“I can’t vote, but next year, I’ll be able to. I think it’s important. If I don’t, I think that it’s defeating the purpose of our people doing what they did. To not use that right, just defeats the purpose.” - Amanda, Russell

“Shit, life has been hard. I be going through so much but don’t tell nobody, so people will never know. You know, I just be going through a lot, like going to jail and losing my people in these streets. I done been through a whole lot. Life’s a struggle. It’s just certain predicaments that you have to try to make it out of. You never know what’s going to happen. You can drop dead at anytime or something bad can really happen. 

My biggest success has been finding out who I am, as a person. You gotta know yourself, before you interact with others. You never know who you’re hanging out with, unless you know yourself. I don’t think I found my purpose but I’m getting there. I’m still working on myself. 

Keep going. Don’t let it stop you. Time ain’t gonna stop for nobody.” - G-Baby (Right) pictured with Caston, Chickasaw

“I’ve been here since 2006. The impact that the West End has had on my life has been bumpy. Sometimes, they’ll do good for the community. There’s also too many abandoned houses, that they could do something with, and they’re always taking things away from us. They closed down a lot of boys and girls clubs. I grew up in those. For years, my granny used to work in one of them. I hate that they’re gone. That’s why the kids are out here.

I used to hang with the wrong crowd and get into stuff. I was young and out here in the streets. I can now say that I’ve improved a lot. I graduated and got my high school diploma, with a child. A lot of people aren’t able to do that. I went to TAPP, a pregnancy school, which helped me a lot. They helped me graduate with my regular high school. 

My daughter is getting ready to be seven and I’m pregnant again. I was fifteen when I was pregnant with my daughter. I’m twenty-three now. It was kind of hard and a bad experience but I had to mature and make some changes. There were times when I wanted to give up and not go to school but I still went. It was hard but my granny stayed on my back. If she didn’t do that, I’d be out here in the streets.

I got kicked out at seventeen. I had a bad attitude and shit like that. I was always welcomed back home but I had to stay out of the streets. When I came back, I chose to stay home and do school work instead of being out here. It was always tough. My choices were to go to school or be out in the streets. It’s your main two options in the West End. I got accepted into college but I had to deal with my daughter. I was too young. Now that she’s older, I’m wanting go back to school. It’s a wake up call, now that I’m older. I had wake up to reality and snap back.

Being a teen mother was hard, especially when you’re doing everything on your own. My daughter’s father was there in the beginning, for a few months, but then he wasn’t. He was about that street life and we were both really young. I had no choice but to be independent and keep working hard for my daughter.

My strength comes from my family. I had a lot of support and a lot of help. Most people don’t have family. They just have themselves and their child and have to go sleep under bridges and at shelters with their baby. 

When you stress more, you won’t find where you’re trying to go in life. It’s harder when you’re always stressed. Just stay on the right path. If it’s a goal for you to achieve something, make sure no one is in the way of stopping you from reaching it. If you’re a teen mom, stay in school and don’t let anybody steal your shine.” - Sky, Russell

"I've been living here all my life. I've done a few years but other than that, I've been here all my life. West is the best end. I ain't got no complaints.

What inspired me to be an entrepreneur was going to jail and having people telling me what to do and when to do it. I would never like that. I never liked someone telling me what to do. I had many other ventures and failures and this is what it led me to. I sell dogs, too. I just didn't want to work for anybody.

It's important for young black people to be entrepreneurs. Well to me, because first of all, you're working for you and yours. You ain't making no other person rich, whether they're white or black, period. They're making a million a week and you're making $20 an hour? Fuck outta here, I'll make my own business. Put my own on and I'm here at 8:00 every morning. This is where I'm at.

Do what you wanna do and work for yourself. Find something that you like to do and find a way for you to make some money off of it. That's all I'm trying to do. I’d even sell candy bars all day. I can’t have it any other way.” - Corey, co-owner of C & E Food Mart, Algonquin

“I’ve been in the West End for twenty-five years. My experience has been good and bad. As a teenager, everything was great. They don’t have anything down here for these 2000 babies. I was able to go to different camps and centers. I’m from Victory, it’s on 22nd & Grand. I gotta little Park Hill in me, too. That’s where my daddy’s from. I went off to college in Cincinnati and I’m back home. 

Right now, I’m passionate about music and I want to go back to school to be a computer technician. What’s holding me back is that I’m a felon. I caught a case when I lost my son’s father. I went crazy. You know, people just grieve differently. I was in and out of jail and then I caught a serious case. So, when that happened, I was put on papers and I’m about to serve that out.

I paid all my debt off. It was money. It wasn’t street related, but money. That’s what happened. It’s not the downfall. I just have to work harder. You gotta go through things. I just want to be a great mother and be able to give my son the resources that he needs.

If you don’t love yourself, then who will? Always love yourself. That will keep you pushing. You’re not the only one. You can turn anything around. Anything is possible.” - Ieeshia, Parkland

“I’m trying to live to prosper. I don’t want a job, but a career. To be honest, I want to own my own business. I want to go to school and open my own nail shop. I just graduated in May with my GED. The only thing that’s holding me back is the school that I want to go to cost $4000. Once I get up on my feet, I’ll be thinking smarter, not harder. I’ll get there. I don’t want to work for anybody. With the way life is going, I have to but I don’t want to keep doing that. When I’m up on my feet, I’m going to stay up on my feet.

My dream and taking care of these kids keeps me going. I’m just living and thanking God for waking me up to see another day. You wake up and it’s a different day. So, what are you going to do that’s new that'll make you better for the next day?

I can overthink things and that’ll mess me up. So, I try to slowly plan out my goals and write it down. I have to visualize it. Write your goals down so you know it’s real. Even if say that you have to get brakes for your car on Friday, when you get paid, that’s a goal! So whatchu gon’ do? 

The key to living your best life is to mind your business and take care of yourself. Don’t be selfish but take care of yourself. I’m the type of person that would help everyone out but I found that it didn’t get me anywhere. I gotta quit doing that because I’m forgetting about myself. I love myself too much to keep battling with that. To live your best life is to live your best life, not everybody else's. Stay prayed up, too. You gotta keep God first. He’s in order of your steps and your life.

If there’s someone that’s older than you, with some wisdom, listen to them! You don’t know everything. I’m about to be twenty-six in twenty-two days and I still don’t know what I think I know. Only a fool won’t listen. Open up your ears and listen.” - Roderica, Parkland

“Ironically, the highest and lowest times of my life come from people. The highest points of my life are when I’m around my family and friends, creating good memories and good times. My lowest points come with the drama that come from around here, being around enemies and beef. It’s like a double-edge sword.

When I was born, I was given a gift by God, which is music. So, I see myself being an hip-hop artist and a singer. I see myself being on stage, telling my story. I see myself telling stories about this area. You know, this, College Court and Cotter Homes, is where I came up. With that being said, I see myself telling my story to the world.

My story is similar to every other young black male or female. You come from the bottom and you want to get to the top. We lost a lot of people along the way. There’s a lot of people locked down and there’s a lot of people that are no longer with us. You know, just another example of a young black man, with no father. You know the story. I’m just trying to make my ending different than so many others before me. So, it’s just that rags to riches, in America, story. You put that out, we all are going to understand it, especially if you’re from here. Everybody’s trying to make it.

My biggest success in life is making it past twenty-five. I’ve done a lot of things. I’ve done shows with people and made a lot of money. I did all that materialistic stuff but at the end of the day, my greatest accomplishment is still being here. There’s a lot of people that I know, that I thought would still be here and they’re not. So, I have to tell their story, too.

What inspires me? Besides the fact that I have a little girl to look after, I just want to work hard. I would like to come and give back to the place that I came from. I’ve seen so many people that are in the same boat as me. You’ll walk around and see people that you know, from around the block, living the same life as you. I just want to look out for them.

Never give. up. Live legendary. Live everyday like it’s your last because it just might be. Never forget where you come from and for damn sure, don’t forget where you’re going. No matter what, love and peace conquers all. There’s a lot of drama out here but you have to remember that it takes more strength to love than to hate. Believe that. That’s pretty much it.” - Deontae, Shawnee

“I’ve been in the West my whole life. I’m never gonna forget where I came from. I love the people here. We got all nationalities here and it’s family. You can walk into any store and still feel like it’s family. It’s a big family.

My favorite West End memory is when they took the truck from Dino’s food truck. I was thirteen. Someone grabbed the truck and pulled off with it. The doors and stuff was still open, so as he was driving, the doors were just open and juices were popping out. Everybody was coming to grab them! When he got to the alley, he pulled over, we were grabbing juices and everything. That was my biggest West End memory.

We’re always going to have problems, no matter what. There will always be obstacles in the way. Just stay strong because there’s still more out here. You gotta push forward. Be humble because there’s always a blessing coming next door.” - George (far left) pictured with LaQuetha & Dilemma, Russell

“I have not had a lot of success in my life. I actually had a lot of failures, disappointment, and bad shit. Graduating high school has been the most successful thing I’ve done. I don’t know, I really don’t have a life.

A lot of this started when I was younger. My dad left and my mom was broke. My family was just real broke. It kinda had me down as kid. I grew up and would see everybody else with things that I never had. My childhood was kinda depressing, in general. 

Personally, I feel like my mom motivates me because I had to watch her struggle so much to make things happen. That motivates me to want more for myself and to be able to take care of her one day. That’s my biggest motivation. 

Louisville motivates me. I see homeless people and I think to myself that one day I’ll have enough money to take care of everybody in my city. I wanna see everybody in my city come up. It’s just one of those types of things.

You have to know yourself and get in touch with yourself. Once you do that you’ll understand your purpose and your calling in life. That’ll open up doors for you. When you stop focusing on the outside factors and things that don’t matter, you’ll start getting to where you need to go in life. I’m only eighteen but I think that everyday I get closer to my purpose. I still think that everyday I’m finding more of myself. You have to make sure you know who you are and be the absolute best version of yourself that you can be. That’s the only thing that’ll help you succeed in life. 

The West End needs hope, a little bit of rejuvenation, and love. People need to learn how to love one another. I’d like to see more of that.” - Karrington, Chickasaw

“Being a dad and being back with my kids has been the high point of my life. I got custody of my kids. I’m just happy to be in their life. I'm proud of that. I’m just staying down and being there for them more than my father was for me. Being apart of their lives and beating the Commonwealth is the high for me, right now.

The lowest point of my life is watching my momma struggle. It’s heartbreaking when I can’t do anything to make it better for her. She gotta a bad heart and she’s fighting for social security. They keep on making her work and she can’t do too much of that because of her health. I’m just trying to provide for my momma the best way I can. It’s hard. 

My kids and mother’s smile keeps me going. It’s all about that smile on her face and my kids being straight. For real, I’m just trying to get my paperwork straight because I just want to take care of my family. That’s what I want out of life and everything else will fall into place. 

Keep pushing and never look back. Don’t let nothing stop you from whatever it is that you’re doing.” - Capo, Parkland

“I’m about to start my movement at Simmons. It’s going to be called Let’s Talk About It. My vision is for our generation to be able to speak up and change what’s going on around us because they’re trying to erase our history and memory of who we are. Let’s talk about it. It’ll be a growing thing to get our black community up and going again because we’ve been sleep for so many years. It’s time to wake up and start coming together, like every other race.

To be honest, my friend Keion, who is an artist, grew up in Sheppard Square. That’s where he jumped off the porch, not in a bad but a good way. That’s where his struggle came from. He was just telling me about how they have torn down everything, up east. He doesn’t even like going there anymore because all of the places that he once knew are all gone.

A few months ago, we were walking through Beecher and that pain that Keion felt, I felt it. When they tear down Beecher Terrace, it’s like all my memories will be gone. I’m not gonna have that anymore. 

It’s just something in me that wants to start a movement. We can’t change what’s already out there but we can start something new. Together, we are strong. If we’re separate, we’re weak. I can’t do anything without you and my community. I need people to stand with me. Together, we’re strong.” - Davie, Russell

"I’m confident, strong, and helpful. I could have gave up on everything but I keep pushing myself because I want to see myself make it.” - Jada (left) pictured with Mi-Chael, Russell

“I’m intelligent, determined, and consistent. I could give you thirty more but I’ll stick with the three. I’m determined because of where I grew up at. I grew up in the West End and everybody thinks that it’s so bad but as long as you mind your business, you don’t have too much to worry about. I had to consistently strive to better for myself. I wanna become better, as far as being a better role model for the next generation coming up.

For the most part, we do good things. We tend to strive for better things for ourselves and we try to be everybody’s cheerleader. I like to give the kids in the community what I didn’t have when I was growing up. For the most part, everything is kosher.

The happiest moment of my life is when I realized that my mom was my mama. I was about five or six. I knew she was my mom but I didn’t know she was my mama. She has the voice of an angel. When she spoke, everybody listened. Everybody would stop everything because she had the voice of power. She was very knowledgable about what went on in the world. She passed when I was seventeen. It’s been a long time, about nine years. I miss her to this day and I try to keep her legacy moving forward. She keeps me going because I know she’s looking down and watching me. 

Be genuine and care for others. Help other people out. You never know what a person is going through. Be careful with how you speak to people. Be kind and treat people how you want to be treated. It’s the greatest thing in the world, to have a friend in every aspect of life.” - Datonio, Park Hill 

“I used to play semi-pro football. I was working out and there was this kid that would always follow me around, so I ended up working out with him. It gave me the clue that I think that I should coach. I took him to team that I started coaching. I wasn’t the head coach but a position coach. So, they let me on the team to coach as the position. Year after year, I went to different teams, so I could learn from different coaches. I wanted to be a head coach. I was on four different teams. In my mind, I’m learning from different coaches, to help me be a better coach. On everyone else’s mind, I was just jumping from team to team and winning championships. I wasn’t championship hopping but just wanted to learn. Now, I’m a head coach and I wanna put all of that together.

I learned about how to discipline the kids. I was never really big on discipline, so I didn’t think that it would matter. I was thinking that it needed to start at home and it does but I needed to do it here, too. Without that discipline, they won’t listen. I also learned the skills and drills of the modern stuff. Some teams do new stuff and some stick with the old. I do a mixture of both because I experienced both.

I try to keep it all together. I even try to keep up with the kids outside of football. Like on Fridays, when we don’t nothing to do, we all get together and go watch another football game. Sometimes, we’ll get together and get a hotel and they just have fun and vibe together and become a team. Defense is pulling together but offense still needs work.

I played for the Jets. My last year with the them, I got MVP. I used to walk to practice everyday. Even if there was bad stuff going on, I would still walk to practice with all of my equipment. People would always tell me that I needed to coach for the team that I played for. I had coached four teams and the Jets called me and asked me if I wanted to be the head coach and that was perfect.

When I went semi-pro, football wasn’t fun anymore but when I came back here, I found the fun back in football. As you get older, you have to stop playing football but you don’t have to leave the game. You gotta teach the game and that’s fun.

Our challenges are that we don’t have any bleachers. Sometimes parents will sit in their car because we don’t have the seating. I go to other parks and they got bleachers. It will help us have more parent support. I go another team’s game and they have the best parent support. These kids need support. Some parents will just drop their kid off and leave. We need all parents to support because that’s what keeps these kids going.

It’s important to me to be a role model in this community. People don’t understand why I do it. I wanna keep them off the streets. They could be out here doing anything but they’re out here doing something positive. I turned out good by coming to football practice everyday. When I’m with them, it makes me think about how I’m going to be with my son when he gets of age. My son is one. I have a little bitty Camaro and I pack as many kids in it, just to make sure they get to practice because some of them don’t have a way to get here. We should be a championship contender. Remember what I said. The California Jets will be a championship contender. The program is now looking like it did when I played.

Catch us playing at Southern High School for our home games!” - Coach Tone (back row, center) pictured with the California Jets team & coaches in California 

“I started off on 36th & Broadway, for about six years. Then I did about five or six years in Portland, on 28th. I just moved over here to 20 & Chestnut, so I’m making my way east. A lot of people have a misconception of what the West End is really about. It’s not as violent and as crazy as people seem to make it. It’s actually a pretty close community. Sure, crime happens, just as anywhere else in the world. Things happens from Prospect to Fern Creek. It’s not that different.

The community sticks up for each other, even if they don’t like each other, especially in Portland. There’s generations upon generations that have never left Portland. There are certain people who will not grocery shop at Kroger. There’s grocery stores in Portland that they will go to, that’s been open for seventy years or more. Curtis Market is one of them. I used to live right down the street from them. It was an awesome place. It’s a very tight community and I like it but it was noisy. You get used to it once you’ve been there long enough.

Speaking of the West End, my children are so friendly because everybody in neighborhood speaks to everybody. I can’t take my little boy for a walk without somebody yelling, “Hey, little boy! Here’s a dollar. Go get yourself some candy!”. My son is 4 years old and he’s always speaking to the guy across the street. I think kids, growing up in this area, experience the tight knit community. It just feels good when people make it a point to stop and speak to people. That’s how we do it here.

I don’t care if I’m rich or poor. I just want to be happy. I want my kids and grandkids to be happy, too. I wanna instill in their brains that happiness is what you make it. You can’t go seeking it, it’s what you make it. To be content with yourself and what you’ve got going on is everything. I learned that for myself. That’s the only thing I can pass on. You can’t do it over, you better live it. There ain’t no do overs.

I want my children and grandchildren to be the best people they can be. The only way they can achieve that is if I’m the best person I can be. I don’t want them to be stuck up but more empathetic and open. People have forgotten how to relate to others. Keep in mind, rich or poor, fat or skinny, black or white, you have to be empathetic towards each other. We’re all human, regardless.” - Stella, Russell

“The older generation understands us. The old heads, on the block, used to do the same stuff we’re doing now. They got more of an understanding of what we’re into. They’ve been here before. We just mess around and get caught because we’re in a new age with new technology. They didn’t have that, so they got away with a whole lot of stuff. For real, it’s the same stuff but technology just makes everyone aware of what everyone else is doing. That’s all.” - Taylor Desmond, Tyreuane, Tyquan & Steven in Portland

 “I lost my job. Life has been kinda hard. I was just taught to never give up no matter what, so that’s what I gotta do. I got three kids that keep me going and I have to do this for. 

I became a father when I was twenty. I had twin boys, then I had my third son. It’s not easy but I have to keep pushing for them. I have to work extra hard to help my babies’ mother. I just want a better future for my kids. I want them to go to school and go to college and make something of themselves. I want them to have goals and to be able to reach them.

My advice to the world? Stay humble, stay woke, and strive to do the best you can possibly do.”- Alijah, California

“I met all of the people that live in this building. It’s awesome that I make some friendships every time I do a piece in this area. I have a few pieces down here. I bounce all around. I’m forty two and have been painting since I was seventeen. This has been my career, without having another job, for about three years. It’s been a twist of fate. I lost my job and I’ve been doing art full-time and it’s been great. It’s definitely a hustle.

Everybody’s different and artists are so weird. We’re just so different. You can’t half ass it. You have to be full force. It’s hard being your own boss. It’s a hell of a lot easier to have some other person tell you what to do for a while and you get to go home with a check rather than having to make it happen for yourself. There’s something to be said when you’re able to paint full-time. I’m fortunate. They don’t tell you about that hard stuff in art school. You have to motivate yourself and connect with people. A lot of what I do is word of mouth.

Be kind to each other. It’s been such a mess. I have three damn kids that have to grow up and deal with this. Just love each other and make art.” - Casey, Russell

“I’ve done ten years and been out for two months. That’s all I had was time. I was always interested in chess but I didn’t have the patience. It was too many moves and all that. I had time to study and read. I did a lot of reading. Chess prepares you for a lot of things in life. It prepares you for your next moves. You always gotta think ahead of time and think of your next moves and prepare yourself for life. 

It’s a beautiful thing because it will stop you from instant gratification. Me and Monte were out in the streets since we were kids. If we wanted the shoes or cars, we would’ve sold dope and would get it that day. Chess has prepared me for the patience. You won’t look for the instant gratification and you will constantly have your brain working. Today, we lose sight of that.

Black America needs to wake up and it starts with the kids. We gotta get them into things that they can relate to. You can’t keep teaching them about Christopher Columbus and all of these fictitious lies. It’s the truth. Tell them the real! They’re not even interested and they don’t even know what that stuff means. Get them into African Spirituality and tell them about everything we’ve done over there and here. Everything we’ve done was taken away from us and we were forced to take on another culture. It’s the truth.

We need community centers down here. You look at Portland and they still have their Boys & Girls Club and we don’t have anything on this side of Market. We need to get reading centers, too. Reading is essential to life. Our people will parish for the lack of knowledge. We’re failing in a major way. We have to teach our kids about who they are. We gotta know self. You have to know your identity and until you know that, you’re lost.” - Lucky (Right) pictured with Monte, Portland

“I live in the Southside but West Louisville, for me, reminds me of my hometown, Radcliff, Kentucky. There’s not too much out here but a grocery store and things like that. It’s the people and the culture. I feel like West Louisville is separated from the rest of the city because of the stigmas and whatnot but I love everything about it. It just reminds me of home. It’s one the few places I feel comfortable at.

Growing up in Radcliff, there’s not a lot of opportunities for kids. I used to play football on a bank property and then would go play basketball on church property. We would always get kicked off those areas. We never had a space where youth could go to, unless you had military privileges and certain benefits. As I got older, I originally looked at things from the lens of basketball. I wanted to give back with the game of basketball. I loved the NBA and wanted to be a pro, but that didn’t work out.

After I started taking classes, I wanted to have a rec center to give back to the kids. I wanted the kids to have the opportunity that I didn’t. So, around my second year of grad school, I realized that I just wanted to work with kids, whether it’d be at the YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, Big Brother Big Sister, or wherever. It turned out that I ended up working in Indiana, at the YMCA, for a couple of years. I learned how to play the game and work with youth and knowing limitations. I then moved back to Kentucky but in Louisville and someone told me about Louisville Urban League. I was like, “There’s an organization for people of color? And I can work with kids?”

Growing up and not having the opportunities, as a kid, I wanted to expose kids to those very opportunities. There’s opportunities out here, but people have to be exposed to them. I also wanted let my people know that they don’t have to do it by themselves and that I’m along for the ride with them. I would much rather put a smile on my face and come to work to help people, whether it’s with chess, character development, college preparation and staying out of trouble than putting on a three piece suit, walking in a bank and making a ton of money and hating my job. For me, it’s all about being happy and doing what I love. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

West Louisville needs each other. The people that live in the community need to start supporting each other. That can be as simple as your kid stepping outside, to play, keep an eye on them. If you see somebody that’s in need, help them out. People in the community just need to support one another. We’re all a unit at the end of the day. If we help support each other, we’ll make it easier for the next generation to come.

Growing up in the projects, if I did something wrong, my mom found out before she would even come home from work. A lot of times, people will just leave it alone, if it’s not their kids. At the end of the day, we’re all just one big family. We all just need to take care of each other in the West.

I don’t think West Louisville makes excuses, but I think that every opportunity for making excuses for West Louisville, needs to stop. Everything that West Louisville needs is right here within our community. Of course, we’re hear them talking about dollars, finances, and organizational support and I get it but we’re all we got, we’re all we need. All you need is your people and everything else will take care of itself. Continue to realize that the solutions are in front of our faces, we just gotta figure it out. With what the world is going through, today, it’s really easy to have a dark and negative attitude. We should look at things in a positive lens, too. Like, yes, we live in a food desert but we also have property that we can live in. There’s a lot of positive things to focus on.

Take advantage of today and worry less about tomorrow. All we have is the now. Let’s say that you’re struggling, today, and you don’t have a dime to your name; that’s just the moment right now. You’re living in the moment, so embrace your struggles because your success will come behind that. Don’t lose sight of what’s in front of your face right now. You can’t get through tomorrow without making it through today. At the same time, realize that today doesn’t define your life. Remember what today is. Now is the time to improve and take advantage of your life, you might not see it two weeks from now. Think about right now because that’s all we got.” - Rodney, Russell

“There’s a big disconnect between the older and younger generation. The kids in the West End need more guidance from the the older generation. It’s like they were doing the same shit we’re doing. People born in the eighties and nineties look at us and treat us like we’re totally different from them. They always tell us that we’re so different, in a bad way. Where’s the guidance? They just don’t understand us but maybe we’re meant to not be understood by them.” - Shay (far right) pictured with Mike Mike & Keaira in Park DuValle