Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit Louisville Public Media

Beginning later this week, WFPL will air the first story in a new series: “Tough and Universal: Stories of Grit.”

These stories — produced in partnership with IDEAS xLab — are first-person accounts from people in your community who’ve overcome some significant challenge and thrived despite the odds. They’re hopeful stories, in a world that’s often full of the opposite.

The series name is inspired by a James Baldwin quote from his book “The Fire Next Time.”

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within,” Baldwin wrote. “I use the word ‘love’ here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace — not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.”

The experiences our subjects talk about are tough — and like the love Baldwin describes, many are also universal. You’ll hear stories about growing up with parents challenged by addiction and incarceration, difficulties conceiving a child, failure, racism, gun violence and poverty. But you’ll also hear about love, triumph, success and hope.

Louisville cooking instructor Nikkia Rhodes calls herself “lucky.” A lot has changed in her life since grappling with parental incarceration and substance abuse when she was a kid.

Carlos Hernandez Ocampo has done a lot since defecting from Cuba and arriving in the U.S. when he was 11 years old. He's earned degrees in law and art, had two kids and served in the U.S. Navy.

Catherine Talbott is 73 years old, and learned a lot from 27 years of teaching. "I was able to really see that every child has something special,” she said. “But we have to provide the setup."

Sally Evans and Paige Harlow are married, churchgoing, and the mothers of twin girls. Their faith has changed and deepened a lot over the years. "Being a Christian means that you carry a lot of shame, especially with regards to being gay," Paige said.

Herb Henry says he was "lost" after a shooting during his freshman year at the University of Louisville led to him losing the use of his legs. Today, he's got much more direction.