Louisville Urban League, Local Leaders Call for City to Act on Racial Injustice

The Louisville Urban League (Louisville, KY) and about 60 more local leaders and organizations have sent a petition to the city as a call to demand specific and immediate action on various issues facing the Black community.

The 20-page document, addressed to Mayor Greg Fischer and Metro Council President David James — and copied to a number of other prominent governmental leaders — focuses on public safety and funding for Black community initiatives, but touches on many areas the authors feel need attention.

"Black community leaders and those of good conscience are working to push for answers and consequences. The time has come to give us the necessary resources to begin to do the work for ourselves since our elected leaders are reluctant to do what they have been sworn to do for all of our citizens," reads a summary of the document, distributed by the Urban League.

The summary highlights two prominent demands:

• Incorporate earlier demands and request a top-to-bottom review of Louisville Metro Police Department to be conducted by an outside — nontraditional — agency, inclusive of civilians; and
• Formally request an immediate rehearing of the budget committee for a reallocation request to be heard, approved, and include the creation of a $50 million Black Community Fund in the 2020-21 budget.

“'Jobs, justice, education, health and housing' is not just a Louisville Urban League slogan; it is a holistic approach to what Black communities across this country need for systemic restructuring," the document reads. "The protests happening in the streets of Louisville and in at least one city in every state in our country are evidence that Black America and people of good conscience everywhere are exhausted by the traditional methods of negotiation. These methods have clearly failed.

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