Tag: Louisville

Horse Owners Help Backside Workers Overcome the Digital Age

Edited Press Release

Across the nation, communities have grappled with how to ensure that all community members have access to the internet and computers in order to complete schooling and access vital resources. In Louisville, over 20% of families lacked access to internet, including many of the workers and their families who work at Churchill Downs and surrounding racetracks.  Now, due to a generous donation to the Backside Learning Center from Wasabi Venture Stables Club members, many backside families will move closer towards digital equity.

The Backside Learning Center (BLC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to building community and enriching the lives of equine workers and their families at Churchill Downs and surrounding racetracks. When the pandemic hit in March, the Backside Learning Center acted quickly to provide emergency food relief and start a digital inclusion project for families who were suddenly faced with the challenges of virtual learning. BLC repurposed donated computers and provided them to 20 backside families and worked with JCPS to secure laptops and hotspots.

When Jeff Musgrove, a horseowner and member of Wasabi Ventures Stables learned of the work of the Backside Learning Center from the TDN‘s story on April 25, he immediately felt a call to action.

“When I saw what the BLC was doing, I knew that I had a unique opportunity to make an impact in the lives of the families that play such a critical role in our sport,” he said.

Wasabi Ventures Stables reached out to its members to raise funds to strengthen the BLC’s work on digital inclusion with backside families.  Michele Pesula Kuegler, Director of Aftercare & Community explained, “Our club has a sense of generosity and caringt hat is unrivaled. With the opportunity to fundraise for the Backside Learning Center and support the community who cares for our horses, our members recognized the value in the BLC programming and gladly donated.”

Funds will provide internet access, computers and digital skills training to backside families and will also strengthen technology for the BLC’s learning hub for students.

“The partnership with Wasabi Ventures Stables symbolizes the strength and interconnectedness of the horse racing community,” added Sherry Stanley, Executive Director of the Backside Learning Center. “We are so grateful for these resources that will enable Backside families to thrive in this new digital world.”

This initiative builds on the BLC’s efforts to connect horse owners more closely with the backside community. In June, the BLC launched Purses for a Purpose, a program where owners can pledge a portion of their horse’s winnings to support programs for backside workers and their families.

To support digital inclusion efforts at the Backside Learning Center or to become part of Purses For a Purpose, click here.

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Protesters March Outside Churchill Downs, Demand Justice For Breonna Taylor

Planned racial injustice protests took a crowd of demonstrators past the gates at the frontside of Churchill Downs on Tuesday. The afternoon's demonstrations resulted in 64 arrests for charges of obstructing the roadway and disorderly conduct, acting Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert Schroeder told whas11.com. The protests were scheduled by national organization Until Freedom at the end of a four-day conference dedicated to the pursuit of justice in the death of Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was killed by Louisville police in March of this year.

One of Until Freedom's co-founders, Linda Sarsour, was among those arrested.

Protesters met around 2:00 p.m. at South Central Park, then marched to the Louisville Metro Police Department Training Academy where they changed letters on the marquee to read “I see murderers.” From there, the protesters marched toward Churchill Downs, crossing the bridge on Central Avenue near Cardinal Stadium.

Arrests were made when protesters blocked the street, and Until Freedom march coordinators urged those who didn't wish to be arrested to stick to the sidewalks. Those protesters arriving at the frontside of Churchill Downs chanted “F*ck your Derby,” and hung a sign with Breonna Taylor's name on it near the front gate.

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 now 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 – who say it an inappropriate time to hold the event while there is unrest in Louisville.

“You can understand people's frustration,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in his daily news briefing Tuesday. “Certainly, those that hold the Kentucky Derby have absolutely no control over the timing of the [Breonna Taylor] investigation, or when we will have any type of results. I hope there can at least be a positive dialogue there. That's certainly a large facility in an area of Louisville where a lot of good could be done together.”

LMPD units have been stationed outside the Churchill Downs stable gate for the past several days, according to multiple sources, and that presence is expected to continue as the ramp up to Sept. 5 continues. Churchill officials are taking other extra precautions for this year's spectatorless Kentucky Derby, including a hard perimeter, which is not usually part of the day's security plan.

Sources inside Churchill told the Paulick Report that the track is ready to go and that there are multiple plans in place which can be implemented to respond to rising levels of unrest around the area.

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‘This Cannot Be A Celebratory Year’: Why Are Members Of Louisville’s Black Community Calling For A Kentucky Derby Boycott?

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.

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Coronavirus Spread, Racial Justice Demonstrations: Louisville Mayor Won’t Attend Kentucky Derby

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer told the Courier-Journal on Thursday that his current plan doesn't include attending this year's Kentucky Derby, rescheduled for Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs. Fischer usually does attend the annual event.

Churchill has already announced it will close the infield and restrict the number of attendees for this year's race, down from approximately 150,000 to 23,000.

Fischer cited the rising rate of coronavirus cases in Louisville, which his chief medical officer, Dr. Sarah Moyer, has compared to a “wildfire,” as well as the racial justice demonstrations being planned for that day in Louisville by the NFAC. The demonstrations are a response to the death of Breonna Taylor, a nationally publicized case in which the Black woman was fatally shot by Louisville police.

“We do expect some people in town for that,” Fischer said. “Obviously we want to make sure we're connected to everything that's going on and planning accordingly. Like every day, that will be a busy day, just a little more so with the running of the races.”

Read more at the Courier-Journal.

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