You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it. — Wendell Berry
IN AN HISTORIC press conference on September 15, Mayor Greg Fischer alongside Breonna Taylor's family, her lawyers, and leaders of our Black community, announced the beginning stages of police reform in Louisville as part of a civil settlement (see full video here). We were moved by this unprecedented, collaborative announcement and felt it was a grand step toward healing within our city. We feel it is important to commend actions toward healing and restitution, as well as find it important to condemn any actions that are doing the opposite.
DAN DELANEY,a researcher from Louisville, wrote a thoughtful piece for the LEO Weekly about the "disinformation bomb" of August 25: Rumors Caused City Havoc, Not the Protests. His piece reminded us that we must be mindful about our information sources and motives behind the information within them. We have also seen a disinformation campaign that employs fear tactics to undermine our collective reconciliation and healing as a community.
EVERY MONDAY,Center for Interfaith Relations shares a bit of Thomas Merton's wisdom to get the week started. Be thankful for them and follow them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to be among the first to see #MertonMonday.
"OUR WORKto foster understanding, cooperation and action is especially critical as this moment in history." — Sarah Riggs Reed, CIR Managing Director
Grateful for over 20 years of the annual 'Festival of Faiths' our nationally acclaimed interfaith event of music, poetry, film, art, and dialogue with internationally renowned spiritual leaders, thinkers and practitioners.
WORKING TOWARDS A HEALTHIER VISION FOR OUR CITY
"I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU TO CREATE A VISION,"Yvette Gentry said in her acceptance speech for Louisville's interim LMPD Chief position. In this speech, that you can watch here starting at 8 minutes and 15 seconds, she delivered a brilliant and emotional vision for her finite time back in office that focuses on rebuilding our community with love, rather than falling for fear. She promised to be honest, while inevitably imperfect, and she asked us to "get involved and do [our] part," by fixing what is within our control and holding our peers and family accountable. We congratulate Interim Chief Gentry on her position and look forward to helping her create a more equitable Louisville by doing our part.
Each of us can be a part of the solution through our collective work to useA Path Forwardas our cities blueprint for structural reform.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGERreleased a strong anti-racist message on how even across political divides, there is no space to condone white supremacy or racism in America today.
TODAY, SEPTEMBER 17,is our Community Foundation of Louisville's annual Give for Good Day. Each year, this is the most important day of fundraising for our community, by our community. Let us again should the world that Louisvillians are coming together in harmony to strengthen the Health of our community.
REGISTER TO VOTE, TODAY!
One way we can each give of our time today is to immediately register to vote and/or register for your absentee ballot If you register for your absentee ballot today, you can expect to see it in the mail sometime after September 15th. The threats to our Democracy are plenty, and while much of our work needs to be done to ensure USPS and our Election Officials are protecting our Democracy, we also must stay vigilant in order to be sure each of our votes are counted. Check out KFTC's Voter Instructions for more information.
"Thirty Days of Stories on the Underground Railroad" is a series of podcasts created in celebration of September as International Underground Railroad Month. The Oldham County History Center is celebrating by recording a podcast story on the Underground Railroad to broadcast each day of September. Click here to listen to the podcast.
