It Takes a Community to Raise a Child

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 13, 2011) -The University of Kentucky's African American Studies and Research program will continue its S.T. Roach Community Conversations tonight with a member of the Lexington community who spent 30 years on drugs, five years in prison and is now a local activist.

Local business owner and minister Howard Clark is using his own experiences to help former prisoners and drug addicts re-enter society successfully, while also keeping young people out of trouble by holding them accountable for their actions.
 

"If you think your son is using drugs, have him take a drug test," Clark recently told Herald Leader columnist Merlene Davis. "When we were young, they said it took a village to raise a child. We have to get back to that mentality."

Clark will speak from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan.13, at the Lyric Theater downtown. His presentation is entitled "We Shall Overcome: From Dope and Incarceration to Hope and Rejuvenation."  

"If they know we won't put up with it, then that can stop it," he said.

AASRP's monthly Community Conversation, in the vein of its Carter G. Woodson Lecture Series on campus, will feature Lexington's black community leaders, both on campus and off, presenting their research and ideas, interacting and serving the community in a familiar setting.

"Clark is committed to giving back to the community and helping to eradicate some of the social ills that plague our community," AASRP director Sonja Feist-Price told Davis.

Community Conversations will feature light refreshments, a 45-minute lecture, as well as a question and answer session.

Named for community leader and legend, Coach S. T. Roach, the series will honor the values of the late Kentucky State College basketball player, teacher and coach.

The Lyric Theater, located at the corner of East Third Street and Elm Tree Lane in downtown Lexington, celebrated its Grand Opening at the end of October.

For more information on the S. T. Roach Community Conversations, please contact AASRP at (859) 257-3593 or Sonja Feist-Price at (859) 257-4270 or smfeis@email.uky.edu.

Clark can be reached at (859) 539-7085.