A year after Breonna Taylor's death, will there be Kentucky Derby protests?

LOUISVILLE — Fans weren't allowed inside Churchill Downs during the running of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, but outside, hundreds of people marched. There was a national militia group, the Not F***ing Around Coalition, which brandished heavy firearms while facing a line of fences and police cars. And there were local protesters and church leaders, who joined with the national organization Until Freedom to march from South Central Park to the racetrack.

They chanted, "Say her name: Breonna Taylor," as they called for police officers to be charged in the death of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was killed in her home by police executing a search warrant in March 2020.

Marches and caravans have continued into spring, and although an organized, mass demonstration like the one on Derby Day last year is unlikely, local protesters say there will be a demonstration Saturday, when fans turn out for the 147th Kentucky Derby.

Chris Wells, a Louisville protest leader, said there will be a "big march" Saturday, but he declined to give specifics as to when and where it would occur.

Until Freedom, based in New York, confirmed in a message to The Courier Journal that it will not organize any event in Louisville during this year’s Derby. And the NFAC, whose leader John “Grandmaster Jay” Johnson was recently indicted on federal charges for allegedly pointing an assault rifle at officers the night before the 2020 Derby, has made no announcement that they will be in Louisville.

Ongoing protests continue to be motivated by Taylor's death, as well as instances of police brutality across the country — like the killing of Daunte Wright by police in Minnesota during a traffic stop this month and the April 18 arrest of Louisville protester Dee Garrett, who was punched four times by a Louisville Metro Police officer whom the department has yet to identify.

LMPD has not said whether it expects significant protest activity Saturday.

"LMPD will utilize our officers and specialty units within the racetrack, providing coverage as coordinated with the Churchill Downs security team," spokesperson Elizabeth Ruoff said in a statement. "The outer perimeter of the racetrack will be staffed as usual, primarily for traffic and pedestrian safety. We are prepared for a large event, as we are every year, and for any security issues that may arise surrounding these gatherings."

Police have responded to marches at least four times in the past two-and-a-half weeks: the night of April 12 on Baxter Avenue following Wright’s death; on April 19 near Cherokee Park, the day after Garrett was punched; on April 20, after a group planned to protest at a house that it suspected belonged to the LMPD officer who punched Garrett; and this past Friday on Bardstown Road before about 100 protesters chanted and marched to Mayor Greg Fischer’s house.

During that demonstration, a few onlookers asked marchers about their motives: “What are you protesting?”

Protesters have said they continue to march for Taylor, for other Black people killed by police nationwide, for Garrett, and to end police brutality, among other reasons.

“It’s for every single thing that’s been going on in this city,” Wells said.

He said Saturday's march would also protest against Churchill Downs, which he said has not done enough for the community as a whole. Last week, Churchill Downs, in partnership with the Kentucky Derby Festival and Humana launched an equity initiative to make the Derby and related events more welcoming.

More:Breonna Taylor’s mother on Derek Chauvin verdict: ‘All I could do was thank God’

The Derby has been a consideration of people protesting for decades. University of Louisville historian Tracy K’Meyer wrote in her book "Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South" that every major social movement in Louisville has to answer the question: “What to do about the Derby?”

There were hushed discussions to protest at the Derby for various causes in the 1960s and 1970s, and there were overt plans to protest at the event last year, in the midst of more than six months of daily demonstrations.

Although there has been substantially less protest activity in 2021 than last summer, there have still been several marches and caravans. On March 2, a group gathered in downtown Louisville and caravanned to Frankfort in support of Breonna’s Law, a bill to ban no-knock warrants. And March 13, the one-year anniversary of Taylor’s death, several hundred people walked in the streets of Louisville in an event spearheaded by Until Freedom and Taylor’s family.

More:Trial for ex-Louisville cop charged after Breonna Taylor shooting gets pushed back

Then, there have been the protests of the past few weeks.

During last Friday’s protest march that blocked traffic and traveled from Jefferson Square Park, east on Broadway, and then out Bardstown Road, police responded near the intersection of Bardstown and Grinstead, arresting three people and towing one car.

Wells referenced those arrests when explaining whether he expected there to be protest-related arrests Saturday.

“I’m not even going to lie to you, I’ll say yes, because look what happened the other day,” he said.

Roughly 100 people were part of that march, and Wells predicted Saturday’s protest would be larger.

“It grew once we got into the streets,” he said, “and that’s what the goal is for Saturday.”

Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner.