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Lyndon Pryor
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N E W S R E L E A S E
Louisville Urban League Statement on Recent Community Events
LOUISVILLE, KY – Our community is hurting. Hundreds took to the streets last night to express their sorrow and outrage – not only at the senseless murder of Breonna Taylor, and unlawful imprisonment of Kenneth Walker, but at the complete lack of response to the constant and inhumane trauma being inflicted by those who are supposed to be responsible for our protection. All Black people have ever asked is to be seen and heard, fully, as human beings. We have repeatedly asked for our humanity, our pain, and our sorrow to be recognized. Our treatment and the subsequent response to that treatment is a clear sign that these calls have gone unanswered.
We see Mayor Fischer’s efforts. We acknowledge that we are the only city in the country with a Mayor that has called for a suspension of no knock warrants. But we know there is more to do. We can’t change people’s hearts but we can certainly demand that their behavior be changed and that is what the protests last night were about. People want accountability. Accountability for officers who can do better and choose not to in Black communities. We are beyond tired. Breonna Taylor is not the first, but we are committed to making her the last. . . in this community. So, we want real investigations, followed by termination and full prosecutions. Breonna Taylor was not a drug dealer. Breonna Taylor was not a criminal.
But to be clear, we see criminals in white communities, taken into custody with guns in their hands. We have all seen bad guys who don’t look like us get away with murder. We saw a murderer filled with hate at Kroger – walked peacefully into the jail.
We are constantly being made to feel that we don’t have the right victim. This one did that. This one did this. We believed you all were resisting arrests. We are never compliant enough or respectable enough to access justice in this country. Well, our city is crying and we are saying that Bre is the last one. Ending racism in Louisville, in America, is not the responsibility of Black people. That work belongs to white people. White people who created it, sustain it, and benefit from the systems of oppression. White people hold the answers and have the ability across this country to make changes.
What you are seeing are people who are tired of feeling powerless. If you want peace, you must use your power to access and guarantee justice – not just for you but for all of us. We heard your critique of Colin Kaepernick as he peacefully kneeled, but we don’t hear you loud enough when an officer kneels on the neck of George Floyd, murdering him in broad daylight in the middle of a busy neighborhood. What would have been the story if there were no cameras?
When we are accused, justice is swift. However, when we are the victims, justice is nowhere to be found. In fact, when we are victims the reaction is an abundance of caution. There are excuses, platitudes, and calls for us to be patient and to “trust the process.” But trust cannot be established until it is reciprocal. We cannot trust a process that was never meant for us. In the overwhelming majority of cases–whether we are the victim or the accused–Black people are treated differently at every phase. This is not lost on us. While life moves on for so many people, we cannot forget. We do not have that luxury.
We deserve better. From our government. From our leaders.
So we say to our neighbors, to the community we sit in, serve and are a part of – you are justified in your anger. It is a righteous anger. Your pain and your protest require no apology. At the same time, we cannot suffer more harm. We cannot inflict more pain. We cannot lose more lives. We don’t want to see another family in tears.
All of those who might walk the streets with us, are not for us. They are not fighting the same fight and they do not intend to see us succeed. So sisters and brothers you cannot participate in protests where you do not know the leaders and you do not know their intent. We can not continue to kill ourselves in an attempt to cope with the pain of our existence in this space. Our fight must be strategic.
We believe the protest that occurred in downtown Louisville last night on the evening of Thursday, May 28, was organized, planned, and intended to be peaceful. Unfortunately, as the night went on there were individuals who began to engage in behavior that jeopardized the health and safety of all of us. ALL of us. We do not have specifics on the shootings and we will not speculate about what transpired. While we are glad to know all those injured are expected to recover, we do not believe that should be the story, nor should damage to property be the headline.
This is the time for the truth to be told. We have taken enough. White people have watched us suffer enough, and we can only guarantee peace when we see justice. Even the gangbanger is in search of power. Every person wants to feel as though their life matters. After all, this is and has always been, about the humanity of all people. Especially Black people.
For those who choose to continue to march and rally, please seek out responsible organizers who care about your safety and the safety of others. I am deeply concerned about protests scheduled for tonight, and I can’t attend. I would never send you anywhere I wouldn’t send my children so please hear me when I say, please use your best judgment. BUT, most importantly, know that there are many, many ways to fight. Our freedom will not be won solely in the streets, but at the ballot box, in the policy hearing, around the board room table, and every other place we show up. There are organizations around this community that need your voice and your energy. But you must be here, alive and healthy, to participate. We need you here.
We have to respect the memory of Breonna Taylor. She was a woman who was fighting to save others. We cannot put our lives at risk in seeking justice for her. We must be here to fight. We must be here to ensure that justice is served in this case.
I am aligned with my colleague at the Columbus Urban League, Stephanie Hightower, when she says, “I cannot and do not condone intentional damage to property or persons. But I can affirm that the literal and figurative incidents of lynching will provoke outrage. It does not matter if injustices come packaged as overt acts or implicit assumptions. It makes no difference if a false sense of superiority is fostered by ignorance or fed by hate.”
We need these officers to be held accountable and we acknowledge and appreciate the steps that have been taken so far, but we must see justice carried through. Louisville, I know you are hurting. We all are. We can do better, and we must. Our very existence is dependent on it.
