Posted on May 30, 2020

‘It is Not a Riot. It is a Revolt’: Councilwoman Responds to Breonna Taylor Protest

Darcy Costello, Louisville Courier Journal, May 29, 2020

When Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey looked at the hundreds gathering Thursday night in downtown Louisville, she saw a city that was hurt.

“It is not a riot. It is a revolt against a system in which people have felt oppressed,” said Dorsey, D-3rd District, who represents Shively and part of western Louisville.

“What I’m seeing is people who are trying their best to do something with their hurt, their pain and their frustration.”

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At least seven people where shot Thursday night, according to police. Dorsey’s comments were made prior to the shooting.

It came on the heels of protests in other cities, including Minneapolis, where an unarmed black man was killed by police who kneeled on his neck.

“What they’re saying is we’re tired. We want real change. We want substantive change,” Dorsey said. “For a long time, we’ve used evidence-based approaches to find the problem. Now we know what the problem is, and we want to see action.”

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The protest turned more violent as the night moved on, with at least one report of shots fired in the crowd.

But Dorsey said Thursday that the protesters marching in solidarity, with one unified voice, was an attempt to say, “We will no longer accept this.”

“To me, that march is not an ask. It’s a demand for change. What we’re seeing tonight is people demand change,” she said.