly connected with this religion that we have so many layers on. You see it on the news that Muslim people are scary and they're terrorists and I connected the most with this religion. I felt at peace, at ease and so much love. I wouldn't say that I practice a specific religion. I believe in conditioning, in terms of what's best for you and your family. If that works and those are your practices, then go for it.

I don't believe that West Louisville will continue to be West Louisville within the next 5-10 years because these neighborhoods are eventually going to shift, in terms of demographics and economy. It's going to change drastically. I don't know what it looks like but I know that there will be more of a division between the nine neighborhoods. There will be a huge cultural shift, that I think is driven from money. Metro started a program where you can buy the property next to you, if it's next to you or on the same block as your house for $500. That's a steal. There's a lot of empty houses that you can get over here that's dirt cheap. Well, when I inquired about my lot, I was told that there was other people trying to get it and I don't think that it was anybody that lives behind me but people and outside developers who want to come to Louisville and do something in Russell. It's because Russell got this huge grant and Beecher Terrace will be torn down. A lot is happening in Russell that points to gentrification. The fact that I can't purchase this house or this lot that's next to me, even though I qualify for this program, is a part of that fear. They would rather give it to a developer who is going to come in and probably make it into a franchise restaurant or a business. Why start a business in this neighborhood when there's someone here who's trying to start their business, in this neighborhood that they live in, who is promising and has a track record of doing something that will positively impact the city. So, a lot of the future is totally unforeseen and beyond our control but I think that there are people who are trying to dictate that. 

Read books. That's my advice. Read scholarly books. We spend so much time on social media and there's 9 times out of 10, there's never any way to trustfully say that this is actually happening in the world. Reading books, putting your eyes on some paper, and understanding what's around you to spread your mind. We lose brain cells whenever we look at screens. We don't look at that because we're attached to our phones. I think that's the first robot killing device. I know that because I got my face in my laptop all the time. I try my best to keep technology at bay but I think that it's only a matter of time before we have a generation of youth that are more used to saying Google and Alexa than mom and dad. I think that's coming. I'm trying to go to a hidden island and get away from all that."- Jecorey a.k.a. 1200, Russell

"If somebody's trying to give you a good lesson and teach you something, listen to it and take it in.  Later in life you're going to need that lesson." Will, Parkland

"Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers. No one is born to be a superstar. We're all born as ordinary people. We fought for who we want to be. That's the reason why we go to school. We strive to learn and improve ourselves. Learn. You have to have role models, in whatever you do. Look up to people who did it better than you. Some people are there to teach us. Whatever you do, you can be the greatest. You don't have to do it all at once. Do some research and find someone to look up to. 

Ali inspired us. It was MLK day a few days ago and that man inspired us, too. Read about them. Read their quotes. Inspire yourself. It's out there, you have to go find it. Find your purpose. Be strong. You can't do it by yourself. When you feel like giving up, look for a role model. Those people that have done it have a message that they left for you somewhere. That's my advice. Don't try to make magic happen in a day. So when it gets tough and you're thinking about giving up, don't. Someone before you did it so well and left messages for you. Go find it. It'll inspire you. If you keep moving, you'll make it. 

I know how proud my people are of me, today. My parents, my family, my people and my friends are proud of me because I'm not a quitter." - Laclass, Parkland

"Three words that describe the West are: character, outgoing, and reckless. With outgoing, you do have people that are outgoing and willing to get up and get the money. There are a lot of people with ambition. When I say reckless, it's all about the homicides, man, and they're coming from the West End. You got the young ones out here doing stuff that they're not supposed to be doing. The young ones are trying to be in gangs and not in school like they're supposed to. It's more of the younger ones that need something to do. When I say character, you got a lot of different personalities down here, that make the West unique. You get a lot of characters, you never know what you're going to get.

Why is there so many homeless people, when there's so many abandoned houses? You can turn these houses into something that could feed them, provide good hygiene, or just to keep them up. In the winter time, people don't care about the homeless. 

My advice to the world is to not be scared of change because some change can be good. Don't be afraid of change because change can bring about a good outcome." - Shauna, Russell

"I used to get tattoos when I was playing basketball. Towards the end of my basketball career, I just started getting more of them. The more I got, the more I was around the tattoo shops. I was at a friend's tattoo shop pretty much everyday. I started off getting them here and there. I liked the atmosphere, the people, you know. It was a different feel and a social environment that I liked. I really wanted to be around it and it felt good, I can't really explain it. It inspired me in a way that I could actually do this. You know, I'm an artist and I can draw, I just never took it serious. When I was younger, I used to draw tennis shoes and stuff like that. When I was in college, I took an art class and my art teacher use to tell my coach that, 'Hey, this guy is really talented'. The coach would tell me what my teacher would say and all but I wasn't serious about it. If I would've known that I would be tattooing, I would have taken art more seriously and would have been an art major. But at that time, it was basketball. Now, it's tattooing. When you get caught up in something, you're not really focused on anything else. That's really how it came about. I dibbled and dabbled with it. Once I started talking to my friend, who was doing tattoos, I told him that I was thinking about pursuing it. He didn't think that I could draw, so I took a magazine and drew something out of it. He was like, 'Man, you can draw!'. I was like, 'Yeah, man, I think I'm gonna try to do this.". I started drawing everyday. I would go to his shop and be over there watching and drawing. I was real intrigued with tattooing. I knew it was something serious when I was going home to draw. I got into it and they started teaching me things. After a couple of months, I ordered my equipment and I was on track to start. I was so anxious. I took it to my house and once I started tattooing out of my house, the rest was history. I was in a shop within less than a year. That's unheard of. I never stepped foot inside someone else's shop to work as an artist. I started on my own and that's what created a monster. Once I got started on my own, nothing could stop me. I could do it.

I always wanted to be a business owner but didn't know what I wanted to do. Especially with playing basketball, that took all my energy away from everything else. I wasn't thinking about it. You know how people always tell you to have a backup plan? I was like, 'Shit, I'ma make sure this plan works, first'. Fuck a back up plan because once you start thinking like that, you're out of there. Not saying that you're not supposed to have one, but for me, if I do that, it's over. Am I going to put that effort in? 

That mindset was already in me, when I started playing basketball. I didn't make the middle school basketball team and then once I got to high school, that's when it started. To be honest, my brother and my cousins were inspiration to me. I'm not gonna say that I was headed down a bad path but I wasn't on the right one. I wasn't a bad person, but I was doing typical stuff that kids do, like cutting school and doing different stuff like that. My brother and my cousins were in high school when I was still middle school. They were already playing ball and on T.V. I wanted to do that. I would get into it with the coaches and tell them that I didn't need them and that I would play when I got to high school. Once I got to high school, I was inspired by my brother and cousins. I wanted to be like them. I made the freshmen team and wheels started turning then.

I come from Clarksdale, I was from the projects, man. Not saying that if you come from the projects that you can't be successful, but I didn't have those role models around me. I didn't grow up with a doctor in the house. I didn't grow up with someone that was doing something professional, that's embedded in you, knowing that you are going to do this and go to college. We didn't have that structure. In our house, we were only worried about what's going on right now. You're not thinking about what somebody else is doing. You see that shit, that's T.V. That's not real. We just didn't think like that. When I got to high school, that was a time for me. It got to a point where people started recognizing my talent and that felt good. With having the talent that I had and people noticing, it just felt good. That was my motivation. When I got to junior year, I had colleges looking at me and offering me scholarships. I never even thought that I would go to college.

Once I got to college, I realized that playing ball made me who I am so I had to give all my loyalty to Spalding, that basketball. I was going to the league. Why not think about the highest level? If you're gonna do something, do it all the way! I wanted to take my talents somewhere else. That's where the basketball accolades came from, with the Globetrotters, playing professional in different leagues, and going over there to Mexico. 

College wasn't really for me. It wasn't that I couldn't do the work, I just didn't like it. For that reason, I had to make it happen, no matter what and I did that. I made it to the Denver Nuggets in '03. When I came out, I got a workout. I was with Melo, it was his first year. We were in rookie camp together. It was fifteen free agents that would practice outside the summer league team. They took three players from those fifteen that would practice with the team and I was one of those three. We were doing two a days. I almost made it to summer league. I came in when they were rebuilding and it kind of messed me around because they wanted experience. That's what I figured out and that's what the coaches were telling me. They were wanting to find more experienced guards. I had to understand that. That motivates me because I was able to accomplish something in my life that a lot of people will never get a chance to do. Even though I didn't get to play in the NBA, I made it to that point. So that tells you about my personality. I wasn't the best player that came out of Louisville. I had a good talent and I was athletic as shit but it was my mentality that took me as far as I went. There was a lot of people that graduated with me, in my class, and they didn't make it as far at all. They were gifted but didn't make it to where I was. 

Now this is a whole new arena for me. I didn't know what it took to be a business owner. I was in the trenches on my own. Basketball got me into the position to where I'm at now. It made me think that if you work hard, shit will happen. You know you hear that shit when you're younger but it doesn't resonate until you do it and then you see what happens after you do it.  I was like, 'How do I translate that into business?'. I knew what basketball took. That's going to the gym and putting in work. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to do it in business. It's about how you outthink and outwork somebody by making things happen. You can't make anything happen if you're just talking about it. It's all about the idea, the plan and then you execute. 

I'm most creative when I'm not busy. I start to think why is my business slowing down. Is it me? Is it my shop? Is it my work? I just start going down the line and evaluate and make things better. I just re-did my shop last year. If you have a business, there's no way you're not competing. There's no way. I'm a competitor at heart. I gotta figure out ways to compete. I don't have another artist in here, right now, but I gotta get somebody in here this year. It will take a little more pressure off myself. 

My advice to anyone starting a business is to make sure that you love what you do. Make sure you have a passion for it. I got it tatted on my ribs. It says: Living a life without passion isn't living, it's existing. If you're living on earth and you're just working a job that you hate, you're living in hell, somewhat of a prison. Basically, somebody's telling you when to shit, when to eat and when to go to sleep. They're controlling your life. I feel like I'm going to live my life. I did it for so long. I stopped playing basketball when I was 28, so it's kind of hard to go back and work for somebody when I've been controlling my destiny my whole life. The longest I worked for somebody at a job was for about six months. I hated it. I hated working. That was the worst thing ever. I knew I was going to have my own business.

Have a passion for what you do. You gotta love it. If you don't love it, you'll put it to the side. If you have a passion for what you're doing, you could be the best at it. You think P. Diddy and Jay-Z don't love what the fuck they do? They would do it for free. You gotta love what you do. If you don't, you won't be good at it. " - Mone T., Owner of Tat It Up, California

"I've been apart of the West End community for about 20-25 years. The community needs better housing, more activities for the young people and less violence. Let's help each other and stop the violence. We're all in this together. Killing another person ain't gonna make it easier for you but make it harder. Help each other. Try to be a better world together, as a group." - Bruce, Chickasaw

"People don't really have much hope here. Us as kids, luckily, I have somebody that's always on me and I try to do that at the local community center that I go to. I try to give kids some type of motivation. I try to be a motivational speaker to them and show them that we all come from the same place and you can still make it out your situation and be successful. We all have seen death and violence and people getting locked up. If you see me doing something positive, I want you to see it and be like, 'I can do it, too!'. You can make it out your situation. It may not be the NBA or NFL, but you can get a college degree and make something of yourself. That's the motive. 

Always keep your head on tight and don't let nobody influence you to do something that someone else is doing, if you don't feel comfortable with it. Some people see all that money and the material things but they don't see the things that come with getting that money, like jail. Do what's best for you. If you feel that your crowd is into that stuff that you don't want to be involved in, then don't be in it! You can find a group of people that's on the same mission as you." - Cam, Parkland

"The organization is called, Youth for Christ. It's an international organization and we are the only chapter in Louisville. So, we're on the campus and in the community. We're also in JCPS schools because we want to be everywhere the kids are. We have clubs and do different activities with the youth. We have middle and high school aged kids, which are 11-19 year olds. The organization decided that 'Yeah, we're on campus, but we're not reaching the urban kids', which is why we have City Life, which is located within the urban communities. Urban youth gravitate more towards their neighborhoods and surrounding communities, rather than their school. Urban youth may not have the basic needs, such as clothing and safety. They may experience drugs, alcohol,  abuse, and neglect. We really just try to uplift the community and empower the youth to become believers of Jesus Christ. We also want them to be leaders for their communities, as well. We are holistic and have a holistic model that we follow with spiritual moral education and success. We realize that kids need to stay in school. If they stay in school, they can have better jobs with economic success. We focus on basic health and safety, too. Do the kids need glasses or food? We provide a meal and healthy snacks each day. We spend a lot of communicating and relational time with the kids. It's not a lot of programming, but it's a lot of talking and building trust with them. We're teaching them be leaders and great role models and to be good in school. 

I have a cosmetology license and I was working at Super Cuts. I became the manager at one of the largest stores in Louisville. I was going through a lot with my family, particularly with my children's father. I had just became a Christian and God was like, 'You need to stop having sex'. We have three children together and had just had our third one. So, I was going through a struggle with him. When I got to Super Cuts, I seen that there were a lot of issues there, as well. I felt a calling to work in ministry. I never really been involved in church like that. I was a fresh new Christian. I had left that Super Cuts and went to another one, but it was too far out. My car was messing up. It was just too much going on. I quit that job and stayed home. I told my children's father that he needed to get a job or we were going to have to get assistance, because at that time, I had broke my foot. So, I ended up getting some assistance. In order to get some assistance, you have to volunteer. I went through Power of Works and told them that I wanted to work with young moms and they thought that this would be the organization that I could volunteer at. I came here to volunteer for about a year and then they had an opportunity available for me to work for them. I started as the office facilitator. I was keeping the building clean, overseeing the volunteers, and then I just started pulling kids in. I fell into City Life. I understand the things that these kids have experienced. In a couple of years, I would like to run the Parent Life program because I still have a passion for young moms. 

We have an opportunity to change. The hope that Christ gives us inspires me. No matter what I do, I still have an opportunity to make it better. To know that I can share my testimony to make somebody else's life better.

Count your blessings. Always write down and remember the things that God does for you because we often forget. Make each day better than the last. Don't forget to reach out to somebody for help and help someone else." - Whitney, Shawnee

"Three words to describe the West End, to be honest, it's all love. Now, let me elaborate on that. It ain't about the killings, drugs and stuff. That goes on in every city, every town, everywhere across the nation and across the world. So, we're not focusing on that part. I say it's all love because I'm not even from here but ever since I've been in this city, I seen the way that the love is displayed out here. The West End is where everyone wants to be. You got pros and cons to every situation but the West End is where everyone wants to be. Anytime something is popping in the city, they all flock this way. Anything that's great, going on with this city, has to do with the West End." - Mike (Left), Russell

"Stay focused and stay positive. You can't let hate get to you. Once you're up, it's more hate. A lot of people are going to hate on you. You know but my advice is to stay in school, stay out the streets, and stay positive. The streets ain't for everybody." - Mike (Right), Russell

"Go to school, stay out the streets and follow your dreams." - Timmy, Portland

"I was selling chips and candy bars down at the penitentiary. I was the store man at the penitentiary. It's the closest thing to what I was doing. It's like being in the mix of selling something and making something off of something. So, this is the closest thing to that. It's what it is. I don't work no cash register, turn a computer on, nothing. This is my calling, though. The grilling came after the store. I just needed a draw. I needed something to bring more attention. I can't get my liquor license or my lottery because I'm a convicted felon, so I needed something to bring more business in. That grill will do it. 

Find a garage or something. See, they ain't gonna tell us that it's that easy to start a business. You ain't gotta do nothing but get a tax I.D. number and make a name up and call it something. There you go. I didn't know nothing about starting a business. I ride past this shit, everyday, and think 'Damn, I gotta store and I'm the Store Man.' Get you a location and get you a building. You can put a name on a house with a tax I.D. number and it's a business. It's simple. It's definitely not hard at all. You gotta think about it, the other people ain't gonna tell us. They're hiding it from us. It's very simple. 

I'll go in other stores and they don't even know that I'm a store owner. I watch how they do their thing and in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, 'I'm ordering from the same people y'all ordering from, we got the same distributers'. I can tell them where they got it from, how much it cost, their percentage and all that. 

The people, customers, and the neighborhood motivate me. You gotta respect it. This is my neighborhood. I've been in this neighborhood my whole life. I'm riding around on my high horse, man. They don't even call me by my name no more, they call me the Store Man. I wake up, go hard and strive for it everyday to keep this.

I got out prison in 2012 and that was the happiest moment of my life; the rebirth. March 1, 2012 was the rebirth. I got to start over. I had a murder case, I went down for murder. They handed me 50 years. I ain't supposed to be here. I ended up getting 12 and doing 8. Now, I'm back. 

Start being who you wanted to be. Start doing what you said you was going to do when you was in there. At least try it. This right here is a platform for me and all my homeboys. My partners on parole and probation don't have to worry about finding a job. It's alright, I'll hire you. I can put us on in a different way. It's good money. It's slow money but good money. 

The three things that the West needs is more black owned business, more respect from the police, and togetherness. Quit hating on each other. Come together like the bigger cities. We need more support from our people. 

This year, we getting more dough and we don't have to go to the penitentiary behind it. We're about to open up everything. I gotta kids clothing store coming. We're on a mission in 2018. We're not going to the penitentiary in 2018, we're going to the bank. That's the outlook." - Tana a.k.a. Store Man, Russell

"Do your best to enjoy life. I'm trying to do my best to have a better life than I had before. See, I'm a recovering alcoholic. I quit drinking in '97. I don't think about it a lot, but some days, even with 20 years, you still have them days. See, I already know. I done proved it to myself time and time again. Whatever the situation is, a drink ain't gonna make it no better. If anything, whatever the situation is, a drink is gonna make it worse. For a person like myself, I'm a stone cold alcoholic. All it takes is one and I'd be off like a rocket. I used to come to you drinking then pass out drinking. That was me. 

Take and make the most of everyday. Be thankful and grateful to God that you made it another day." - Tom, Portland

"The West End has a lot of potential. We have a lot of children out here that need some positive role models. They need somebody that can tell them the difference between people, places, and things to not try in life. I think that would start at a church or from somebody that was raised in the 50's. They need someone that would obviously be able to instill positive words, words of affirmation, words of encouragement, words that can enlighten one to do something different other than what they see being done and being exploited on television. So, I think it would start in church and through positive personnel. 

The children are confused. They need something to do and they have nothing to look forward to. The man has been out of the home and placed throughout the prison system. I'm thinking that positive character is what these kids need. A lot of them think that there's only one way but I'm here to say that there is another way. It says that, 'All things are possible through God who strengthens us.' I actually believe and spread that. So, if our children are around people doing something different, their outcome would be different. But if we keep shutting the door on them, then the same will come. They just want to be heard. 

Be in acceptance of the outcome of your actions. Whatever your actions are, you have to accept the outcome. I mean, if I had to use a biblical term for it, 'He was born to die, that we may live'. If it weren't for crucifixion, there wouldn't have been a resurrection. In order for something to live new in anyone's life, something old has to die." - Pastor Fortney, Shawnee

"I first moved to Village West when I was 18. I done been through trials and tribulations. I had my kids there. I had four kids but my son died. Now, I got three girls. I lived in Village and left Village. I got put out of Village and went to Park Hill and I resided there for about 15 years. I eventually came back to Village West and that's where I'm at, now.

I just turned 45 years old but I didn't grow up until I was 35. I done lived a hard life. My turning point was when my mama got sick. She told me that I needed to get it together. I was working everyday and took care of my kids but I was out here drinking and all of that. I was dealing with a lot. I had to evaluate myself and made some changes and haven't look back since. 

It's a struggle, it's a whole lot of shit going on out here but you gotta keep your head up. Keep your faith in God and don't let nobody lead you wrong. Everybody gotta story to tell, you feel me? Some stories are worse than others, but you have to keep your faith in God." - Toya, Russell