Posted by: Anne Shelby on May 15, 2014
With the author's permission, we are pleased to share with you this powerful poem by Clay County author Anne Shelby. She expresses beautifully the deep and conflicting emotions many Kentuckians feel about our home communities. The poem was first written for a National Public Radio program, State of The Reunion. A version of it was published in the journal Appalachian Heritage. Thank you, Anne!
Posted by: Beth Howard on May 14, 2014
The primary election is on Tuesday, May 20th and the Central Kentucky Chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is getting out the vote. And, you can get involved!
KFTC has done an amazing job with candidate surveys for the 2014 Primary and the Central Kentucky chapter worked hard to develop questions for local candidates based upon local issues we all care about, such as affordable housing, homelessness, diversity, and the environment, among others. We sent surveys out to the candidates so that we can communicate their answers out far and wide and they're now online at KentuckyElection.org There are also links to candidate sites, voting location information, and more. So please share this link with people you know.
Posted by: KFTC Staff on May 12, 2014
One thing Amelia Kirby and David Fisher both knew when they opened businesses in downtown Whitesburg was that they wouldn’t get rich. They knew it was about something larger.
I. Summit City
When Kirby and her partner, Joel Beverly, opened Summit City Lounge in 2007, they had a feeling they were launching something that would be important for Whitesburg. But they had no clear game plan other than “a belief in having a space that whatever needed to happen in the town could happen.”
The town of about 2,000 in southeastern Kentucky lacked a “community convivial space” such as a bar or pub where cross-pollination of ideas and culture could occur.
“That is a really, really significant and underestimated piece of how community building happens in a lot of places,” said Kirby. “It puts people who would not necessarily be sitting together together in a space with usually the intent of finding some common ground.”
Posted by: KFTC Staff on May 9, 2014
KFTC member and Kentucky author Silas House published a young adult novel in 2012 called Same Sun Here, a collaboration with New York City author Neela Vaswani. The book is a series of letters between River Dean Justice, who lives in eastern Kentucky, and a girl named Meena, who lives in New York City. House talked with KFTC recently about the book.
Posted by: Dana Beasley Brown on May 2, 2014
There are many important stories coming out of the 2014 General Assembly – the outcomes of bills, the work of citizen lobbyists, the story of all the rallies and lobby days KFTC participated in.
For me, one of the highlights of KFTC’s work in the General Assembly – and, really, a highlight of all the work KFTC does – is the leadership development that happens around the session.
Throughout the session, KFTC is committed to developing leaders and helping their voices be heard. Whether it’s my friend Al lobbying for the first time. Or Mantell from Lexington taking his turn at the mic in front of the large crowd at the Voting Rights Rally. Or all the KFTC members who serve on various strategy teams that, throughout the session, contribute to our collective game plan … KFTC is about developing leaders.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about KFTC’s approach to leadership development.
Posted by: Donovan Taylor on April 30, 2014
The Saturday before the Kentucky primary election voter registration deadline, Jefferson County Chapter of KFTC organized Bike the Vote, a pop-up voter registration drive in West Louisville. Eighteen people volunteered to register voters, some riding bikes between the four pop-up locations; two grocery stores and two parks. After four hours and eight miles of biking, the group registered 40 voters. Chapter members registered a total of 84 voters during the week of April 14.
Posted by: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on April 28, 2014
It's May Day week – a great time to take action that builds new economic power.
Posted by: Jessie Skaggs on April 24, 2014
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At their March chapter meeting, members in
Perry County discussed different ideas for possible upcoming workshops and events that the chapter could have this year. Wanting to reach newer current members as well as potential members, they decided to hold a series of workshops that would educate people on KFTC, how we organize, and our issue areas. This past Monday, the Perry County chapter hosted the first of these, a
KFTC 101 Workshop.
Posted by: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on April 18, 2014
Posted by: KFTC staff on April 16, 2014
Yesterday, April 15, was the final day of the 2014 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly. Supporters of legislation to allow for the automatic restoration of voting rights for most former felons once they have completed their sentence (House Bill 70) gave the Kentucky Senate yet another chance to pass this meaningful legislation.
