- Hi, my name is Kenon Walker.

I'm an actor, historian, and also currently the duckmaster at the Peabody Hotel.

A number of years ago, I was in a commercial for the National Civil Rights Museum.

I used to be the lead tour guide there for almost six years.

And the director of this film, Mateo, was the director of that commercial.

So I guess based off of my experience of filming that commercial with him, he felt that I might be right for playing this role.

So they reached out to me to play Tom Lee.

And it's one of the highlight moments for me in my entire life of acting.

- Absolutely amazing.

[audience clapping] - When you're playing somebody who was a part of someone's family and a part of, not Memphis history, but black history, but American history, you wanna make sure that you got it right, you know what I mean?

And that the families are proud.

And I just prayed that his family was happy with what they saw.

So meeting them, first and foremost, is huge honor.

It's probably one of the highlight moments for me in my historian life, in my acting career, but watching the film with them [gentle piano music] was probably one of the... happiest moments for me as far as in any accomplishment I've ever done acting-wise.

But I just pray that they were happy with it.

[gentle piano music continues] All right.

Well, first off, thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the opportunity to sit and talk with you about Tom Lee.

And the thing I'd want to know is, who was the person, who was, I guess, the matriarch in the family who passed the information down to you to let you know who Tom Lee was as far as historically and what his accomplishments were?

How did you find out about Tom Lee?

- Well, it was actually my mother, Evelyn Watts.

She was adamant about letting me and my other siblings know that we had a historic figure in our family, which was our great-great uncle, Tom Lee.

And what he did.

Oftentimes my father would bring us down here on Riverside Drive to the park, just to see it and go to it and flew kites in it.

We did a lot of things.

So I wanna say on record that she was probably the most influential person as far as letting us know who he was and what part that played in our lives.

Now, for Denise and Charmeal, they may have a different story, but that's how I remember getting the story.

- Gotcha, gotcha.

- I'll start by mentioning Evelyn Watt's brother, which is my dad, and that's why we're all cousins here.

But my father, James Herbert Neely, is who instilled it in me, and he passed away when I was 19, so he had maybe about four years to teach me about him.

And I spent a lot of time with my aunt, Evelyn.

So my dad was there, and I think every chance he got, he made sure that we knew who Tom Lee was.

And when he passed away, I was given opportunity to get something that was personal of his, and I found his briefcase.

Well, my mom gave me his briefcase, and in there it entailed everything that he had did throughout his life for being an educator and what he did for Tom Lee.

From the first Tom Lee Day, 1998?

- I think- I don't remember the year.

- Yeah, so we have that memory from being at the Tom Lee Day.

- Mm-hmm.

[Charmeal laughing] - So yeah, I have to say my dad and I just have to always begin by remembering him and mentioning him.

Yeah.

- It may have been earlier than that.

When we had the reunion in the park, I think I was away at college at time- - '88?

- It was in the '80s-- - Yeah, it was in the '80s.

- '85?

- '85, yeah.

- Just like I was speaking about that little baby sister of mine, she could tell you every date, day, time, and everything.

- She could.

- Yeah.

She didn't want to sit on the panel today, but hey, that's who I call on as far as my historian.

Now, Denise is the family historian, but when I want to know things relative to the immediate family, my immediate family, my mother and that, I always call my baby sister.

- Okay.

- Because just like I spoke to you earlier, she was the one that didn't get a chance to go places and do things.

So she had to stay at home and listen to the Tom Lee stories.

- Listen to the stories over and over again.

[everyone laughing] - Like Terry said, I do genealogy.

So I learned of Tom Lee just through research, going through all the records and stuff like that.

And I would see something that would pique my curiosity.

And for instance, when he went to Washington, D.C. it said something.

He mentioned two sons.

But I'm like, "Well, where did these sons come from?"

So I go research and try to find out who they were.

They were Margaret's kids.

But yeah, I found them, and just through research.

And I saw an article that said, "The people were taking too long to buy the house."

And I'm like, "Well, how long did it take?"

So I went from the day that the accident happened all the way up until, I looked through the Commercial Appeal every single day, all the way up until they bought the house.

So most of mine was through research.

Most of my knowledge was through research.

- That's amazing.

So now, of course, as you all know, there is a beautiful, beautiful sculpture down at Tom Lee Park that I think accurately depicts him as a black man, you know what I mean?

As a man who saved 32 white people out of the Mississippi River.

Prior to that, I know there was a stone that was there that said, "A Very Worthy Negro".

- Correct.

- I mean, now when you drive down Riverside Drive and you see that sculpture of your family, of your family member, how does it make you feel knowing that what was once there has become the sculpture that it is today?

- And in the early '80s, I took my daughter, me and my ex-husband, and we went down and we took a picture in front of that obelisk at the time.

And years later, I took my granddaughter and we took that same picture, even though that was the statue was there, we took that same picture.

So I have both pictures but they're 20-something years apart.

But yeah, I was crazy about the obelisk.

- Well, my story is, I couldn't tell you I have any of pictures in front of the obelisk because I wasn't interested in taking a picture with a sign that said, "A Very Worthy Negro".

That was always one of my first questions to my mother when we went to the park, "What is a very worthy negro?"

And she would try her best to explain it to me, and her vision was always to let people know who he was.

So my first pictures in front of anything in Tom Lee Park was at the new memorial, you see?

And that's my greatest memory of that part and that feature in our life.

- Gotcha.

- Yeah.

- When we go back, all the way back, we can go back to maybe, I don't know, maybe 20, I don't know, maybe 2005 when we spoke with David Alan Clark and the Urban Art Commission is the one who picked up the project.

- Okay.

- So they created a board of a lot of ministers, pastors, people of influence around Memphis to be on the board to pick through over 200 submissions for the new statue to be built.

And the family was in different places, so they ended up mailing us at least down to 20 submissions.

So I have to also go back to my sister, Carlita, who knocked on the doors at Riverfront Development and was like, "We need a statue of Tom Lee.

"We, okay, we need a statue of the man.

We're kind of tired of seeing the verbiage that is there."

And Benny Linderman, it was just always a no.

And then one day it was a yes.

And then the journey began.

So David Alan Clark submitted his and maybe about six or seven people looked at the submissions, and most of them decided upon David.

And today we're still in contact with David, and hopefully he'll be at the event on May 8th.

But David, he depicted something that we thought was very important, which was 32 lights, and just the strength with the arm reaching out.

And so I sent him pictures of the men in the family, Terry, my dad, my brother, and things like that.

And that's how he kind of got that head part.

And then we had to go through the nose.

I mean, it was very extensive.

But he came to Memphis a couple of times and we went over it, and the family, we would meet with him and it was just historical moment all the way up to now just to see how he made the stand be if the water recedes to, or floods the park, that it'll be like it's on a river- - Right.

- It's just all kind of points that's in that.

Yeah, yeah, so, that's that part.

- I remember seeing an image years and years ago when the river flooded.

And the river, the water came all the way up through Tom Lee Park, but it was right up to the base of that boat, right up to the base of the statue.

- I have that photo you're talking about, yeah.

- That image sticks out to me.

- Yeah.

- You know what I mean?

When the opportunity to play Tom Lee was extended to me, that image instantly popped in my head was that, the image of that the sculpture with the Mississippi River actually up to that point.

It's such an iconic image during a tragic time in Memphis, of course.

But the fact that that image stood out during such a time of tragedy in the city, I think, was very symbolic.

- Right.

- It was very powerful.

- And he said it was intentional because of the floods.

Yeah.

So it's ready.

So the stand, it's Terry, when they was installing it- - Right, right.

- We saw the steel [Charmeal laughing] and the things that were holding it up that the water is not ever going to fade it away or make scratches and things like that.

So yeah, it's still there.

Maybe we've had maybe two floods since then.

I heard it flooded like recently, so I'm not sure if anyone got a picture of that one.

But yeah, that was intentional.

- Right.

- Yeah, yeah.

- As far as I know, and I could be wrong.

I've never seen Tom Lee's story told on film.

I've never seen an actual presentation of Tom Lee being played on film.

If I'm not mistaken.

- I agree.

- Right, right.

- Then when the opportunity was extended to me to play Tom Lee, one, it was an honor.

But two, it was a lot of pressure.

You know what I mean, because this is a piece of history.

It's not a fictional character.

This is real life, you know what I mean?

And it's part of Memphis history.

I'm a Memphian, I'm a proud Memphian.

It's part of black history.

I'm a proud black man.

You know what I mean?

So when all of these things now have come together in a film presentation, what was it like for you to sit and watch "Shine On: The Tom Lee Story"?

- I'll let you guys go first.

- Gratitude, it was gratitude for me.

Even the wanting to make the film itself, and to mention things about him in his life that people didn't know.

Like you said something about the 12 children, I was like, "Wow, they knew about the 12 children?

How did they know about the 12 children?"

Because I had found that out through my research and the fact that you did such a beautiful job.

You did such a great, and it was just the gratitude that the film was made.

Finally, somebody is doing something.

I mean, it was great what he did, but there was a man behind that.

And then you captured that, the man.

- For myself, it's a lot of closure.

You did a great job.

You did a wonderful job depicting him.

But I say closure because this is something that my mother wanted, and her brother, for a long time.

For people to actually be able to see the man behind the image or the story that's been told, nobody ever knew about it.

Just like I said, it's personal for me because I remember as a kid, we come down to see the King and Queen of Cotton.

These are some of the personal things.

And blacks had to stand on the hill at the top where all white individuals in the park, they got to relegate in the park while we had to stand up there.

And like I said, I was always an inquisitive young boy.

I would ask my mother, "How come we can't go down there?"

And she tried to explain it to me as best she could.

But what my mother taught me when we were growing up was no divisions.

"There's no man no more greater than you.

I want you to understand that."

And that's what we saw.

So we didn't see black and white.

We just saw individuals.

Me, I asked questions.

And she tried to explain it as best she could with a woman with a limited education.

And I wanna say she did a great job.

So with me seeing the park, the sculpture, and the obelisk being removed, it was what my mother wanted all the time.

For that, now I have closure.

- Wow.

I have a lot of dates in my head.

It's a lot to remember about my great, great uncle.

And a lot of my thoughts are not told, but Last Bite Films with Molly and meeting her at the beginning of the renovation of the park.

And George, and I get emotional, but I'm in control right now, okay?

But- - I'm holding back tears myself.

- A lot of these things are not told.

If I tell anyone, I tell Denise.

And it's like, they brought these things to life.

I didn't think any of this would...

I don't know, I can't even say what I was about to say, because things happen, apparently, if you believe that they're going to happen.

And in my heart of hearts, I just knew that someday, somehow, we would be here.

And those two really made it happen for me and my soul.

And it's just, you don't get everyone to see what you see.

It just don't always happen.

But when it does and it comes out like this, it really is gratitude.

Yeah, it's absolutely gratitude.

When you say "it takes a village", it clearly takes a village in many different aspects.

You know, it's just not in your family and raising a child.

But you have a village in your head.

And just imagine the things that you were saying, what brought you here, and all the things that you've done for Memphis and the feelings that you have for your hometown.

And I'm sure no matter what happens, we all love Memphis.

We have a space in our heart, it's so deep, when it comes to our heritage and how we got here and even celebrating the 200th year.

Tom Lee Park had the longest picnic table.

- Yeah.

- And I still have the fan because I was there.

That's what the fan said.

[Charmeal laughing] But those things is what makes us continue to try to uplift Memphis.

And we're going to overshadow all of those things that are being brought forth that's degrading.

We're gonna overshadow those with the things that we're doing.

Not even just with Tom Lee, but just the positivity.

It's a lot of it out here.

And we just have to keep shining and we have to shine on.

- Exactly.

- So I didn't get that title until that day, but that was a perfect, now it's really a perfect way, a perfect name for the film.

Absolutely, yeah.

- Well, now the 100th anniversary of Tom Lee rescuing those people from the M.E.

Norman is approaching us, May 8th.

And hopefully, prayerfully, through this film and just through the awareness of Tom Lee's story, his story will be told on a broader scale, especially for people outside of Memphis.

What do you hope that people will take away from the accomplishments of Tom Lee and from the legacy of Tom Lee?

- Number one is compassion.

See no color.

The sacrifice.

He had a family and he still sacrificed for someone else.

All those people that he saved, that's generations of more people for that family.

We just should really take a look at ourselves each day and think about what we can do to help someone.

And you know, the script in there, not word for word, but you mentioned that today is a day for me to help someone.

And if we lived in that every day, I mean, just imagine how much better we'll be.

- Alright.

- Yeah.

- I would hope that people would see the strength and the courage that he embodied, the empathy that he had, the passion, putting his life behind everybody else's.

Not being able to swim, we have to understand that's a feat in its own.

We have to embody that during 1925, wasn't very much for a black individual.

But it makes me realize people receive help when it's given to them.

We don't see color.

We just see help.

You see, a lot of people don't understand.

Courage isn't something that's taught.

It's embodied in you from the time that you're born.

You just never get to see it.

You can give a kid a basketball and he can dribble from 2 to 22, and he'll be the greatest dribbler in the world.

But no kid is being taught to save people that's drowning when you can't swim, you see?

So that's what I think that I would like for them to take, see the courage in him and the passion and above all, just an individual, a man.

- Just knowing who he is, 'cause a lot of people see Tom Lee Park.

It's just the name, just like Overton Park.

It's just the name.

Nobody really knew who Tom Lee was.

And the statue, the film, everything puts it in perspective.

This is a black man who saved all of these people.

And not only could he not swim, he had a family member, he had a sister that drowned before all this happened.

So he knew the consequences of getting in the water.

And just to have people know this, Tom Lee is not just the name of a park.

Tom Lee was a man, was a person.

And for my children and my grandkids and stuff like that.

I want them to know.

I want the legacy to carry on.

And this helps.

Yep.

- Again, I want to say how much this means to me as a Memphian, as a black man, as an actor, as a historian, as a man who strives to bring our stories to life.

You know what I mean?

This is a highlight for me, not only my acting career, in my life, in my life, to be able to bring Tom Lee's story to life.

You know what I mean?

Especially being from Memphis, you know what I mean?

For generations of people to hopefully really get an understanding of who he was as a man.

Not only just his accomplishment, but who he was as a man.

This is a huge, huge, huge deal for me, maybe more so than anything else I've ever done.

Even duckmastering, you know?

That's, I mean, a piece of history in itself- - Yeah, that's a big deal.

- But to be able to tell this piece of history from my city and for my city, but also for the benefit of the world.

I just wanna thank you for receiving it and for, I guess, stamping it.

You know what I mean?

And I want to just let you know that this is a moment that I'll never forget, and it's one of my proudest moments ever in my life.

So I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to me, taking the time to watch the film with me.

Sitting side by side with you all watching that film, I can't tell you what that meant to me or what it means to me.

And I just wanted to let you know that I have a lot, a lot of gratitude and appreciation for this moment.

So I wanted to thank you sincerely.

- You remember I asked you, did you ever do any local acting?

And you said that you had been an actor in some plays at the Hattiloo.

- Yes.

- Well, Ekundayo and I talked about Tom Lee, and he wanted to one day do a play about Tom Lee.

And the fact that you've done those plays and you are playing this man, it's amazing how things come together.

Yeah.

- It is.

And thank you too.

- Yeah.

- The sentiments is almost like exact.

It was a beautiful thing to see, and I'm just so glad that we all were able to see it together.

- Yeah.

- I really am.

That was the turning point 'cause I've been asking about you for a while.

It's like, "Where is he?"

[all laughing] And now I get to see.

But thank you so much for sharing that.

- Well, you did a wonderful job, and our family will be so grateful with the role that you play, especially the young individuals that didn't get a chance to see him or know him.

Now they can see a man and an image and what you did.

It's going to be great for our family.

And we thank you from the bottom of our heart.

- That's it.

[Charmeal laughing] - Thank you, thank you.

- Absolutely.

[gentle piano music] [gentle piano music continues] [crew chattering] [acoustic guitar chords]