Kentucky Needs Its Own Mount Rushmore. Who Gets a Spot?
I saw a really fun question floating around social media recently. It was posted by the Frazier History Museum in downtown Louisville. It asked, "Who would you put on your Mt. Rushmore of Kentuckians?"
That's a great question and I have been racking my brain since I saw it. Look! There are a lot of famous Kentuckians. Heck, one of them is already on the real Mount Rushmore. Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, sits alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt on the mountainside in South Dakota.
So, if there were a Mount Rushmore carved here in Kentucky, who should be on it? Obviously, I realize this is completely subjective. But I have compiled a list of four nominees that I think have planted Kentucky in national and international dialogue. Well, okay, I lied. I am also going to include an honorable mention.
And that honorable mention is George Clooney!
GEORGE CLOONEY
There's a surprising number of Hollywood stars who originally hail from Kentucky or have Kentucky ties. You've got Tom Cruise, who spent part of his childhood in Louisville. There's Jennifer Lawrence, who was born in Louisville. There's Johnny Depp, who was born in my hometown of Owensboro. But, for Kentucky's Mount Rushmore consideration, I am picking George Clooney over them all. He was born in Lexington and also spent part of his childhood in Augusta, Kentucky.
While Cruise may be the bigger movie star internationally, Clooney is a true Hollywood statesman. He's a two-time Academy Award winner (Best Supporting Actor for Syriana and Best Picture winner for producing Argo) and a crusader for human rights and international justice. If there were a 5th face carved into my Kentucky Rushmore, it would be his.
Now, to the folks who actually made my mountain!
MUHAMMAD ALI
In the world of sports, it doesn't get more iconic than Louisville's own Cassius Clay, who later became Muhammad Ali. Not only is Ali hailed one the best boxers of all time, he is also a prominent civil rights crusader. Without a doubt, he has to be etched into Kentucky history. And, let's be frank. He's already there when you consider he's the namesake for the Muhammad Ali Center and Muhammad Ali Boulevard in Louisville. He is legend.
COLONEL SANDERS
He's the reason that folks from South America to Africa to Asia know the word 'Kentucky.' Colonel Harlan Sanders and his 'original recipe' turned Kentucky Fried Chicken into a truly international brand. I travel a lot and have made it a habit of hitting up KFCs in other parts of the world just to see what they're like. They're just as delicious in Berlin and Nairobi as they are in Corbin, Kentucky - the home of the first.
LORETTA LYNN
Kentucky has produced endless singers, bands, and musicians. For me, Loretta Lynn, everyone's favorite "Coal Miner's Daughter," is the most defining of that lot. She was a trailblazer in country music. She constantly pushed the boundaries of the genre and what 'country' women should and could sing about. Carrie Underwood wouldn’t take a Louisville Slugger to both headlights, Miranda Lambert wouldn’t sing about “Gunpowder & Lead,” and the Chicks wouldn't have sent Earl to his grave if Loretta hadn’t first paved the way with “Fist City.”
SECRETARIAT
Though he was actually born in Virginia, there's no arguing that Secretariat is forever a symbol of Kentucky horse racing excellence. His win in the 1973 Kentucky Derby was his launching pad into the history books. Secretariat's Triple Crown victory has cemented him as arguably THE most famous champion in the history of the sport. It's going to take a larger slab of granite to carve his face into, but Secretariat deserves to be enshrined into Kentucky immortality.
So, what about you? Do you agree with my picks or did I leave someone off the list? Who do YOU think should be carved into Kentucky's Mount Rushmore?
LOOK: Which movies were filmed in Kentucky?
Gallery Credit: Stacker