This is Ed.
You can call Ed many things that he deserves but humbly won’t accept: Living legend, mentor, visionary, role model, superhero. If you’re a friend, you can call him by his childhood nickname “Nardie” (bestowed upon him by his mother for being “naughty” as a little Portland boy many moons ago). This caption section isn’t nearly big enough to make room for all of Nardie’s accomplishments, but we’ll try our best.
Ed is the founder and retired Executive Director of Louisville’s River City Drum Corp, which he started in 1991 with his late wife Zambia Nkrumah. On paper, RCDC is a “west Louisville nonprofit arts and education program for at risk youth and families”, but in reality it is much more than that to the thousands of young lives it has impacted.
Ed has been recognized by the Governor (Arts Folk Heritage Award), the Mayor (Louisville KY Freedom Award), the City of Louisville (Youth Service Workers Award) and many other notable organizations (Black Achiever of the Year; KY Center ArtsReach Living the Vision Award; KY Human Rights Commission’s Executive Directors Award; National Education Association; United States Artist Fellows Music; Changing Lives Award: the National Council of Negro Women’s Courage Award). He’s an active member of Leadership Louisville and sits on several boards, including our @portlandmuseumky. Ed has called Portland his home for decades, living next to the historic little church on Lytle street his mother raised him in. He’s a focal point of the new documentary River City Drumbeat, based on the beloved River City Drum Corp.
The film tells a story about the transformative power of arts and community against the backdrop of a disenfranchised, predominantly Black west Louisville, long saddled with higher rates of poverty, ill health, educational struggles and violence. Many of the young drummers come from single-parent homes that struggle financially and face barriers from under-resourced schools and low expectations. Ed sums up his mission succinctly, “We give children a level playing field, and guess what? The competition rises.”
Thank you, Ed. We appreciate you today more than ever. #ourportlandportraits #louisvillelove
While we’re in no position to chastise anyone who feels a surge of pent-up inspiration and decides to channel their cabin fever creativity into a visual masterpiece, it’s important to note the difference between beautification and destruction. Case in point, these two pieces that went up recently in our neighborhood. Both were spray painted anonymously and illegally. It can only be assumed that the act filled the respective artists with the same sense of accomplishment/dopamine that Van Gogh felt upon finishing The Starry Night. But sheesh, what a divergence in results.
Exhibit A is a case study in typographic awesomeness. It’s on public property, on an otherwise gloomy wall that has been painted over countless times. It’s easy to miss unless you’re looking for it, and everyone loves a good scavenger hunt. Best of all, it actually says something relatable, once you stare at it for a minute or 30. Basically, don’t be surprised if you see “PORTLAND: IT’S A VIBE” t-shirts being sold around here in the near future.
Exhibit B was painted on private property, is very poorly executed, and doesn’t serve anyone except the “artist” and the small circle of friends he likely surrounds himself with in his parents’ basement afterwards in a haze of hash and hashtags, celebrating another night of vandalism (gender pronouns and personal interests assumed here; she’s a straight-edge grandma accountant at Humana, for all we know). Beyond that, it isn’t even worth analyzing. Just hurry up and paint it over.
In short: Inspiration is a powerful thing, use it wisely. Bonus points if you can do it without bumming everyone out by lowering both morale and property values. #secretportlandlouisville #louisvillelove
