River City Drumbeat

-I only need about six more crates, Mr. White.

-Huh?

-I only need six more crates.

Five, actually.

-You the man in charge.

-That's what they say.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -It's gonna be the best class y'all gonna have all day.

-Can we get the drum, too?

-Yeah, you get the drum, too.

Why you think we brought all the drums out there?

Yes.

We're gonna have fun today.

Alright, first of all, how is everybody?

-Good.

-Now tell me what's good about it.

-Everything.

-Everything?

-Everything.

-Say it again.

It's the beat.

You got the beat, don't you?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Give me a drum roll, Mr. White.

Now, everybody raise your right hand.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Everybody raise your right hand, now -- right hand.

Now, stop, Mr. White.

Everybody place your hand over your heart.

If you get really quiet and really still and listen very closely, you can feel something beating in your chest.

Anybody feel that?

Everybody is a drummer because we all come from our mother.

And if you listen closely when you're a baby, the first sound that you hear is the sound of your mother's heartbeat.

So we are born into the world with this sound.

[ Drumming ] That's right.

-Come on down, come on down.

One, two, come on.

[ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ Yeah, yeah.

♪♪ One more.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Growing up in Louisville, I was into art... but I was discouraged from doing that kind of stuff.

♪♪ It just wasn't something that as a child that I was told that Black males did.

♪♪ We built River City Drum Corp to connect children to arts and culture.

♪♪ Our culture is gonna be our savior.

If we tap back into that culture, you'll find out that's where the poverty's at.

♪♪ We teach African drumming and drum line, but basically, what we're talking about in the Drum Corp is life skills.

♪♪ And here we are 27 years later.

♪♪ -I pledge myself to my creator... -I pledge myself to my creator... -...that I might come to be... -...that I might come to be... -...in harmony with the great purpose... -...in harmony with the great purpose... -...intended for me.

-...intended for me.

-I pledge to my ancestors... -I pledge to my ancestors... -...whose names I may not know... -...whose names I may not know... -...in respect for their great struggle... -...in respect for their great struggle... -...that I might struggle to grow.

-...that I might struggle to grow.

-I pledge to my family... -I pledge to my family... -...a oneness in my soul... -...a oneness in my soul... -...a healthy mind... -...a healthy mind... -...a body strong... -...a body strong... -...where their love might unfold.

-...where their love might unfold.

-Everybody, will you make some noise for the River City Drum Corp?

[ Upbeat drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] [ Chatter ] -Yes!

[ Laughs ] -Oh!

-So now, now you got to hold the what?

You got to hold the nut because that nut is just, what, what is it doing?

Is it getting tight or is it just turning?

Alright, so how is it gonna get tight?

-[ Speaks indistinctly ] -Yeah, that's the one I just did.

-Okay.

[ Drill whirs ] Every drummer got to carry they own drum.

So if you got to carry your own drum, you gotta make it.

[ Tool clatters ] ♪♪ -I say we live in a throwaway society.

We throw everything away.

♪♪ Society sees our children is not good at that moment because we got to put so much stuff into them, so we just throw 'em away.

I used to be able to just reach down and grab one like it ain't nothing, okay?

As we started this process, everything was scrap.

♪♪ That's half of a cow.

♪♪ So what we do is we let children make something productive.

So they take the drums and they design 'em and they get 'em nice and beautiful, and then they're able to take their creative spirits that now they found out that, "Hey, I am something.

I am worth something."

Please and thank you.

Alright, now, Emily, I need you to pull.

Just wait.

Let me get it started first.

Move your hand.

-I was 3 or 4 when I went to one of the concerts, and as soon as I heard the drum, I fell in love.

So I was like, "Mom, Mom, Mom, I got to be a part of this.

I got to be a part of this."

It does take up your time, but even though it takes up your time, it's worth it.

-All I want to hear is boom.

Boom, clap, boom, boom, boom, clap, boom, boom, clap, boom, boom, boom, clap, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, clap.

Hold it up, hold it up.

No clicks, you feel me?

Now keep 'em up, no clicks.

Five, six, here we go.

[ Drumming ] Keep 'em up, keep 'em up, keep 'em up and... [ Drumming ] -Oh, oh, oh!

Can you clap?

Can you clap?

Oh!

[ Drumming ] Alright, that's it.

Put your sticks in your crates.

Stand behind your drum.

And I told y'all we just going to have a what?

-Test.

-Test?

Y'all thought I was fooling.

Y'all thought I was -- forgot about that, didn't you?

Okay.

[ Chatter ] -[ Humming ] So this is the West End.

This is my neighborhood.

You know, a lot of rental properties over here.

You get down here, you start seeing more and more houses boarded up.

Yeah, people leave and they don't come back.

You see the teddy bears hanging up, people just commemorating their lost ones.

My mother kind of raised me to have my antennas up at all times.

So you know where not to go, you know, stay out the alleys, you know to keep your shoes laced 'cause you might have to get your sprint on.

So then you got some neighborhoods over here where a lot of people own these properties.

And so it's kept very well.

This is a sports-heavy neighborhood.

Everybody wants to hoop, play football, run the streets.

Welcome to the River City Drum Corp's annual Kwanzaa celebration.

Now, the thing about Kwanzaa is when it started, you couldn't go to Walmart or Target to buy a kinara or the red, black, and green candles, so we have to use this next principle.

Yes, Keyiona knows it.

-Kujichagulia.

-Everybody say Kuji... -Kuji... -...chagu... -...chagu... -...lia.

-...lia.

-"Kujichagulia" means "self-determination."

Instead of being named... -Instead of being named... -...defined... -...defined... -...or spoken for by others.

-...or spoken for by others.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] -Well, well, well, how is everybody?

Oh, God, as I look around, I see a lot of people who were children, and now they're adults and have children.

There's a lot of good things going on in our community if we would just take the time to stop and participate in it.

If we all come together and pool our resources together... just think how great we can be.

[ Applause ] [ Gentle piano music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ This is the neighborhood that I grew up in.

♪♪ This was the original church.

♪♪ Okay, so it was, you know, the center of the Black community because Black people lived in the community, but we were all scattered.

So you know, this street was all African American, Black, however you want to call it, growing up.

♪♪ That yellow house down there, my grandmother bought that house in '25.

♪♪ That was the community house.

My mother and my cousins, my brothers, my sisters.

There was about 15, 20 people in that house at one time.

♪♪ This was my community.

♪♪ There were certain routes that you could go through and nobody would bother you.

But if you got off the route, then you would get yourself in trouble.

You hear me?

♪♪ Oh, my God.

♪♪ ♪♪ That's me and that's my lovely wife.

♪♪ When I met Zambia, I was a director of the Boys and Girls Club.

I saw a whole lot of children like myself who were artists... but this was a sports-based center.

♪♪ Zambia's the one that turned me on to the richness of African history and culture.

And within that, drums, the children said... "That's what we want to do."

From there, it just kind of took off, and the whole art world just opened up for a whole set of children.

♪♪ Albert was one of those children.

♪♪ His mother and father were all types of substance abusers.

♪♪ Albert went to probably six elementary schools before he got out of elementary.

♪♪ He came under our tutelage, and we were able to get him resources.

♪♪ He went to University of Kentucky on a vocal scholarship.

So just think about that.

♪♪ -We were all into the music.

We were all into what was popular, and he was trying to show us that we could create the popular culture.

So, you know, now you can walk around and see people in dashikis and African garb, like it's popular now, but back then in '94 and in my neighborhood, we got teased.

You know, "What, you trying to go back to Africa?"

this, that, and the other, like, they had the jokes for us.

But Mr. Nardie gave us cultural connection, taught us about prominent African American historical figures, that Black people contributed a lot to society and a lot to America and the world.

He was teaching us this when we were 8, 9, 10 years old, like, just empowering us with this information.

♪♪ [ Chatter ] I'll do that.

-♪ Praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him ♪ ♪ Praise him ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ Blessed savior ♪ ♪ He's worthy to be in grace ♪ -I don't really remember my father having a job like the majority of my childhood.

He would have a job and get fired.

He was living his life and drugging and in the streets.

♪♪ My mother realized that her choices in life limited me from certain things, and she welcomed Mr. Nardie and Zambia into my life.

You know, my mother was not threatened by that at all.

My mother learned from Zambia just as much as I did.

♪ Praise him ♪ ♪♪ -Come on.

-Ah!

Excuse me.

-Yes, you're excused.

Here, use one of these stand crates.

Right there.

Here, get one of these.

So now it's gotta sound like one drum, so that means everybody has to be in the same spot at the same time.

Want to try it again, just the group that we've been working with.

Five, six, seven, eight.

See what I'm talking about?

Starting to sound like what?

-One drum.

-One drum.

Five, six, seven, eight.

We get these kids.

All of them have these very unique personalities... that's really based on, "Can you give me some attention?"

-Okay, so start over.

Everybody get in neutral three.

So it'll be Jailen, Gabe, Kayden, and then it will go into the clicks.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Alright, great job.

Put up.

Thank you all.

-Imani, I remember when she was born, and now Imani's getting ready to graduate from high school.

You know, it went like that.

-When I first came to River City Drum Corp, I was having trouble finding myself.

My sixth-grade year was kind of weird.

It was rocky.

It was unstable.

I was in the principal's office all the time.

[ Laughter ] Mr. White always instilled in me leadership.

Who are you gonna be?

You need to step up.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ It's interesting, though, being a female drummer, people are always kind of like, "What?

You can really do that?

You can really be on beat?

Like, no, you can't."

I'm just like, yeah, I can.

Yeah, I drum, so what?

[ Drumming ] -They did a good job on the rehab.

-They did.

I'm really close to my mom.

She's taught me a lot, as well as my father.

They got a divorce a couple years ago.

-Okay, so... -It's been kind of rough, but I'm not letting it get the best of me or anything like that.

[ Drumming ] -When your kid joins Drum Corp, you join Drum Corp, and there's no getting around it.

So let's see how this concoction tastes.

I grew up probably on the end of that concept where everybody is your mother.

Even if my mom wasn't home, I still had somebody looking, and it didn't look like they were looking until I did something I shouldn't do.

And then they'd be the first one to run out the door, "I'm going to tell your mama when she gets home.

You knew better than going to such and such and going down that far the street and blah, blah, blah."

So that same kind of feeling is what I wanted Imani to have.

Look at this one.

Even with both parents, you still need a support network.

You got to have one 'cause you can't watch your baby all the time.

[ Chuckles ] [ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Want these sticks?

Come take these sticks!

[ Cheers and applause ] -Alright, y'all, y'all got down with that.

Did you like that?

Did we go to school on you or what?

Alright, you know what time it is.

Mr. Edward "Nardie" White!

[ Cheers and applause ] -Whew, alright.

-We want a battle.

-Say it again.

-We want a battle!

-Who wants a battle?

Y'all need to ask?

Y'all want a battle?

Y'all want a battle?

Alright, guess what I'm gonna give y'all.

-A battle!

-I'm-a give y'all a battle.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

♪ Okay ♪ -♪ Who are we ♪ -♪ 3DI ♪ -♪ Who are we ♪ -♪ 3DI ♪ -♪ 3DI Big Dogs ♪ [ Howling ] [ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

-I'm excited to see all the growth with all the drum lines, showcase the talents, end with the love and shaking hands.

You know, that's what it's all about.

-I like the adrenaline, the rush, like, knowing that you got to play to your full potential, you gotta, like, bring up the competition.

-Oh, the battle?

I would say we won.

I mean, hey, it is what it is, you know?

There really isn't a winner, but there is a winner.

-Everyone that comes in the Drum Corp, no matter how much musical talent you got, you gonna start on the pipe drums.

[ Drumming ] Now, if you survive that, then you gonna get into a drum line.

We started this program, the spring drum lines from around Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois... and all of us traveled to these shows.

So we was able to make a connection to the historically Black colleges because of developing the drum line.

When we do our showcase, there are no judges.

Everybody goes away happy.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ [ Drumming ] ♪♪ -When I was younger, I did sports for four years.

I tried to do both, but Mr. White was like, "You know, this isn't gonna work.

You need a balance.

You need to pick and choose."

[ Paper rustles ] It was tough because I often thought, "You should be able to do both.

I mean, you're a child, you're still growing."

This is Grambling State.

Tuition's way too high, so I'm not going there, but I just keep it for motivation.

Of course, I have Tennessee State.

This is North Carolina, AAT, and then Southern.

This is actually Miss Zambia, Mr. White's wife.

She's one of the founders of Drum Corp.

So it's pretty cool to remember her, and I always felt like, you know, she's looking at me.

Growing up, my father was in and out.

You would see him one year, then you wouldn't see him another year.

It was just my mom, grandfathers, uncles, grandmothers.

When I was talking to Mr. White, I was telling him some of the stuff he's told me.

I'm getting it.

It's clicking.

Next year, things are gonna change.

You're not gonna have anyone telling you what to do or, "Jailen, clean your room," or, "Jailen, you need to wash your clothes," or, "Jailen, it's time to eat."

-You need a butter knife?

-It's good that I know this now before I'm leaving, so when I get out of here in this thing called the world, I'm not lost.

-Better?

♪♪ Long journey?

My goal was to make sure he was gonna beat the odds.

-Hey, girl.

-As a parent, you give 'em the tools, you know that they're gonna be fine, but you're like, "Is he okay?"

♪♪ -Good girl.

Good girl.

♪♪ When I was younger, you would see many people walking.

And I'd be like, "Hey, man, you need some work or you need this, you need that?"

I'd just be like, "No, I'm okay."

But in the inside, I'm like, "Oh, my God, like, what's going to happen?

I just told them no.

What if something does happen?"

So, you know... ♪♪ As you drive through West Louisville, it's disheartening.

You see so many people impoverished.

The thing that you have in common most of the time, if you're in this part of the town, is you have little money.

And it's very likely to live next to a white person.

I mean, it's like, "Well, we're all poor.

They throw us all in this community."

[ Gentle drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Are y'all good with the first set?

-Are you sure?

Don't say yes and the answer's no.

-Then when you get onstage, you start shaking.

-The intro, this is how we do it.

One, two, one, two -- -The children that are graduating will be the last of my students.

That's my legacy.

♪♪ I was gonna shut the Drum Corp down.

I do not have the energy.

♪♪ But when Albert said that this is what he wanted to do... then I said, "Alright, let's make it happen."

♪♪ -This is not about you.

This is about the shoulders you stand upon... the people who have died and paved the way for you to be able to be in a theater that was for whites only.

Black lives matter.

African and African American culture matter.

It is up to us to keep it going forward.

[ Upbeat drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -Whoo!

♪♪ ♪♪ Hey!

Hey!

S.O.D.

Squad!

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] [ Gentle music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -What you saw today was who we are, what we are, and what we are capable of when we have a stage to put it on.

♪♪ Just thinking, no shooting, ain't no cussing, ain't no smoking, ain't no drinking.

And guess what else?

It ain't gonna be on the 6:00 or 11:00 news.

♪♪ Black arts matter.

[ Cheers and applause ] So give y'all self a round of applause.

[ Applause ] But better than that... give it up for the children.

[ Applause ] Now I'm getting ready to tell you one other thing, so that I make sure it's loud and clear and plain and real.

Mr. Albert Shumake, will you come here and stand beside me please?

[ Applause ] I met this young man when he was 8 years old.

8 years old.

He is 34 years old now.

And he stayed at the Drum Corp and he did what he needed to do.

Most importantly, he was always with me.

What I've decided to do is I've decided that Albert is going to be the next director of the River City Drum Corp. [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you for your time, thank you for your energy, and may God bless you.

[ Gentle music plays ] ♪♪ A lot of times, we as old leaders don't get out of the way.

You know, sometimes, you have to say, "When do you let the baby go?"

[ Chatter ] -Hey, hey, all of this can fit right here.

-Freestyle for the bros. ♪ We just killed the show ♪ ♪ Now we outta here, man, close the door ♪ -Hey!

♪♪ [ Reporter speaking indistinctly in distance ] [ Gentle music plays ] ♪♪ -Brian, do I turn left right here or go on over?

-You go.

-Okay, past the light.

This is the trap over here, boys.

You know it's crazy 'cause a lot of people -- -Everybody gets shot over here.

-Yeah, I mean, I know a couple dudes got murdered right over in front of the -- -Long John Silver's.

-No, in front of the little store.

My cousin got murdered right over here in this alley.

♪♪ -Two people shot dead this weekend in the middle of the day on 32nd and Greenwood.

That's in the Parkland neighborhood.

-It's crazy that you've seen people get killed next door, across the street, and you like, "What's going on?"

♪♪ [ Chatter ] -That's your color, ain't it, Brian?

[ Chuckles ] -I look at my alumnis... some got it and some didn't.

♪♪ That's the bitter sweetness of it.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] -Y'all pretty good.

-Pretty good?

We was throwing.

-Yeah, y'all pretty good.

You know something?

It's in good hands.

-[ Chuckles ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -At least once a week, Albert and I get together and have breakfast, strategizing and making sure everything is in the right direction.

[ Pan sizzling ] -I've been to plenty of youth conferences, and I'm an old man now.

-Yeah, I hear you.

♪♪ Been feeling kind of melancholy... knowing that this time next year, I ain't gonna be doing none of this.

So I gotta make sure that I give Albert all the information on how this works.

-Good, straight.

-Chest.

-Out.

-Shoulders.

-Back.

-Eyes.

-Chin.

-Chin.

-Up.

It's hard to be the authoritative disciplinarian, the music teacher, administrator, cleric, the therapist.

♪♪ That's a lot of weight for one person, and that's how Mr. Nardie has done it.

♪♪ I have to develop my support system so that I don't have to wear all of the hats.

♪♪ After I got out of school and I started my business as a deejay and as an artist, and Mr. White asked me to come back to see the program continue.

Then we had the baby and moved here.

My life kind of just got shut down 'cause my mother's sick and I don't have childcare, so I've been rearranging my day schedule and keeping my daughter all day.

You know, having a child really, really changes up... ...the way you get to move and operate, and I feel like I'm sacrificing a lot.

And, I mean, is it really sacrifice if you have to do it?

I don't know.

-"She didn't mind the walk.

She was used to it.

Often, she saw a big, yellow bus roll past her, but the bus never stopped for her."

[ Gasps ] Was that funny?

That's not funny.

Is Daddy a good daddy?

-[ Coos ] -[ Chuckles ] Yes.

-[ Babbling ] -[ Laughs ] What's in here?

She should be good with that.

-Okay, well, I'm gonna eat some more.

-Oh, okay.

-I can't even explain how fun it's been to have a daughter and having -- I mean, she loves the same stuff that we love.

She likes music.

She likes to hear herself talk.

-[ Babbling ] -She likes to dance.

She likes people.

-Yes, ma'am.

-I really want to be an example.

You can have a child, and life doesn't stop.

You can still do fun stuff.

You can still be yourself.

It doesn't have to quit.

And with the kids, help them to understand that they don't just have to absorb what's given to them, but they can create the trends themselves.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] [ Chatter ] -I'm a founding member of the River City Drum Corp.

I get real emotional to see the kids doing what they're doing still, and it's beautiful.

It's beautiful.

-The news only talks about all the bad.

They never talk about the children who are really trying to get something for themselves or the parents who's trying to build these children up.

-You don't have to birth a child for it to be your child.

It takes a village.

[ Church choir singing indistinctly ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -The truth is people are more like us than they are not like us.

-Yes, they are.

-And because people are just like us, we ought to want people to sit by us.

I don't know about you, but God's been too good to me.

[ Chatter ] Too good to me, too good to me.

I can't trip 'cause he's been too good to me.

And when he's been too good to you, you want somebody else to experience how good he's been to you.

[ Gentle piano music plays ] ♪♪ -Since I graduated from high school, there's never been a plan to my life.

♪♪ You know how you just wander.

It's like wandering through the desert.

♪♪ Photojournalism was really my first passion.

♪♪ I just happened to see her coming.

She was an icon in the community.

Yes, so that is a good photograph.

♪♪ ♪♪ This was another life pre-Drum Corp. And once I got into Drum Corp... then this had to take a back seat.

That's all I can do.

All I can do is eat, sleep, drink, drums.

♪♪ I could just imagine if I would have been able to have someone in my life, like I was in Albert's life at a young age.

♪♪ I knew Albert was not an athlete.

I knew Albert was an artist, and the reason I knew it because I saw his heart like I saw mine.

♪♪ Black man can't make no money doing art.

That's all I heard.

That's all I heard.

Growing up, I never got to finish any of my projects.

It was always basketball practice.

It was always football practice.

It was always, "Go up there and get him out of the art class."

♪♪ It makes no sense.

It makes no sense.

[ Indistinct conversation ] -When I got in art class, I never knew that I could do this 'cause I never did any clay work like this before.

But somehow, this happened, and this is what my art teachers saw.

"Oh...that boy got something."

-Mm-hmm.

-You see what I mean?

Now, somebody had to be able to say, "You got something."

-Exactly.

-And now I got to help get that out there.

-Exactly.

Exactly.

-That's what you do.

-When children come in here, they come in here all, you know, and all this looking around.

Here, Albert, my man, here, take this bottle, take this bottle, spray him down, spray him down.

-You remember that, don't you?

-We were just in the neighborhood, leaving Shelby Park or something like that.

"I'm about to show you something.

Come on over here."

So, we knock on the door.

We come in.

It was a Civil War piece.

Yeah.

And he just hands me a bottle of water.

"This is what I'm working on.

Here, spray it."

-The way I can get you to understand going from a wax figure to a bronze, you're gonna take that wax, dip it in the slurry, dip it in the sand.

You take that, put it in a furnace, and you burn out the wax.

Now, you know who was doing this?

And I ain't talking China, either.

-It's gonna blow your mind when he tell you who's doing this.

-The Benins, your people.

This was way back.

So I'm just a part of the legacy of that.

Our children, when they walk outside and see a piece out there, well, they don't know how that piece got up there.

"Who did that?"

You know?

-How'd that get here?

-Yep.

-Not knowing Mr. Nardie can knock on the door and show you the person who made it 'cause he's still right here.

-[ Laughs ] -Mm-hmm.

♪♪ -With my Lincoln Memorial down on the waterfront, my vision was to have Lincoln greeting you as you come into that setting.

♪♪ And then, ultimately, you notice the biggest plaque out there would be the slaves chained together, being loaded on these boats being sent on down South, as he had witnessed going up and down the Ohio.

♪♪ As much as we like to think Louisville was not as entrenched in the slavery, we know that existed.

You know, that's the way it was.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -You know, when I look at this, this was all about economics.

The only thing that they've done is just took the chains off.

♪♪ You know, it's like, what are you gonna do?

You're free, but where you going?

♪♪ We're not free.

We're bound in the chains of poverty.

We're bound in the chains of poor education, of redlining, keeping he and my next-door neighbor in bondage.

♪♪ -I pledge to my ancestors... -I pledge to my ancestors... -...whose names I may not know... -...whose names I may not know... -...in respect for their great struggles... -...in respect for their great struggles... -...that I struggle to grow.

-...that I struggle to grow.

-I pledge to my family... -I pledge to my family... -...a oneness in my soul... -...a oneness in my soul... -...a healthy mind... -...a healthy mind... -...a body strong... -...a body strong... -...where their love might unfold.

-...where their love might unfold.

[ Marching band playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Hip-hop music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Marching band playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -There are two sides in Louisville.

♪♪ Here, there are two grocery stores, but there's a liquor store on every corner.

♪♪ There's so much violence in this neighborhood, so much killing, so much hostility, it makes it really hard for people to want to be around.

[ Train horn blows, crossing signal clanging ] ♪♪ I remember when our neighborhoods didn't have gangs.

The neighborhood youth boards kept that territorial aspect from becoming, like, super-heavy.

And then, when that evaporated, now our kids just have space and time, but nothing to occupy that.

[ Children shouting ] Zambia's granddaughter Makeba was one of those kids that didn't want to listen to what her grandmother told her, felt like all this African stuff and this culture stuff was boring.

I know that that, like, really wrecks Mr. Nardie.

♪♪ -There's Makeba.

Oh, my God.

You know, as I go through these pictures, I see her, such a peaceful child, but she got hung up into the lifestyle.

And never in 100 years did I think that I would lose a granddaughter to violence.

It's crazy.

I look at my granddaughter get involved in this culture that I cannot get her out of.

No matter what I do, no matter what we try, no matter where it goes, we cannot get her out of this culture, okay?

♪♪ You know, it goes back to that old saying "Good girls like bad boys."

♪♪ Her boyfriend -- him and these guys -- they'd been beefing for years.

And then, one day, the beef just boiled over.

They end up having a shootout, and both of them end up killing each other.

[ Shouting, gunshots, screaming ] The girlfriend of the other guy that died walks up to my granddaughter and says, "Meet your man in hell, where my man is," and shoots her 14 times from this close.

So not all of us make it.

Not all of us make it.

♪♪ That's the battle that we fight.

[ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Now, you know in the event that this happens again, guess where I'm going.

-Ms. Jackson.

-Yeah, to Ms. Jackson.

You know Ms. Jackson's not gonna be what?

-Happy.

-So if she ain't happy, who else ain't gonna be happy?

-You.

-And who else?

-Me.

-Yeah.

-One, two, three, go.

[ Drumming ] -Our community wants the same thing that everybody else wants, but we gotta learn the set of rules that's gonna keep us alive in the hood and the set of rules that's gonna let us be successful in the mainstream society.

We're trying to make the playing field level.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] -I've been in Drum Corp for eight years.

We also do education, so, like, it brings up most of my grades, and we go on lots of trips where we get to try new things.

-One of the unique things about this year -- There's seven of us.

We're all seniors.

So it's our last year in Drum Corp, so we'll be going off to college.

Raise your hands, seniors.

[ Cheers and applause ] So we're all out of here next year.

-Welcoming.

-Most of the people that I know, that I'm used to, is, like, I'm real close to at Drum Corp, they're leaving 'cause it's their senior year, and I'm like, "Who else am I gonna hang out with?"

But there's, like, more members coming, and then, after that, it's gonna be me being the seniors and everything.

-Great thunder.

Make your arms... -Drum Corp has become a part of who she is.

That makes it a little easier for me to be the father of a young lady coming into her teenage years.

When she's maybe not around her Drum Corp peers, she knows that she belongs to something.

♪♪ -I haven't got any sleep for the last night because I was doing my PowerPoint and stuff -- When I've been doing these performances that I usually do every year for about eight years in a row, it's like, "Wow, this is really my last one?"

Like, it won't hit me probably till like the end of the year, like, "What?

This is really over?

Like, it's my last year."

♪♪ After graduation, I plan to attend Simmons College, Louisville's HBCU, where I'll be marching in their marching band.

I'll be still continuing band, 'cause that's actually what I want to go into is being a music major so I can teach high-school band.

[ Laughs ] Jordan would not stop playing, so I had to keep going.

He was... [ Vocalizing ] I'm like... [ Vocalizing ] I'm going in.

I'm like, "Bro..." ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Train horn blows ] ♪♪ [ Bell dings ] ♪♪ -One thing about Jailen is, he like to stay fly.

He gets a shape-up, a haircut for everything.

I mean, if it's going to get his license, he had to get a haircut for his driver's permit, his license.

I was like, "Dang, man, just take the picture."

He just grew his beard, too, within a year.

[ Both laugh ] I remember sometimes he used to say, "Man, don't cut my beard."

I'm like, "Man, what beard, man?"

"No, right here.

You see it coming in?"

[ Laughs ] Just proud of the brother, man.

Just really proud of him.

We're not gonna save every child, you know, but at least if you're able to save one, you've done your job, you know?

That way, he can go back to his community and his friends and let them know, "Hey, look, this is what I've done.

I once was in the West End and was impoverished, but I made it out, you know what I mean?"

-It's good.

-Straight?

-Yeah.

[ Chuckles ] -Snapchat, you know what it is.

I'm here with your boy Jailen, the exceptional one.

Check him out.

Look at him groomed.

Groomed!

[ Both laugh ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -[ Humming ] ♪♪ When I moved back to Louisville, I had a daughter, I had all this job responsibility, and, like, a total mind shift from being just an artist and a free-spirited person.

♪♪ The work that I've grown to love doing -- creating art, deejaying, studying of the world and the music -- I felt like I have to put that on the back burner, but I can't erase them from my life.

I just have to find a way to weave it all into what's going on.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Drumming ] ♪♪ -Okay, 'cause he has his money, and I don't want it to be the ninth hour.

So far, one, two, three -- we have four alumni that have paid.

-Well, alright.

-Brianne Hamilton -- she's coming.

I was like, "Are you sure?"

-I'm hoping that that will open some doors.

-Yes, definitely.

-That would be great.

-So, she'll be there.

David James will be there.

-Okay.

-You know, my son's graduating, so I'm a parent of a senior, but facilitating everything.

Hi.

-How are you?

-Exhausted.

-Well, I've been up since 6:30 this morning.

-Me, too.

-Yeah, you know how it goes.

-Mm-hmm.

-Can I speak to you in your office?

-Okay.

-My mama can't come.

-Right.

-Damian ain't buying one.

Everybody kind of backed out on me.

-Okay.

-And so I've been kind of just trying to chase down money and do all this other stuff, and I ain't been able to do what I thought I was gonna be able to do.

-Okay.

That's understandable.

I thought you was gonna tell me something bad.

That's not the greatest news.

Right.

I was like, "Do I need to sit down?"

-But I got money for Bianca and my ticket.

♪♪ We are going to Cave Hill Cemetery, the resting-place of Zambia Nkrumah, the most important person in that cemetery, if you ask me.

That's where Muhammad Ali is buried, too, I believe.

-Yeah, Muhammad Ali's there.

The illustrious Colonel Sanders is there.

-Yeah, she was a powerful lady.

She always brought the best out of people.

There was never any bad energy around her.

-She had a couple sayings, but the one I remember the most was about the closed fist.

Closed fist gets nothing.

-And it gives nothing.

-And it gives nothing.

As long as that hand's balled up, nothing's coming in, nothing's going out.

You should turn right here.

-Uh-huh.

-Yes.

-I used to stay after school and help her grade papers and clean her classroom.

You know -- Look at those flowers.

♪♪ ♪♪ -She got sick.

That's when they found out that she had breast cancer.

By then, it was Stage 4.

And she lived five years.

♪♪ The first year and the last year were bad, you know, but the in-between, I guess God said, "I'm gonna give you time to play."

♪♪ This is my lovely wife.

You know, she believed in dragonflies.

The day that we put her here, the place was just full of dragonflies.

I said, "Oh, my God.

Oh, my God."

♪♪ She taught me how to live and how to understand what life can be if you are doing what you need to do, if you're on your path, because all of us come here with a purpose.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -These two.

"The world needs people to take charge and get involved for the betterment of tomorrow's youth."

But you want to go... "I plan on making major changes, and this scholarship will benefit me greatly.

I am on a quest for greatness and I will make you all proud."

May 25, 2000.

And I can remember, like -- uh, geez -- [ Voice breaking ] Writing this -- Writing this out, and Miss Zambia, "No, change that, do this.

No, do that.

Mnh-mnh.

That ain't right.

Mnh-mnh.

You can do better."

I mean, I've wanted to do this.

It's 20 years later, and I'm doing it.

'Cause I shouldn't have made it, man.

My friends are dead.

The dudes I grew up with are locked up.

They are, you know, products of the system, victims, and I should have been.

And that's -- I mean, that's why I know that there's a God.

That's why I know that there's something greater in life, because people from my neighborhood get counted out.

We don't have, you know, advocates.

Teacher told me I wasn't gonna be nothing.

"You don't know how to act.

You can't handle your business.

You don't know -- You ain't gonna be nothing."

And I'd go and tell Miss Zambia that, and she'd say, "Oh, she don't know what she's talking about.

I'm gonna make sure you get up out of here.

You stick with me.

I got you."

♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Conversations continue, laughter ] ♪♪ -Are you still joking?

-Yeah, I'm on Brandon.

-You the only dude I know that still wear Daisy Dukes.

[ Laughter ] Your socks is longer than your shorts.

[ Laughter ] No, your shoes is longer than your socks and your shorts.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ -We travel a lot, going to different performances and doing -- just going for fun.

Like, we go to Atlanta for Battle of the Bands every year.

You just go meet up with a lot of different percussionists from all over the world.

-I've been to Cleveland, Atlanta.

♪♪ A lot of places.

I can't think of them.

-I feel like everybody needs to see other things, 'cause what can you just see in Louisville?

In Evansville, that's actually the first time like, I actually seen stars all over the sky.

Like, it's nice, and everybody needs to experience that.

You know, they ain't got to stick in one city.

-Where's he at?

[ Indistinct conversations ] -We have to take the case.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna go ahead and get this exhibition showcase started.

♪♪ -Hey, hey, hey, hey!

[ Whistle blows ] -It is my pleasure to bring you the Spirit of the Drum, S.O.D.

Squad from Louisville, Kentucky, the River City Drum Corp. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -You see this here, but the most important thing that we do is making sure our children are connected to educational opportunities, because it is education that's gonna set you free and take you out of bondage.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ It's the only time you're gonna see me doing this.

Oh, my God.

-[ Laughs ] They say I'm -- -Tell me I'm Fred Sanford.

-Fred Sanford and his son.

What was his name?

-Lamont.

-Lamont.

"Daddy, I'm gonna leave you.

You don't treat me right.

I'm-a go get my own place."

-Oh, my God.

He's paying his dues.

And I'm out his way, 'cause if I don't, we gonna have an argument.

So I'm just gonna come over here and I'm gonna sit down, for real, for real, 'cause he said, you know, we think different.

You know, mine's old-school.

He's new-school.

You know, so... -I respect the old-school.

-Yes, you do.

Yes, you do.

♪♪ -How y'all doing?

-Good.

-Table 5's all the way over here.

We gonna cut through.

-Hey, are you on point?

-Yes, sir.

-Yeah, 'cause you know if you not, I'm not gonna be happy, don't you?

Alright?

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Is that you?

Is that you?

Is that you?

-You dazzling.

[ Both laugh ] ♪♪ -Good evening, everyone.

-Good evening.

-Welcome to the Living the Legacy Gala.

I am Albert Shumake.

I am soon to be the director of the River City Drum Corp, and I am here to deliver a statement of purpose for tonight.

Tonight, we are here to honor the legacy of Miss Zambia Nkrumah.

[ Applause ] ♪♪ We are taught that we, as Black people, as people of African descent, when we say someone's name, whether they are here with us or not, when we speak their name, they inhabit our presence.

So if everybody could say "Zambia" with me on "3."

1, 2, 3.

Zambia!

-Zambia!

-Yes.

That is who we are here for today.

-Ladies and gentlemen, welcome our two honorees, Mr. Ed Nardie White, and Zambia Nkrumah.

This is your night.

This is your celebration.

We honor you.

-What I would like to say is that the seed, the seed of service, of giving begins very young.

We must give to our young people something that we all wake up in the morning with, like the millionaire, like the man on the street.

We must give them time.

Be present.

Be there.

That is most important.

[ Cheers and applause ] -One of the last conversations that I had with Zambia, she said, "When I close my eyes, you're gonna quit Drum Corp." I said, "Yep.

I said, "As soon as your eyes close, honey, I'm closing all this -- I'm selling everything, and I'm getting in my car, and I'm driving out of here.

I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm going out of here."

She said, "You ain't doing that.

You might as well forget that."

♪♪ I said, "Why you say that?"

She said, "No."

She said, "Drum Corp is too important.

And so that's a promise you got to make me."

♪♪ And I said, "Okay, Zambia, I'm going to do that for you."

And so here I am.

But... Albert said that this is what he wants to do.

Now I can give him the keys.

I fulfilled my promise.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -I dedicate this speech to my mom and everyone else that's played a pivotal role in my life.

"Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete, proving nature's law is wrong?

It learned to walk without having feet.

Funny, it seems, but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared."

That is a quote from Tupac.

[ Cheers and applause ] You see, you will never fully understand the symbol of the rose and the concrete unless your ancestors have been beaten, buried, and just horrified for 350 years.

[ Scattered indistinct shouting ] Who would have thought a young Black male from 34th and Jefferson would be the class president of 400-plus?

[ Cheers and applause ] -Oh, my God.

That's my boy.

Oh, Lord.

-Imani Keith.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Yo.

-We did it.

We're done, man.

-We're out of here.

-What's up?

-Congratulations!

-Thank you so much.

-You did great today.

-Thank you, man.

-[ Laughs ] I haven't seen very many high-school commencement speeches that start with a Tupac poem and then go into the Middle Passage.

And you shout your hood out all in your speech, so... -Oh, my God.

[ Hip-hop music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Drumming ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -All I can say is what we do works, because we're in it for the long haul.

Miss Countess Williams.

[ Cheers and applause ] Better known as who?

-Pookie!

-Pookie!

Mr. Jailen Maurice Leavell.

"J-Lo!"

-"J-Lo!"

-Mr. President.

Step forward please, Miss Imani.

♪♪ -Thank you, Mr. White.

-No, thank you.

[ Laughs ] Oh, my God.

-Thank you so much.

-[ Laughs ] Here you go.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

-Miss C. Jada Smith.

Cherreya Smith.

Yes.

Kinisha Todd.

[ Cheers and applause ] Mr. Mack.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ -Congratulations on an excellent season.

To have two class presidents, another officer, people going off to college, getting ready to start life.

I guess I'm first-generation Drum Corp. My mama is the first parent to send her child off to college from what the Drum Corp does.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ -Get it, girl!

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -They're not kids anymore.

I've heard each one of them say, "Now I'm ready for life," but you and I both know that's not true.

You just got in the game, baby.

You know, at my age, I'm not ready for life, you know, because every day, it's something different.

♪♪ -That's why you see the ironing board, too.

-Y'all got that.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Thank you.

Alright, I'll see y'all.

Alright, y'all, peace.

-Alright.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -[ Laughing ] ♪♪ [ Leaves rustling ] ♪♪ -So, did you have any dreams last night?

-Mm-hmm.

-What'd you dream about?

-Um, um, um...

"Maya."

-Layla?

-[ Babbles indistinctly ] -See, one day, I will understand your language completely.

-[ Babbles indistinctly ] -What about it?

-A leaf.

-The leaves?

Yep, they are falling off the trees, every day.

This time last year, my mother started having these reoccurring issues with pneumonia.

As time went on, she got weaker and weaker and weaker, but she was just smiling through the pain.

We were trying to reassure her that she could be satisfied with her life and what she had done and close the book if she wanted.

Now as I'm a parent, I can look past all of her flaws and all of the things that I've felt like I didn't get or that I wanted.

I know that there is no perfect situation, and you kind of just got to do whatever you got to do to make it happen, and that's what my mother did.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Everyone say, "Umoja."

-Umoja.

-Umoja means "unity."

Everybody say "unity."

-Unity.

-♪ Unity ♪ We need unity.

Why do we need unity?

Yes, Cameron?

-Teamwork makes the dream work.

-Teamwork makes the dream work.

That's a good one.

Anybody else got any good catchphrases about working together and why it's important?

Yes?

Yes, we need to work together... ♪♪ -I threw so much stuff away, and I guess the hard part of it is, it's a part of you, and only I can throw my stuff away.

I'm not gonna let anybody else throw my stuff away.

It's been tough, but I'm okay with it now.

I'm really okay with it.

You know, it's just time.

30 years.

[ Crowd cheering ] -Are we ready to go, y'all?

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have the pipe drummers of the River City Drum Corp. Y'all make some noise for them as we raise this curtain.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ And now make some noise for your kids.

Make some noise, make some noise.

[ Crowd cheering ] ♪♪ From the depths of the West End, the RCDC S.O.D.

Squad!

From Louisville, Kentucky, it's Simmons College.

Y'all make some noise for them.

[ Crowd cheering ] ♪♪ -Kick it!

♪♪ ♪♪ -S-I-M-M-O-N-S!

-S-I-M-M-O-N-S!

-That's your squad right there.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

They did.

Hey, they did.

I was like, "Okay!"

-I have to be a good steward of what I have been given.

♪♪ And the things I feel are my strengths or my superpowers, I won't let circumstances stop that.

That's the battle of everyday life.

People who give up or who don't know how to fight the battle end up unhappy.

And I don't plan on doing that.

I'm-a just keep fighting.

-A-ten-hut!

-Hut!

-Hut!

-I pledge myself to my creator... -...that I might come to be... -...that I might come to be... -...in harmony with the great purpose... -...in harmony with the great purpose... -...intended for me.

-...intended for me.

-I pledge to my planet... -I pledge to my planet... -A readiness to serve.

-A readiness to serve.

-Redemption and conservation.

-Redemption and conservation.

-To rebalance the Earth.

-To rebalance the Earth.

-I pledge to myself... -I pledge to myself... -love and self-respect... -love and self-respect... -eagerness to learn... -eagerness to learn... -and willingness to accept... -and willingness to accept... -the truth about myself and others... -...the truth about myself and others... -...and the world itself.

-...and the world itself.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -No cuss words, please.

-[ Laughs ] Of course.

-[ Rapping ] ♪ He was late as heaven ♪ ♪ CP time at 12 o'clock, it's sometime after 7:00 ♪ ♪ We must do better for these kids of the future ♪ ♪ Presently, look at what he did for the future ♪ ♪ Booking shows in venues that don't even exist yet ♪ ♪ They say he has a big head, no, he's just a big threat ♪ ♪ Blood, sweat, and tears from the work, he just drips sweat ♪ ♪ Back up off him, fam, Ronnie grew up on Dipset ♪ ♪ Grad school summa ♪ ♪ Matt Bevin is killin' bills like Uma ♪ ♪ Understatement to say that the state is a mess ♪ ♪ Every single day, I pray, I pray for JCPS ♪ ♪ It breaks my heart to see how many students that they arrest ♪ ♪ Or how many young Black men get laid to rest ♪ ♪ So knock down every Confederate statue ♪ ♪ New testament, Book of Matthew ♪ ♪ Now it's less shows but even more money ♪ ♪ So if they really said notice people act funny ♪ ♪ I don't speak their jargon, language of Parkland ♪ ♪ Now I'm at events and I'm chillin' with Dr. Hargis ♪ ♪ But I don't have a best friend ♪ ♪ I just have the West End ♪ ♪ And my little brothers and sisters, may God bless them ♪ ♪ When it comes to adversity ♪ ♪ I've climbed a lot of mountains ♪ ♪ Catch me drinking from the whites-only water fountain ♪ ♪ Don't even speak unless you say something brilliant ♪ ♪ All I can ever do is keep it one zillion ♪ ♪ I've dedicated my life to these children ♪ ♪ We have to build them ♪ ♪ I've been running for a long ♪ -♪ Long time ♪ ♪ And, finally, I've found out how to fly ♪ -♪ I'm way up on cloud 12 ♪