I think that was the name of an Archie Shepp album in the 1960s. Anyway, today I’m talking about Newport, Kentucky. Once a major stop on the national “flourishing illegal casinos and vice” circuit, the city has cleaned up its image.
The city became a vice center in the 19th century, and remained so until an anti-corruption campaign in 1961. I think I touched on this in Uneasy Convictions, because Newport was one of the top targets of Bobby Kennedy’s Justice Department. You can read all about it in Ronald Goldfarb’s Perfect Villains, Imperfect Heroes, if you are curious.
Anyway, the Cincinatti Post has a few stories about Newport today. They are:
Before there was Vegas, there was Newport
This is part of a series to publicize a symposium entitled “Girls, Guns and Gambling: How Ordinary Citizens Drove Vice out of Newport,” to be held at Northern Kentucky University Thursday.
This should be a fascinating evening. If I was in the Cincinatti area, I’d be there in a heartbeat.