Louisville, Ky., has been one of the national hubs for racial justice demonstrations following the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of the city's police in March, and a group of local and national organizations has suggested the Kentucky Derby should not be immune to the greater happenings in the city and the country.
Pastor Timothy Findley Jr., the founder of the Louisville-based Justice and Freedom Coalition, provided insight on the Derby's role in those demonstrations in the past and present on the Bleav in Horse Racing With Ken Rudulph podcast, including his case for why the race and its surrounding events should be boycotted or even canceled this year. Calls from Louisville's Black community to boycott the race reach as far back as mid-July, but they have gotten louder as the Sept. 5 race gets closer.
The Justice and Freedom Coalition is one of four groups calling for a boycott of the Kentucky Derby – joined by No Justice No Peace Louisville, the Louisville chapter of Black Lives Matter, and the national group Until Freedom – deeming it an inappropriate time to hold the event while there is unrest in Louisville. Mayor Greg Fischer announced Thursday that he would not be attending the Derby, citing the protests planned in the city for Derby week, along with the rampant spread of COVID-19.
“This cannot be a celebratory year,” Findley said. “This cannot be a festive moment, especially in light of all that has happened, so we're not only asking people to boycott the Derby, we believe the Derby should be cancelled.
“Now, to be completely realistic, we know the chances of that happening are slim to none,” he continued. “But we also know this: the eyes of the world that week, and specifically that particular day, are on Louisville, are on Churchill Downs, and this is a time for people to understand around the world that black folk in Louisville, Ky., are not happy. That valuing this race over lives, it's evil, it's wicked, and it's a symptom of a much larger problem.”
This would not be the first time that Churchill Downs has been a potential focal point in the national Black rights movement. In 1967, activists attempted to slow and halt the progress of racing at the track, going as far as to execute a sit-in through the home stretch during a race, leading the riders to pull up their mounts and cancel the race. The issue at the time was housing discrimination in Louisville ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrival to town, and plans were made for a sit-in to happen again on a larger scale during the Kentucky Derby itself if city officials did not meet with the Black leaders.
King got the meeting with the city's leaders, and concerned the Derby sit-in would do more harm than good, he instead convinced the organizers to hold a rally in downtown Louisville. A fair housing law came to the city a year later.
Findley said the changing times also change the demands. Simply calling for a meeting with city officials would not be sufficient. The list of demands published in June (which can be found here) call for sweeping change in local and state policy.
In the short term, the groups demanded the police officers involved in Taylor's death are charged, and that a plan be laid out showing how funds will be divested from the Louisville Metro Police Department and reinvested in other community resources. Looking further, the plan calls for programs to support small Black businesses, strengthen workforce development, increase rent support, and expand absentee voting, educational opportunities, and mental health support, among many other items.
In the interview, Rudulph pointed out many of Churchill's backstretch workers are minorities and they would be adversely affected by any kind of interference with the Kentucky Derby, both in terms of income and the payoff in satisfaction for hard work coming to fruition.
Findley recalled the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955 and 1956 to protest public transit segregation, and the level of sacrifice it took from everyone involved – even those who stood to lose plenty – to achieve the desired goal. For nearly a year, Montgomery's Black residents refused to ride public transportation, traveling miles every day to and from work.
“Historically, anytime there was a movement regarding inequities, regarding inequality, whenever there was a movement or an action to get something done, a revolutionary moment, there was sacrifice,” Findley said. “There was always sacrifice. People talk about the Montgomery bus boycott. I often tell people, 'Who do you think was impacted?' Yes, the government was when that chokehold was put on public transportation, but understand there were people that depended on the bus to get to work, to get around, and they made sacrifices because they understood the big picture.
“That has been a part of every single movement, that yes, I have the ability to benefit from this. Yes, I take pride in this, but the bigger picture is not simply my desires, or what I want,” he continued. “The bigger picture is the people, the oppressed people, what is right and what is wrong. I would argue that from a spiritual standpoint, from a natural standpoint, if we're going to see change, if a movement is going to be effective, there is going to have to be sacrifices from people who have a vested interest in certain aspects that are going to be moved against.”
Listen to the full interview on Bleav in Horse Racing With Ken Rudulph.
The post ‘This Cannot Be A Celebratory Year’: Why Are Members Of Louisville’s Black Community Calling For A Kentucky Derby Boycott? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
