Over 1,000 rally for justice on Taylor’s 27th birthday

LOUISVILLE – Friday would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday.

But the emergency room technician wasn’t here to see it.

Instead, nearly three months after Louisville police fatally shot Taylor in her South End apartment, a crowd of at least 1,000 gathered on her birthday to celebrate her and to protest the death of another African American by law enforcement.

“Maybe this is the generation that says, ‘We’ve had enough!’” Louisville poet Hannah Drake told an energized crowd, who punctuated her words with chants of “Say her name” and “No justice, no peace.”

Through Friday afternoon and evening, groups from across Louisville converged into a massive demonstration under a sweltering sun at Metro Hall, where people wrote cards for Taylor’s family and sang her “Happy Birthday.”

And around the country, protesters in cities such as Orlando, Florida, and Cincinnati joined in honoring Taylor by holding vigils and rallies.

In Louisville, some carried balloons. Others brought flowers. And many signed their names with messages on a large white banner.

“You should be here,” one message said. “You sparked such a powerful movement. Let’s create a new world for you.”

For nine straight days, protests have erupted across Louisville, with thousands of people calling for justice in the deaths of Taylor and David McAtee, a black restaurant owner who was killed by law enforcement at his business when police and National Guard troops were trying to disperse a crowd.

Though the demonstrations occasionally have been marred by violence – with seven people shot, businesses damaged and protesters hit with tear gas – Friday’s rally remained one of celebration and remembrance as students, teachers and health professionals arrived in waves to honor a life cut short.

“I know this happened months ago, but it’s so fresh on us,” said Bianca Randall, who brought her 4-year-old daughter, Ella Shumake, to Jefferson Square early in the day.

“I just had to be present. I had to show (Ella) what it meant. You can read a book and you can watch a show, but to feel it and to be in the moment and see it in real time – I wanted her to see this matters and she matters and her voice matters.”

Organizers of the downtown event dubbed it “Sisters Friday,” and they asked that women in the audience take turns sharing what they had to say. Rameka Jackson, 32, said the goal was to show how much women support the movement against police brutality.

For nine days, women have set up food and first aid stations for protesters, Jackson said. They’ve been pelted by pepper bullets shot by police officers. And they’ve received little recognition.

“We want to show … that we are Breonna,” Jackson said. “We are her. It could have been me, it could have been any of those women over there. So that’s the purpose of us coming out today. So the women can be heard.”