Samuel Plato began his career as an architect at a time when the United States was experiencing enormous racial tensions. Born in 1888, only 23 years after the end of slavery, Plato graduated from State University Normal School, now Simmons College in Louisville. He spent nearly 20 years in Marion, Indiana, living and working. He was influential in opening labor unions to black workers in that area.

Keep in mind: This was during the time when Indiana had the highest number of Ku Klux Klan members of all the states with more than 500,000 members. Plato was undeterred. He found support in his community and most of all built a successful career and legacy. His buildings can be found from New York State to Alabama with Louisville and Southern Indiana being home to several. In his honor, a partnership between Jefferson Community and Technical College and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) was forged to create the Samuel L. Plato Academy of Historic Preservation Trades.

The initial investment of KYTC is small, 1.5 million dollars, to be used for three years of instruction and renovation on the facility located at 1701 West Muhammad Ali Blvd., in the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage. Jim Turner, a restoration tradesman and owner of Turner Restoration, runs the center as an instructor and program director. Fred Aemmer, owner of Caldwell Sash Company  in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, works as an instructor and as Turner puts it, the “Un-Executive Director”.

The inaugural class of students was comprised of 15 individuals. “Initially we planned to have space for twelve students and of those that we looked at and interviewed, 15 really got our eye. We didn’t want to cut people off,” recounts Turner.

“This program is a full-year program. It’s the instruction in the historic preservation trades,” Turner continues. “We will be doing some replication on certain products, but we will be training students in historic preservation and restoration.”

Why Here? Why Now?

When asked about the formation of the academy, Turner gives a historical perspective on why the academy was needed and why it is important.

“The program was really developed over 12 or 13 years ago. Citing primarily and because of the mitigation for the value of investment on the east side of Louisville with the bridges project, and the lack of investment on the west side, I would have to call it the historic lack of investment on the west side. There are no real opportunities left for people to find work other than the service jobs.”

The academy intends to change this by helping individuals develop skills to find work that is sustainable and necessary to their own neighborhoods. Turner understands that the initial investment is small.

“That’s a political issue and a policy issue,” he says. “This is a token. This is a 1.5 million dollar investment to rebuild this trolley barn. Allowing people to be trained in a service that can help them develop themselves and at the same time allowing them to find work in their neighborhood.”

Long-Term Plans

When asked about what happens when the three years is up, Turner laughs, “We have started a process of looking at how we sustain ourselves. Fred (Aemmer) is local. He has a company that has done sash work and built sash work for over 40 years. What we can testify to is that you can build a living wage and build a comfortable existence within your community and be sustained in that community through the work of historic preservation.”

Aemmer joins the conversation, “It can be done,” he says. “It’s not easy at first. We have to devise a plan to bring money into the program plus teach. Ultimately we will need more people and more avenues to create money.”

The pair is not without ideas for creating program revenue. Ideas include providing materials for existing renovation and revitalization projects already happening in Louisville.

“To be sustainable, we are looking to supply construction companies, with key products,” says Aemmer. “It’s like the initiative on the bungalows through Preservation Louisville. We know we can restore their windows as opposed to replacing them. We can build windows competitively priced so that they don’t lose the architectural significance of the building they’re working on. We can produce product for them that is going to be lower cost than a product they are going to purchase.”

When students complete the course, they will be equipped with entry-level restoration skills, the opportunity to complete an Associate degree through JCTC, and a network for further education or advancement in the construction/restoration trade.

Crawl Before Running

The students are electric with excitement about the opportunity the program provides. With hands-on and on-location learning the program extends its reach past the center where it is housed.

Student Oscar Patterson is in his seventies. He is the elder statesman of the bunch. A former electrician, Patterson spent many years in the work force when he heard the mayor talking about Louisville Cares project, a project to tackle housing and economic instability.

“I heard the mayor talking on the radio talking about Louisville Cares. I jumped up and said, ‘wow that’s where I need to be.’ I’m very excited because I finally got where I’ve been trying to get,” he says.

Patterson remembers his desire to build as a child. “I’ve always wanted to build something. My grandmother raised us and she brought my brother an Erector set, and she bought me a wagon. He didn’t want the Erector set, and I took the set because it was building and gave him the wagon.”

Other students share their excitement about the program. Student Maya Williamson joined the academy with her fiancé, William Murrell. She’s excited about what she’s learning but feels challenged by the rigor of new jargon.

“Trying to stay focused through taking notes, and it’s harder to just think about what some of the terminology is when you don’t have it in front of you,” she says.

Fellow student Shawn McCown agrees, “Learning all of it. Grasping everything at once. It’s a lot.”

The students range in age and life experience. At least one student is experiencing a complete career change. Marcus Prince started as a chef.

“It’s a career change for me,” he says. “It’s something I always wanted to learn how to do and was always interested in doing. For me it’s an opportunity to achieve some goals that I’ve had for getting back in school and being a first-time homeowner and learning how to work on homes.”

The career opportunities are part of what Turner and Aemmer hope to show the students through the certification process. However, Turner is cautious. He understands the students’ excitement and their desire to get started but wants the students to understand the idea of crawling before running.

“You need to understand some processes before you fly off the handle and say you can do everything,” Turner says. “If you say you can do everything people are going to expect everything from you. You don’t have to blow a loud trumpet. All you have to do is make a consistent noise, and people will recognize who you are.”

The inaugural class of the Samuel Plato Academy is ready to do just that.