NEWS

Racial justice vigil urges transformation

Justin Sayers, and Allana J Barefield
The Courier-Journal

About 200 people gathered downtown in front of the Louisville Metro Police Department headquarters Monday for a vigil to remember the victims of officer-involved shootings, and a rally to transform the treatment of people of color by police.

Scott Johnson repeated the names of people killed during altercations with police during a Black Lives Matter rally. July 10, 2016.

The event, called "Breaking White Silence," lasted about an hour and started with the reading of the names of more than 100 people killed by police and the five officers killed in Dallas last week, followed by a moment of silence.

Organizers paused and encouraged attendees of the vigil to talk to their neighbor and discuss how they're breaking "white silence." That was followed by public comment about the importance of caring about racial justice.

"This is a situation that is far beyond a few small reforms," said Carla Wallace, one of the leaders of Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, the group that organized the event. "This is gonna call for a huge transformation for how this country is set up."

The vigil began around noon across the street in front of the Jefferson County District Court building, before the group of about 50 people crossed the street to the headquarters near Seventh and Jefferson streets. By the time organizers began reading names, the crowd had swelled to more than 100 people.

Andrew Newton, another organization leader, read the names, which were repeated by the attendees, and then led the crowd in chants of "break white silence," "black lives matter" and "no justice, no peace." He said after the event that the goal of "Break White Silence" was to encourage people to talk about issues of race.

"White silence kills," said Newton, a University of Louisville student who initially got involved with the organization during an internship. "It's not the overt racism of your grandpa or uncle, it's not talking about it. ... White silence is not about (people of color), it's about us."

As the crowd continued to grow and overfill the sidewalk, Louisville Metro Police opted to close down Seventh Street to through traffic. No issues or counter-protestors were reported, but photos showed police snipers on the building's roof and a helicopter circling the area.

A woman wiped away a tear as she held up a photo of a young black man who was shot during an altercation with police. The woman was attending a Black Lives Matter rally in front of Louisville Metro Police headquarters. July 10, 2016.

Rebecca Frederick, another Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice leader, said that Louisville Metro Police Department doesn't do a bad job when it comes to dealing with issues of race, but feels they can improve in some areas, including training and community-building.

She said that issues of racial justice are something that everyone should care about.

"As a working-class white woman, I have interest in collective liberation," she said. "It builds community."

Tom Moffett, 92, sat in a chair directly across from where Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice leaders were speaking, holding a poster with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. He said he's been participating in civil rights protests for more than 40 years.

"I've been involved with this for the last half of my life," Moffett said. "It grows on you ... keeps you going."

Travis Hudson, 12, also stood close to the organizers. He said racial justice has a big impact on him because he's biracial, so he's been able to see issues of both white supremacy and blacks being killed by cops from both sides.

"They're going after a whole bunch of black people, and I can be next," said Hudson, who brought along a sign that read "Am I next?"

Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.com.

Hundreds attend vigil for men killed by police