Churchill Downs is typically a place for fast horses and fancy hats, but this Saturday, it could also be the site of a massive protest on behalf of Breonna Taylor.
Activists announced plans to demonstrate outside of the Kentucky Derby this weekend in Louisville to demand that the police officers involved in the no-knock raid of Taylor’s home be arrested. The Rev. Timothy Findley Jr., one of the protest’s organizers, said he hopes a demonstration at the high-class event will bring new attention to the Taylor case.
“In our country, we have people who are seemingly disconnected and uninterested in the plights of black and brown people,” Findley told NBC News. “As we demonstrate, it allows us to push forward and show the country and the world that if you value horses more than black people, that is not OK.”
Taylor, a black, 29-year-old healthcare worker, was shot and killed by police officers after they rushed into her home to search for drugs. Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, said he heard the unidentified officers break into the home and thought it was a home invasion, so he fired a warning shot. Officers returned fire and shot Taylor eight times. No drugs were found in the home.
One officer from the raid has been fired from the Louisville Police Department, but many activists believe the three officers involved in the shooting should be arrested. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he is still investigating the incident, but activists want him to move faster.
“People want answers, and it shouldn’t have taken this long to get an answer,” said Hannah Drake, a poet and activist.
Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO William Carstanjen said last week that the race is important to Kentucky and would take place as scheduled, but he added that the Derby recognizes racial injustice as well.
“The community in general overwhelmingly supports having the Derby,” Carstanjen told CNBC. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not sensitive and a part of the dialogue on the social and racial equality issues in our community and in our society.”
Horse racing is not the only sport to grapple with how to recognize the protests against police brutality and racial injustice that have taken place throughout the country. The NBA, WNBA, MLB, and NHL have all made efforts to recognize the Black Lives Matter movement.
