"Home" by Hannah Drake and Kentucky Students
As the Kentucky Derby approaches viewers across the nation will hear the controversial state song, “My Old Kentucky Home,” which has been part of the Derby Day traditions since the 1920s. As a rebuttal to the state song, Louisville-based non-profit Kentucky to the World presents “Home,” a poem by local spoken word poet, Hannah Drake, that serves as a compelling response to the Kentucky state song. This community-driven piece of word art commissioned by Kentucky to the World challenges historical narratives and was created through a collaboration with students from the Greater Louisville area and a diverse group of community members. The video above was recorded at La La Land Studio by director Thomas Wavid Johns and features musical accompaniment by cellist Ben Sollee and pianist Harry Pickens.
Drake, previously featured in The New York Times for her “(Un)Known Project,” which seeks to discover the hidden names and stories of Black people who were enslaved in Kentucky and beyond, was included in Kentucky to the World’s Republic Bank Foundation Speaker Series The State of Song: “My Old Kentucky Home” Faces a Changing World last October. Alongside acclaimed historian and author Emily Bingham and well-known musicians Harry Pickens and Ben Sollee the panel discussed through words and music the complex history and evolving legacy of the Kentucky state song.
As part of an artistic expression, 250 Greater Louisville-area students in addition to community members who attended the October event were invited to contribute one word each to a “word wall” in response to three prompts provided by Kentucky to the World. The prompts included, “When I imagine the Kentucky of the future, I see…”; “When I think about Kentucky, I feel…”; and “When I hear ‘My Old Kentucky Home’, I feel…” With pen and paper in hand, Drake crafted the poem “Home” using all 250 words from the word wall, making it a genuine community effort that elevated diverse voices. She performed this poem as part of the Speaker Series that evening.
“Home” is a testament to the transformative power of Hannah Drake’s talent and the collaborative spirit found in our local community," said Kentucky to the World’s Education and Strategy Consultant David Thurmond. “We are proud to have been part of this project and we remain committed to fostering artistic expression in Kentucky.”
Drake will perform her spoken word poetry of “Home” on April 30 at the University of Louisville’s Grand Hall as part of her award acceptance for the University’s 3rd Annual Poetry Derby, in which she entered her poem earlier this year. The Poetry Derby, which includes a student and adult category, is a celebration of language’s ability to allow us to connect, engage, express, and develop new understandings about who we are—and who we want to be—as individuals, community members, and part of the world more broadly. In response to Louisville native Emily Bingham’s recently published book My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song, this year's Poetry Derby theme is “Anthems for the 21st Century”.
