Roots and Heritage Festival a Hit!

As the largest African American community festival in Kentucky each year, KFTC members in Central Kentucky say that it's absolutely critical that they have a strong presence at the Roots and Heritage Festival in early September.

This year they met that goal, overwhelmingly focused on talking to people about Restoration of Voting Rights for Former Felons, with lots of great materials, displays, and handouts developed for the State Fair.

"I think it’s especially important to connect with African American community on this issue because such a high percentage of the community is impacted by this problem… That’s a lot of people who don’t get a say in major political decisions that affect their lives. It’s just not fair,â€ said Jessica Bookout.

Members got over 400 postcards addressed to David Williams on the issue signed – a solid start to lobbying the senate president leading up to the General Assembly. "We’re hoping to bury Senator Williams under these cards,â€ joked KFTC member Joe Gallenstein.

Twenty Central KY Chapter Members volunteered to make it all happen, including veteran members, UK and Transy students.

"It was tremendous to see how many people at the fair really connected with the issue here,â€ said John Ghaelian.

Channel 50 covered our presence at the Festival, interviewing three members on voter registration and restoration of voting rights. Members also connected with elected officials talked to Representative Crenshaw and Senator Scorsone, even bringing them in for the TV interviews.

  "At the Roots and Heritage Festival I was really impressed by how genuinely interested the people were about social injustice; even though the issue might not have directly affected the person, they still realized that the current policy is wrong and were more than happy to display their support for change. As is often the case in our country, people know that things are wrong but often don't feel like they have a legitimate voice in change.â€ Grant Buckles