TUESDAY, June 9
Want to Help End White Silence? Zoom Free | 5:30 p.m. This free talk from Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice is for white people who want to learn how to truly help Black people and other people of color. “We cannot undermine white supremacy without engaging more white folks to work for a world where we ALL are free,” write organizers.#SayHerName Town Hall Location TBD Free | 7:30 p.m. Black Lives Matter Louisville is hosting a town hall seeking justice for Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville police March 13. More details on the event are coming soon. Keep an eye on BLM Louisville’s Facebook page for information.
THURSDAY, June 11
Staying Professional While Black During The Race War For Justice 2020 Online Free-$9.95 | 2-3:30 p.m. The question posed by this Derby Diversity Business Summit seminar is, how are Black people to remain “productive and professional during their 40 hour work week, knowing injustices are happening all around them?” Tawana Bain, CEO of New Age Communications and the founder and curator of the Diversity Business Summit hosts. It’s free if you just want to watch the panel, and $9.95 to include one-on-one digital networking.What Will Tomorrow Look Like? Zoom Free | 6:30-7:30 p.m. For young adults, ages 30 and under, looking for ways to “take action on racial justice,” the Jewish Federation of Louisville has invited three former UofL athletes to give advice. Football players Jamon Brown and Reggie Bonnafon and basketball player Larry O’Bannon will give their thoughts in this panel moderated by Judge Derwin Webb.
FRIDAY, June 12
Peace Art Activism Mellwood Art and Entertainment Center and Online $20 suggested donation | 5-8 p.m. This digital collaborative art activism event will “benefit the effort against police brutality.” PeaceState, Louisville’s “first intersectional art activist collective” partnered with artists across the country to “raise awareness surrounding the epidemic of state-sanctioned violence and systemic oppression perpetrated by law enforcement against black communities.” Many of the artists will be Black, Indigenous or other people of color or LGBTQIA+. All share PeaceState’s vision.‘Fix It, Black Girl’ Facebook Live Free | 7 p.m. Hannah L. Drake, poet and activist, presents this evening of poetry, essay and song from Black women artists, including Erica Denise, Janelle Renee Dunn, Robin G, Sujotta Pace, Kala Ross and Drake herself. The collaboration is meant to “celebrate resilience and the power generated by collective action.” In a separate event on Wednesday, Drake will also present her poem “Emerge” in a streamed reading on Lift Up Lou’s Facebook page.
ALL WEEK
Protests for Black Lives Various locations Free | Times vary The protests for Black Louisvillians killed and brutalized by police will not stop this week. (See the demands that Black Lives Matter Louisville and members of Breonna Taylor’s family are asking for here). Every day, protesters are occupying Jefferson Square from noon to 7 p.m. before they march across the city. On Monday, families are also protesting for Black lives along Hillcrest Avenue starting at 5 p.m.Support Talented Black Artists Online Free | Times vary Louisville is bursting with Black talent. Some of our favorite performers who have gigs this week are Keith McGill and Hazelfire. On Wednesday, McGill, a legendary Louisville comic, presents a night of clean comedy hosted by the Gilda’s Club of Kentuckiana. McGill, whose comedy focuses on the “idiosyncratic aspects of life” was a finalist on NBC’s StandUp talent search, and he has appeared on BET, CMT, Fox’s “Laughs” and “The Bob and Tom Show.” On Thursday, punk rock artist Hazelfire is the latest guest on La La Land’s online Isolation Jams series. Hazelfire, who rolled out three full-length albums in 2019, will perform songs on Facebook and Instagram Live from his first work of 2020: the quarantine-themed “eBoy.”
Donate Various Locations Free | Times vary There are lots of worthy organizations for your dollars and donations to go to at this time. Here are a few. The Metro United Way is looking for supplies for the Smoketown and West Louisville neighborhoods. That includes cleaning supplies, toiletries, kids activities, masks, gloves, water, fresh and non-perishable food and gift cards, which you can drop off at 334 E. Broadway from 4 to 6 p.m on Thursday. Another push, the Feed the West initiative is accepting groceries for West Louisville neighborhoods, as well as volunteers to box and deliver groceries. You can also send money to bail funds, which are helping get Louisville protesters and other prisoners out of jail: The Louisville Community Bail Fund is ran by Stand Up Sundays, and the national Bail Project has a chapter in Louisville.
Elevator Arts: Artist Relief Trust Fund Online Free | Any time This is for female-identifying artists of color in Kentucky. Elevator Arts, in partnership with the Kentucky Foundation for Women, has launched a “special round of funding” to help out artists “many of whom are helping lead the racial justice movement.”
