We were teargassed, shot at with rubber bullets, arrested, told we couldn’t even walk in certain areas of this city. And we are STILL fighting. This Senator hasn’t talked to ONE person on the ground. Not one. He should educate himself instead of spreading a false narrative.
Senator Wheeler has NO IDEA how it feels to be told you can’t walk in your own community. To be met with officers in riot gear. To get a call and rush to organize because they have murdered David McActee and left his body in the street for over 12 hours.
Senator Wheeler had no idea what it feels like to be walking and have an officer say, “Oh that’s Hannah Drake” so you know you’re being targeted. He has no idea how it is to peacefully protest and the police flash bang you for no reason.
Yesterday a letter was penned by Senate Majority Caucus Chair @jrajra who is a Republican in Kentucky. The letter and the subsequent rhetoric which seemed directed at protestors didn’t sit right with me. Today, I asked her to meet with me and she did.
I made a Facebook post asking her to meet me downtown. Meet me where so many Kentucky politicians are claiming there is lawlessness. And she did. It’s one thing to make comments and you have never been downtown. It’s another to just go walk in the space.
That narrative doesn’t work when you actually walk/see downtown. We walked, we talked, we sipped tea, we shared stories. On the surface we are nothing alike. However when you take the time to see the humanity in people you realize you aren’t that different.
#FourthofJuly2020
America was so battered and bruised it’s difficult to determine the manner of death
So, let me run through the options as we lay America to rest.
We cannot determine what the exact cause is, but we do know the underlying causes
Genocide- For the deliberate mass murders across the Middle Passage of 2-4 million Africans, for the uncounted deaths of Native Americans
Disease – For the deliberate deaths of Native Americans from smallpox infestation, for Tuskegee experimentation,
for failing to act during a global pandemic, for intentionally sending infected blood to other nations
Exhaustion– For Black people working sun up to sun down in cotton, sugar cane, and tobacco fields, For those that worked for years after Emancipation because you hid the truth
I’m not a political pundit. But one thing I do believe I know is people. To get people out to vote in your favor you must connect with them on a personal level, inspire them, and make them believe that in fact they have the ability to make their community a better place.
Speaking about issues is one thjng. Speaking about those issues on a personal level where people see themselves is another. Barack Obama was able to impact people with three words, “Yes WE can.” People believed in something bigger than themselves.
People in Kentucky started to believe damn maybe we can have clean drinking water. Maybe we can have a livable wage. Maybe we can have affordable healthcare for all. Maybe we can live in a state that isn’t so divided. @Booker4KY inspired people to believe anything was possible.
Breaking News: Brett Hankison of the three officers involved in the murder of #BreonnaTaylor will@be fired today.
Once Hankison gets the final letter he has 10 days to request final appeal with merit board. Merit board general rule is to set hearing within 60 days of appeal request.
Also Hankison will have to be removed from the Merit Board if he’s not an employee. He refused to get off the board previously. It is my understanding he was served this morning.