arnett. >> bill arnett did not take advantage of myself. as far as i'm concerned no other artist. for me he was coming in our lives. he was giving us more for our works of art than we ever received before. he gave us time to actually develop, and also he was taking the time to take the work to the next level for us. >> reporter: but the rumors scared off the galleries and museums which were about to feature the work that arnett had discovered. >> the next thing you know diahl can't have a show anywhere, it gets canceled. >> reporter: it took years but the accusations faded and the art spoke for itself. >> i didn't quit. that's my best talent, my unwillingness to give up. >> reporter: and bill arnett has not given up. the work he has championed is finally getting it's due. articles, museum exhibits, even postage stamps. lonnie holly finally got a new york show. >> i'm trying to make a joy for noise. >> reporter: bill arnett is 74 and stepping back a bit from his life's work but his son matt has picked up the baton still looking out for the a

meet bill arnett, a meet bill arnett, a curator with a cause. curator with a cause. >> if he had been let's >> if he had been let's just say white living in just say white living in new york, he would be a new york, he would be a celebrity long ago. celebrity long ago. in my opinion. in my opinion. and he will be anyway, and he will be anyway, but sometimes it takes but sometimes it takes longer. longer. >> >> the art may'm involved the art may'm involved with is about that with is about that compares favorably with compares favorably with any art that's been any art that's been produced anywhere on produced anywhere on earth in the past 100 earth in the past 100 years. years. so i wouldn't be involved so i wouldn't be involved with it otherwise. with it otherwise. i am not fascinated by i am not fascinated by primitive, or naive, or primitive, or naive, or folkky things. folkky things. i am interested in the i am interested in the great art of the word, great art of the word, and i spent my life and i spent my life exploring it. exploring it. h

artist needs is a chance, for bill arnett those from a composition of his career. as you will see here, he is an artist himself, but he know as powerful piece when he sees one. >> this looked like a bunch of material that had been blown around in a storm. or a tornado. >> lonnie holly turns debris into art. >> show me the moon and the stars ♪. >> art that's been shown in major museums around the country. >> as y'all saw me going through all of this stuff, to expose it, i was like an inspector. and in a sense, i were acting like an archaeology. but just as he finds art, others may overlook. >> you will probably see it in the future. >> an unusual kind of cure ray tor found him. >> this room is the box of lonnie holly. meet bill arnett, a curator with a cause. >> if he had been let's just say white living in new york, he would be a celebrity long ago. in my opinion. and he will be anyway, but sometimes it takes longer. >> the art may'm involved with is about that compares favorably with any art that's been produced anywhere on earth in the past 100 years. so i woul

for more than 30 years a man named bill arnett has been meeting people from the great south, people with a great story to tell, in the only way that they know how. tonight we'll meet the curator. >> i took it to people. i didn't want it for myself. i didn't want to make money from it. i didn't want to control it. i just wanted to disseminate it. i wanted the information to get out. >> reporter: it is fantastic. you'll learn more about bill and his discoveries coming up on "america tonight." >> one of baseball's biggest stars is seeking a record-breaking contract. michael eaves is next in sports. >> a fresh take on the stories that connect to you... >> investigative journalism that's engaging, powerful, thought provoking... >> there's nothing but hopelessness... >> it's either kill or be killed... >> america tonight, right after live news at 8 and 11 eastern. >> welcome to al jazeera america i'm john seigenthaler, and here's a look at the headlines... >> al jazeera america, there's more to it. al jazeera america - a new voice in american journalism - >> introduces america tonight. >> in e