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At a Juneteenth luncheon organized by the Metro Human Relations Fee, Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Greg Fischer apologized to Black residents for the town’s position in upholding and instituting racist programs.
“I can’t erase all of the injustices from the primary slave ships to as we speak,” Fischer instructed the viewers final Thursday on the Kentucky Heart for African American Heritage, in accordance with the Louisville Courier-Journal. “However what I can do is supply a honest apology from me as an individual and, extra importantly, on behalf of the establishment of the town authorities of Louisville.”
Following Fischer’s remarks, the Rev. Corrie Shull — a member of the Jefferson County Public Colleges Board — knowledgeable the viewers that it had witnessed a second in historical past, referring to the mayor’s apology. “Thanks, sir,” Shull mentioned to Fischer. “We salute you for taking that stand as we speak.”
Fischer has drawn criticism for his dealing with of the police killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor in March of 2020. Taylor’s dying, in addition to that of George Floyd in Might of 2020, kicked off a summer season of protests in opposition to racial injustice and police violence throughout the nation. Throughout Thursday’s occasion, he referred to Taylor’s “tragic dying” as one instance of racial injustice. He added that within the coming weeks, Louisville Metro Police Division chief Erika Shields “may have extra to say on the historical past of institutional abuse of Black People by police.”
“For now, together with this apology, I pledge to proceed to battle injustice for my remaining time as mayor and all my breaths thereafter.”
Fischer, who’s in his third and final time period as mayor, added that you will need to come clean with previous wrongs to get past them. “Those who signify establishments could also be hesitant to acknowledge that hurt, even when they weren’t current on the time of the offenses,” he mentioned. “However the stain of the historic hurt stays, and acknowledging the stain is totally obligatory to maneuver ahead.”
Final month, Fischer publicly apologized to members of “The Black Six,” a gaggle of Black enterprise homeowners and residents who have been accused of planning to destroy buildings within the metropolis’s West Finish in 1968. “Till we acknowledge the hurt that’s occurred prior to now, it’s onerous to maneuver on,” Fischer mentioned earlier than a Might panel that included two members of the group. “I wasn’t there then, however I’m right here now. I signify an establishment. So I apologize.”
Fischer additionally cited different racial injustices, together with the sale of enslaved folks, city renewal and trauma in opposition to Black residents who battle for equal rights.
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