July 26, 2018
Mr. Donnie, Chickasaw Im the director of the West Louisville Tennis Club. When we first had our opening day, we had about 70 parents and kids out here. Every Thursday at six oclock, we have free tennis lessons. Were a nonprofit organization that plays tennis here and have been here for decades. We travel to different cities to play other clubs, too.
As of today, there are only two blacks who were inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame and thats Arthur Lloyd Johnson and my friend Bruce Stone. Thats part of the legacy of the West Louisville Tennis Club.
Im a certified tennis coach and I work for the United States Tennis Association. Thats the same organization that pays Venus and Serena Williams. We have a chapter here called the USTA of Kentucky. Ive been in different schools, targeting the area thats not exposed to tennis. So, weve been to all of the West End schools trying to expose African-American youth to tennis.
This is the home court for St. Francis and Central High School. Its been a decade since Centrals had a tennis team, so its been pretty good for the community. Hopefully, we can continue this venture with the community, exposing kids to another sport. Not only that, were just trying to help raise kids in the community.
My brother, Frank, introduced me to tennis. He really got excited when Arthur Ashe won the Wimbledon in 1975. He went out and bought a couple of rackets and I didnt have a choice but to come out and play with him. He taught me how to play. That was in the mid-70s, and Ive been playing ever since. As the years went by, I realized that its one of those sports that you can play in your 70s and 80s. I had a cousin that played until he was 83 years old. Its one of those sports that gets under your skin and you cant help it. You cant play basketball and football forever.
We do a lot of fellowshipping and having fun out here. Plus, you get to stay in some type of shape. Its a lot of fun. We have tournaments where people will come in from all over and get points. If they earn so many points, they can go to New York.
Ive been kind of disappointed and hurt by West Louisvilles crime situation. I started an organization called Prevention 2000 which is about keeping kids safe. My wife, my daughter and I would go teach kids about stranger danger but Im really concerned with the number of deaths that we had.
Im concerned about the lack of affordable housing and jobs. If people cant work, they cant live. Theres no affordable housing here. The ones that are available, are getting bought by investors that dont live here nor care about the community. If you cant work and have a safe place to live, what kind of quality of life do you have? It seems like no one wants to get really involved in matters, such as this, until it affects them and thats too late. We need to be more proactive with those things and the community will be much better, as a whole.
July 26, 2018
Charles (right), Marion (left), Shawnee This is my son. Hes 9 and Im 62. I got a clean slate, right here. I have two older sons. In my early life, I tried to stay focused on providing safe and comfortable surroundings and making it nice for my family. I missed out on a lot. This is my second go round. My mother said that God is giving me another chance. I missed so much with my first two. Now, I see it. Im able to be here. Im getting to pass my knowledge to him and thats the benefit.
West of Ninth began as a Louisville photography blog, westofninth.com, by two Russell residents, Walt and Shae Smith. With a love for their community, Walt and Shae see the value and potential of all nine neighborhoods that make West Louisville. Armed with a Nikon DSLR, a recorder and the ability to never meet a stranger, their goal is to shed light on the attributes that make West of Ninth the greatest.
This article appears in August 1, 2018.