NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro leaders are honoring a Nashville man for the symbol of hope he's become for so many inner-city kids in Middle Tennessee.
Quanie "Cash" Clendening is an entertainer and community activist who has spent decades uplifting young people from the very neighborhood where he grew up.
Quanie is proud of his neighborhood
“Known to most Nashvillians as “the bottom,” Quanie said.
Growing up in East Nashville in the '90s, he wasn’t aware of the opportunities around him.
“It was the beginning of the crack era. My parents and a lot of people’s parents were addicted to drugs during that era. Witnessing and seeing the wrong things, and before you know it, you become a part of your environment,” Quanie said.
He got caught up in that lifestyle, which lead to brushes with the law.
“I was arrested and charged with conspiring to sell drugs, so I went to prison as a teenager — two-time felon,” Quanie explained.
But he knew life could’ve looked different with more exposure and better opportunities. After time behind bars, he chose a new path.
“I become the biggest — probably biggest — selling independent artist. Never signed a label, so it taught me how to run and operate my own business. Meanwhile, I was a TSU student and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business and got my master’s at Trevecca,” Quanie said.
He went on to start The Build Up Foundation, offering ACT prep, community activities, and support he wished he’d had growing up.
“The bad thing about the streets is it offers everybody bad opportunities. We’re about giving back to the community and showing them another way,” Quanie said.
That mission is why the Metro Nashville Public Health Department honored him with the Community Champion Award this week — for his efforts to improve the health and safety of his neighborhood.
He hopes kids realize they don’t have to be a product of their environment — they can rise above it.
After 25 years, Gov. Bill Lee granted Quanie a full pardon last year, officially clearing his record.
Now, his nonprofit is preparing to launch a new film and music academy at the Napier Community Center.
The free program is open to children of all ages, and registration is already underway.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.con
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