LOCAL

Protesters to Churchill Downs: If you care about racial justice, cancel the Kentucky Derby

Bailey Loosemore
Louisville Courier Journal

Members of Louisville's Black community are calling on Churchill Downs to cancel the 2020 Kentucky Derby — even as the company pushes forward with plans to run the race in September with fans.

This year has been especially difficult for Black residents across the city and nation, with the coronavirus pandemic and several high-profile killings by police exposing racial "atrocities that have been in place for some time," said Timothy Findley, a senior pastor at the Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center.

To continue on with a celebratory event such as the Derby, he said, would be "inappropriate" amid protests in honor of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman who was fatally shot by Louisville police officers at her South End apartment in March.

"The idea of having this festival that will last a week while so many people in our community are hurting, it shows the callous nature of this capitalistic city and society that we live in," said Findley, who recently formed the Justice and Freedom Coalition, which has called on people to boycott the Derby if it continues as planned.

On Wednesday, while announcing updates for the fast-approaching Derby, Churchill Downs President Kevin Flanery said the events that have led to current civil unrest "deserve thoughtful discussion, continued conversation and subsequent action."

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And he's "optimistic that this time-honored event, which belongs to our community and our country, will serve as a progressive unifying force that can help bring us together."

But Findley and Aaron Jordan, a leader of the grassroots group No Justice No Peace Louisville, said the Derby has routinely excluded the city's Black neighborhoods. And if Churchill Downs wants to really send a message that it stands for racial justice, it will cancel the race, they said.

"How dare they continue to even want to have the Kentucky Derby?" Jordan said Wednesday. "... The Derby has nothing to do with getting justice for Breonna Taylor, getting justice for any of the socially inhumane conditions that white supremacy and white systematic oppression have placed on Black Americans and specifically Black Kentuckians."

Jordan and Findley said Churchill officials and Derby attendees should expect to see "mass demonstrations" and protests during the week of the event.

And in an open letter, Findley has asked people to boycott the Derby to "send a clear message that we will not allow these injustices to continue."

"We will not allow Ms. Taylor’s death to be swept under the rug," the letter states. "Her killing has inspired our local community and millions around the world to make a stand against injustice. We believe the continuation of this year’s Kentucky Derby is being used as a distraction to bring back some level of 'normalcy' to our city. We will not have it."

See also:What to know about new rules for food and drinks at the 2020 Derby

In a statement, Mayor Greg Fischer said the Derby is a signature event for the city and state, an important contributor to the local economy and "historically, a time for unity."

"While I continue to support the First Amendment right to peaceful protest, my hope is that people recognize the value that events like this bring to every corner of our city," he said.

Karen Williams, president and CEO of Louisville Tourism, said the city's hospitality industry supports the "changes needed to bring about sustained racial equity and justice and recognizes the need for expression of these ideals."

But as Louisville's largest tourism generator, even at a reduced capacity, the continuation of the Derby "potentially offers a small economic relief to our fellow citizens working from the front line and beyond." And the event, along with other tourism opportunities, present an avenue for "changing perceptions and bringing people together."

However, Reece Chenault, a community organizer and member of Black Lives Matter Louisville, said Churchill Downs should cancel the Derby solely in the interest of public health, so as not to further the spread of the novel coronavirus.

And he agrees with Findley that the event is a distraction meant to keep people from "dealing with the real problems of the city."

"They should cancel it. That's what a good person in good conscience would do," Chenault said. "(But) it's an opportunity to line pockets one last time at the expense of poor residents who are going to have to work it. ... The question is, how long are we going to stand that kind of nonsense?"

Read this:Why therapists are offering free mental health services at protests

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/baileyl.