Why do protests escalate into riots? Martin L. King, Jr. explained it 53 years ago Saturday, May 30 2020 

"In the final analysis, the riot is the language of the unheard. What is it that America has failed to hear?" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1967

        

Louisville mayor says 10 arrested during day three of Breonna Taylor protests Saturday, May 30 2020 

During a Saturday night press conference, Mayor Fischer said those who were arrested failed to disperse.

        

We have a responsibility to give back to our community Saturday, May 30 2020 

By Catherine Brown– 

As members of U of L, we have a responsibility to be involved with our local community and giving back during this time of need is essential. While Kentucky slowly reopens, some local businesses still can not, so students should take action to support them.

Students are encouraged to donate food, money and time to local Coronavirus Relief charities and other local food banks and shelters. Students outside of Louisville can search for their local Coronavirus Relief Food Banks online and make a contribution.

According to Feeding America, a national charity network with over 60,000 charity programs, food banks will accept dry and canned goods, or any food that is non-perishable. 

Within U of L, students and staff have access to the Cardinal Cupboard. The Cardinal Cupboard is a student run food pantry open to all who need it. Donations come from the U of L community. 

“If students are interested in providing food, non-perishable goods are preferred at this time to ensure that products can be sanitized according to CDC health guidelines,” said Operations Leader Lauren Reuss.

For students with a few spare dollars to donate, they may contribute to the pantry by way of donating money. Those wishing to donate food but can’t visit campus may send the order over Amazon and ship it to the pantry’s address in the Student Activities Center, room W314, as noted on the Cardinal Cupboard’s U of L webpage.

Writer Ashlie Stevens, who founded “Keep Louisville Restaurants Strong” website, suggests purchasing gift cards from local restaurants to support their business. 

Buy a gift card to use at a later date. This puts cash in your favorite restaurant’s pocket, allowing them to weather the uncertainty of the upcoming weeks and months,” Stevens said. If you buy from our small businesses, you can support Louisville’s economy and keep our city’s food tourism on top.

Can’t donate food or money? There are still ways to give back. You can help by spreading the word of a charity or resource on social media. Or by setting up a fundraising campaign to raise money for businesses or shelters in the community. Maybe even volunteer your time at your local food drive. 

With businesses slowly reopening, Louisville needs support now more than ever. By donating money, food and time you can make an impact on our community.

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

The post We have a responsibility to give back to our community appeared first on The Louisville Cardinal.

As Curfew Looms, Police Enforcement Has Already Begun Downtown Saturday, May 30 2020 

With a half hour to go before the new curfew hits, law enforcement was already working to disperse crowds on either side of the Sixth and Jefferson intersection that’s been the focus of protests in the last few days.

A USA Today reporter filmed law enforcement dumping out water and milk jugs left out for protesters, and reporters on the scene said flash bangs, green smoke and tear gas were already being deployed before 8:30 p.m. Mounted officers were patrolling near West Liberty Street behind a line of officers in riot gear.

Jared Bennett | wfpl.org

Sixth and Liberty before curfew

As protesters chant, “no justice, no peace,” the officers are reading pepper balls and equipped with zip ties.

Near the jail and Hall of Justice. where protesters last night broke windows and lit a small fire, troopers suited up with gas masks.

A separate protest has been ongoing for more than an hour in the Highlands. There, police are holding a line but haven’t deployed any tear gas or other methods.

With five minutes to go before curfew, KSP and LMPD officers began firing tear gas past retreating protesters.

This story will be updated.

A Protester Confronts Mayor Fischer: ‘Where Were You Last Night?’ Saturday, May 30 2020 

Jessica Sayles was walking the streets she’d protested on the day before, surveying the damage left behind, when she came upon Louisville’s mayor finishing up a press conference.

He was standing at the corner of Fourth Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. It’s also known at Thomas Merton Square, and a historical marker there documents the revelation that Merton, a Catholic monk, had on that corner.

“I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people,” Merton wrote about that now-famous moment. “[T]hat they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers.”

Sayles, a 25-year-old Black woman from Louisville, had started protesting at 4 p.m. the day before. She watched Fischer’s press conference at 1 a.m. She saw him denounce the violence, she said, and congratulate the police. But she didn’t hear much about why she and the other protesters were upset.

And she had a question when she walked up and saw Mayor Greg Fischer: where were you last night?

I didn’t know where you were, Fischer responded.

“There were militarized police outside the Yum Center and we didn’t even do anything,” she said, her voice rising as media cameras rolled. “We were sitting down half the time. It is unfortunate… it’s very unfair.”

In an interview later, Sayles said she knows Fischer personally, though she’s not sure if he recognized her within the context of the confrontation. And the night before, she said she was shot with pepper balls as she peacefully demonstrated. She just walked down the block to survey the damage to a bar owned by a friend of hers. She thought the mayor waited too long to say something to people who are still hurting over the March 13 death of Breonna Taylor by Louisville Metro Police bullets.

Fischer said thank you. She kept talking.

“You still have officers that are walking around that killed someone in their sleep,” she said, her voice breaking. “An innocent person! And they’re still free.”

With that, as she continued to shout, Fischer walked away.

The previous night, dozens of business owners saw their windows busted out and inventory looted as Louisville Metro Police and Kentucky State Police officers fired tear gas and pepper balls to disperse crowds. On Thursday, the first night of protests, seven people were shot during a protest that was largely peaceful until that moment.

Saturday morning, Fischer was announcing a new state of emergency and a curfew that would be enforced by the National Guard. A reporter asked Sayles if she thought the riots still would have happened even if Fischer came out and spoke. She said she doesn’t know.

“I will say that if they would have came out there and absolutely tried to have a discussion with people, people would have listened, and they failed to do that,” she told a WFPL reporter.

“They came to us with riot gear. They didn’t come to us to have a conversation.”

Sayles said she hopes these protests cause people to pay more attention to the core source of these issues: police brutality, gentrification, poor neighborhood logistics.

“I really think the people of Louisville are tired, and I think that we have a wave of energy happening through the country right now that’s been pent up through years and years of oppression,” she said.

“You can only shake up a Coke bottle so many times before the top explodes. I think we’re starting to see the top exploding right now.”

BLOG: Louisville marks day three of protests in wake of Breonna Taylor shooting Saturday, May 30 2020 

As the Louisville mayor has set a dusk-to-dawn curfew, the National Guard will be on hand to help local authorities as the protests intensify.

        

IMAGES | The morning after: Damage from protests in downtown Louisville Saturday, May 30 2020 

A daytime look at the overnight damage from protests that broke out across Louisville Friday night into early Saturday morning. WARNING: Some of these images contain graphic profanity. Viewer discretion is advised.

Blog: Day 2 of protests in Louisville get ugly, violent and destructive Saturday, May 30 2020 

Mayor Fischer provides details on the dusk-to-dawn curfew. The curfew starts at 9 p.m. Saturday and is in effect until 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

        

Opinion: When there is a knee on our necks, anger is an act of righteous resistance Saturday, May 30 2020 

I am a black man from Minnesota who lives in Louisville, and I am angry... about Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and American racism.

       

1 dead after motorcycle, pickup truck collide on Taylorsville Road Saturday, May 30 2020 

Police say the motorcyclist, who was traveling at a high rate of speed, collided with a pick up truck around 3 p.m. Saturday

        

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