Smoketown Originals Inc

The young kids you see in the above photo are greeting boxing champ Cassius Clay. Jr., a/k/a/ Muhammad Ali when he returned to the Grace Presbyterian Community Center in the Fall of 1963, where he FIRST learned to box under the guidance of Fred Stoner, Sr., Many of us in the photo are still alive and are members and officers of Smoketown Originals, Inc.  

In October 2018, nineteen childhood friends from Smoketown came together to form Smoketown Originals, Inc.  We were a group of children all grown up and who have known one another for decades.  We played together, we went to school together, and we fought together, but we are so grateful that a great number of us are still alive so that we may be in the position to give back to the Smoketown neighborhood in which we love so well (Smoketown is located just northeast of downtown Louisville).  As of today, we have over one hundred (100) members from all over the United States. 

 Our group objectives are to foster pride and heritage within the boundaries of the Smoketown neighborhood; to educate, commit and enhance current and former Smoketowners on the its vast neighborhood history; to engage in community workshops to provide information on other community resources available; and to award scholarships to Smoketown youth in their quest to become future leaders in American society. 

Since our formation, we have sponsored Criminal Expungement Clinics; we have participated in and have donated food, money, and clothing to social service organization for those who are less furtunate; we have administered scholarships to high school seniors; and we have received the "2023 Heroes of Hope" from the Archdiocese of Louisville, Office of Multicultural Ministry, for outstanding community service, social concerns and social justice.

As Smoketown Originals, we will continue to give back to our community by any means necessary, and by letting others know that there are community organizations out here who do care about others and who want to see others achieve success in their life endeavors regardless of age, race, social and/or economic status.