The truth is that American exceptionalism is a lie. Moreover, for Kentuckians, the song “My Old Kentucky Home” and the play about its writer, The Stephen Foster Story, in Bardstown are lies, too.
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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.
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Emily Bingham’s text masterfully weaves the history of the creation of the actual song, the context of the social and political cultures that embraced it and transformed its meaning, and its still evolving legacy.
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As our culture and economy continue to become more connected digitally, thought leaders in Appalachia have identified an opportunity to help an economy reliant on coal transition into a more technologically resilient future. From this model, Rusty Justice and Lynn Parish started Bit Source in 2014, an organization responsible for upskilling and reskilling former coal miners to make custom software and applications for clients across the globe.
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Originally contracted by Logan Aluminum to work in their IT department temporarily, Vijay Kamineni has steadily advanced the ranks, earning titles like Development Team Leader and Business Transformation Leader. He now heads the company as a Chief Innovation and Technology Leader. And as he’s ascended to lead the company forward in its digital future, his focus has remained the same: to seek out and identify ways that new technologies can improve processes for both the worker and the work.
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Vicki Phillips has charted the course for the future of education. Now as the Chief Education Officer and Vice President of National Geographic, she has developed a plan to modernize the organization’s efforts in expanding children’s access to education.
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In celebration of Black History Month 2021, Kentucky to the World and the Muhammad Ali Center have collaborated to bring you the stories of five amazing Black Kentuckians who have forever shaped the reputation of our state with their work and talents. These people have had a positive “butterfly effect” that has created ripples to the story of Black history in Kentucky.
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Everett McCorvey has since managed to reach the apex of two fields in tandem: music performance and teaching. As Professor of Voice and Director of Opera at the University of Kentucky, he has toured the world and received critical accolades as a leading tenor soloist.
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Dana Canedy has received a Pulitzer Prize for reporting, written a celebrated memoir, become the first African American, first woman and youngest person to be elected administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, and, most recently, taken the position as Publisher and Vice President at Simon & Schuster.
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Shelly Zegart founded Kentucky to the World but she’s more widely known for her work to elevate the art of quilts, a passion that ended up defining over three decades of her life.
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