Jubilation! Listening Room Series Explores the Sacred Journey of African Music and Its Enduring Influence on American Sound

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November Program Examines the Blues as a Musical Language of Freedom, Resilience and Survival

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage invites the community to continue exploring the rich musical traditions of the African Diaspora through the Jubilation! Listening Room Series: Tracing the Sacred Journey of African Music, a dynamic series of conversations, guided listening experiences, historical storytelling, and cultural exploration, presented in conjunction with the national exhibition Jubilation! Ambassadors on a Sacred Journey.

The next program in the series, “Nobody Knows My Trouble: The Blues and the Journey Toward Freedom,” will be presented on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, 1701 West Muhammad Ali Blvd.

Facilitated by Michael Jones, the session explores the emergence of the Blues after Emancipation and its role in expressing everyday realities. Participants will examine how Blues artists transformed personal stories of hardship, aspiration, labor, injustice, humor, and resilience into a universal musical language that continues to shape American culture today.

The Listening Room Series traces the evolution of African musical traditions from their African origins through Spirituals, Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk, and Hip Hop. Through archival recordings, guided discussion, live demonstrations, and community engagement, participants will discover how music has served as a source of worship, resistance, healing, education, celebration, and cultural preservation across generations.

“The story of African American music is one of perseverance, creativity, faith, and cultural continuity,” said Aukram Burton, Executive Director of the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. “This Listening Room Series offers an opportunity to explore how generations of artists have carried forward ancestral traditions while creating some of the world’s most influential music.”

The Listening Room Series complements Jubilation! Ambassadors on a Sacred Journey, the nationally acclaimed traveling exhibition celebrating the legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Organized by students at Fisk University in 1871, the Fisk Jubilee Singers used music to raise funds for their struggling university and introduced audiences around the world to the power and beauty of African American Spirituals. Their performances preserved a vital cultural tradition and laid a foundation for generations of American music.

Created by the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) in partnership with Fisk University, the exhibition features immersive audiovisual experiences, archival recordings, and historical narratives that highlight the origins and lasting influence of the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Spiritual tradition that shaped American music.

Upcoming Listening Room programs include:

  • December 5, 2026 – Improvising Freedom: Jazz and the African American Imagination with Gary Falk
  • January 9, 2027 – Love, Liberation, and the Groove: Rhythm & Blues, Soul, and Funk with Dr. Kevin O. Davenport
  • January 23, 2027 – The Beat Goes On: Hip Hop, The New Griot Tradition with Jecorey Arthur

All Listening Room events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Registration is encouraged through the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (kcaah.org).

About Jubilation! Ambassadors on a Sacred Journey
Jubilation! Ambassadors on a Sacred Journey celebrates the extraordinary legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, whose performances of African American Spirituals helped preserve a uniquely American musical tradition and advanced educational opportunities for future generations. The exhibition is on display at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage from September 18, 2026, through February 28, 2027.

About the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage is a 68,000-square-foot cultural campus dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating African American history, heritage, and cultural contributions in Kentucky and throughout the African Diaspora through exhibitions, educational programming, performances, and community engagement.

Photo/Media Opportunity:
The November 14 Listening Room Series event will feature guided musical exploration, discussion, and audience engagement centered on the enduring influence of Blues music on American culture. Media are invited to attend.  Please announce and/or post on your shows and community calendars.

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Jubilation! A Celebration of Kentucky’s African American Heritage Returns with Expanded Cultural Programming

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Official News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOUISVILLE, KY – Jubilation! Kentucky’s premier celebration of African American heritage, history, culture, and community, continues its tradition of honoring the rich contributions of African Americans through dynamic educational, artistic, and cultural experiences. This year’s programming will feature a special collaborative presentation, “Tracing the Sacred Journey of African Music,” highlighting the enduring influence of gospel music on American culture.

Presented by the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in collaboration with the Simmons College of Kentucky Music Department, the educational listening room experience will feature “A Joy That Would Not Be Silenced: The Rise and Power of Gospel Music,” facilitated by acclaimed Louisville gospel artist, songwriter, producer, and choir leader Jason Clayborn.

The presentation will explore gospel music’s evolution from its roots in African spiritual traditions and the Great Migration to its impact on churches, concert stages, radio broadcasts, and international audiences. Participants will gain deeper insight into how gospel music became both a profound expression of faith and a catalyst for cultural and social change.

“Jubilation! has always served as a powerful platform to celebrate the stories, traditions, and achievements that have shaped Kentucky and the nation,” said Aukram Burton, Executive Director for the Heritage Center. “Programs like this offer audiences an opportunity to connect with the sacred and cultural roots of African American music while honoring its continuing influence on communities around the world.”

Jason Clayborn’s distinguished career spans decades of musical excellence. A nationally recognized gospel artist, Clayborn has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa and has songwriting credits recorded by renowned artists including Hezekiah Walker, VaShawn Mitchell, Ricky Dillard, and Wess Morgan. His award-winning song “Better” topped Billboard’s Gospel chart and earned recognition from the Grammy Awards, Stellar Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Soul Train Awards, and Dove Awards.
Event Details
Tracing the Sacred Journey of African Music
Featuring: A Joy That Would Not Be Silenced: The Rise and Power of Gospel Music
Facilitator: Jason Clayborn
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM
Admission: FREE but due to space constraints you need to register at KCAAH.ORG
Location: Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
1701 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard
Louisville, Kentucky

For additional information, visit KCAAH.org.

Media Contact
VIPP Communications
Email: jubilationkcaah@vippcommunications.com

About the exhibit: Jubilation! Ambassadors on a Sacred Journey, the traveling exhibition celebrating the Fisk Jubilee Singers, is open at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage and run through Sunday, February 28, 2027.

Beloved Sports Information Director Kenny Klein will be honored posthumously at a UofL game with a banner

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Kenny Klein photo courtesy University of Louisville Basketball

The University of Louisville announced today that they will raise a banner in honor of longtime UofL administrator Kenny Klein.  The ceremony will take place on Saturday, January 2nd at the Cardinals’ home game against Stanford.

Klein will join several basketball legends in the rafters including Louisville’s six retired numbers No. 2 Russ Smith, No. 8 Charlie Tyra, No. 10 Junior Bridgeman, No. 31 Wes Unseld, No. 35 Darrell Griffith, and No. 42 Pervis Ellison; and three of UofL’s head coaches in Denny Crum, John Dromo and Bernard “Peck” Hickman.

Klein joined the Cardinals’ staff in July of 1983. His storied career spanned more than 40 years, served as UofL’s Sports Information Director from 1983 until his retirement in 2022.

If you knew Klein, you know he worked tirelessly behind the scenes and earned the reputation as one of the most well-known and respected communications leaders in collegiate athletics.

Vice President/Director of Athletics Josh Heird says, “Kenny Klein dedicated his career to telling the stories of Louisville’s greatest moments and the people who made them possible. He never sought the spotlight or recognition for himself, but there is no question that Kenny profoundly shaped the history and tradition of Louisville Basketball as we know it. Heird goes on to say “His loyalty, humility and love for this university were unmatched, and the relationships he built and lives he touched extend far beyond the basketball court. There is something incredibly special about knowing that a man who spent more than four decades celebrating Louisville’s legends will now take his rightful place among them.”

Following his retirement, Klein continued to work as a consultant with the Cardinals’ men’s basketball program during the 2022-23 season. After a year of retirement, Klein returned to action, rejoining former Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino as a special advisor for St. John’s men’s basketball program from 2024-26.

Klein has worked alongside Hall of Fame Louisville basketball coaches Denny Crum and Rick Pitino.

Klein coordinated the computerized statistics operation for 40 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Fours.

He served as the media coordinator for the 1987 USA Pan American Games men’s basketball team, has served on the NCAA Final Four media coordination committee and annually assisted in media operations for the Kentucky Derby.

So, again on January 2, 2027, Klein will be remembered with his own banner hanging from the raptures of the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.

The VIPP Report is a media column and news platform created by an Emmy Award-winning multi-skilled journalist and public relations executive.

Successful entrepreneur & Kentucky native Robyn Cunningham brings awareness to the silent killer of suicide

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What looks like a perfect life to some is masking depression, stress and feeling of hopelessness

Frankfort, Ky- — Entrepreneur Robyn Kay Cunningham pens her first short story.  Her newly released book is entitled ‘My Journey To Faith’ A Short Story.   The successful owner of DB Bourbon Candy takes you through her life. Facing grief of loved ones to serve in the military during the time of war.  This veteran learned to suppress her feelings until they felt like she could not go on.  Using her faith and understanding that she has so much to live for and a support system helped her reimagine life. 

This short story is a conversation piece and a story of overcoming the unbearable.  Cunningham is telling her story to help others that feel alone.  She says, ‘Recently, I have seen so many people take their lives through suicide and I want them to know that you can bounce back but it takes time.  You cannot give up on yourself.  You cannot be ashamed of your struggles.  It makes you who you are.  My life just kept hitting me with so much at one time.  It just kept piling on. I made mistakes but I am here today to say I have a testimony, and I feel if I can change one life then it was worth telling it.”

Cunningham adds “I used my faith to overcome some of the things I was going through but when you read my story you will understand how difficult it was and I begin to question so many things.  I had to step back to catch my breath because the very people who showed me with love had no idea that when I saw them it caused me to keep reliving memories I was trying to forget.  So, it felt like I could never heal.  I know so many people are feeling like this and I was to be a voice to those suffering in silence.  You can heal.” 

Today, Suicide is the 11thleading cause of death in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Data & Statistics Fatal Injury Report for 2023. The report also says suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10-34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44.

In 2023, National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 12.8 million adults age 18 or older reported having thoughts of suicide, and 1.5 million (0.6%) adults attempted suicide during the past year. 

Cunningham is open to sharing her story with your group and/or organization.  She can be a part of your next panel discussion, book signing and/or be a featured speaker.  Please contact VIPP Communications at info@vippcommunications.com or contact our office at 502-341-7306 for availability. 

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Legacies Unlimited Presents Soulful Sounds of Derbytown

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(Louisville, KY) Legacies Unlimited’s annual Walnut Street Revue presents the Soulful Sounds of Derbytown, a tribute to Louisville’s African American Musicians & Entertainers at 7:30 pm on January 25th at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (KCAAH) located at 1701 W. Muhammed Ali Blvd.

The show will feature “International Queen of the Blues,” Toni Green and bluesman Big “Poppa” Stampley. Green recently received the W C Handy Lifetime Achievement Award whose previous recipients include Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Koko Taylor & the great Al Green.

Reserved tickets are $65 per person and $45 for general admission. Tickets are available online at redpintix.com and at Better Days Records East at 921 Barret Avenue.

Ken Clay, Founder of Legacies Unlimited, says, “As we approach Black History Month, We celebrate and recognize the contributions that African American musicians & entertainers have contributed to our lives and to the struggle for equality.  Louisville should rejoice and be proud of the entertainers who have entertained and uplifted us over the years.”

This year we are honored to present two outstanding performers, Big ‘Poppa Stampley & Southern Blues artist, Toni Green.  This is not only going to be a fantastic evening but a history lesson. I invite you to come out and have a fun time at the Walnut Street Revue.”

Tickets for The Walnut Street Revue are $65 for general admission and $45 for cabaret seating. (limited space)

Ken Clay Production presented by Legacies Unlimited Inc. is the producer of Soulful Sounds of Derbytown. This event is made possible through the support of the Owsley Brown II Foundation, Hardscuffle Inc., and WLKY-TV. 

Please announce and/or post on your community calendars.  If you have any questions or would like to setup an interview with Ken Clay and/or Toni Green, please contact VIPP Communications at info@vippcommunications.com or by calling 502-341-7306.

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