‘Frustrated and angry.’ Protesters decry racist remarks made to Lexington council
The 20th night of protests in Lexington centered heavily on Wednesday evening’s virtual public comment Urban County Council meeting, which was plagued with racial slurs and other derogatory comments from trolls.
“I stand here tonight broken, hurt, frustrated and angry,” said Jay Calhoun, a protester at Wednesday night’s demonstrations.
The public council meeting was held on Zoom and was intended to allow Lexington residents to speak publicly about police reform. It was instead hijacked by people who used the time for public comment to shout racist and homophobic slurs more than a dozen times. Protesters said there were bomb threats and threats made to run protesters over.
“Not only did I have to hear it, I had to read it throughout the whole comment section,” Calhoun said of a racial slur being shouted during the meeting by commenters. “Our lives have been threatened, both directly and indirectly. It just really goes to show just how deep white supremacy and racism lies right here in Kentucky.”
Police told protesters in front of the police station that a bomb threat had been made, and advised them to leave while the threat was investigated. Protesters refused, instead marching to the back of the station and confronting more officers there.
Police later said there was a bomb threat, but it was determined to not be credible.
“We did receive a report from a concerned resident this evening but have confirmed they were referring to comments made during tonight’s council meeting,” the Lexington Police Department said in a tweet. “Currently NO credible threats targeting protesters or the downtown area.”
Protesters also confronted a man in attendance. They accused him of being a member of the Three Percenters and said he brought a gun to a previous protest. He was taking photos of protesters until they surrounded him and yelled at him. He eventually left.
The protesters marched from the courthouse to Cheapside, where they honored those who were traded at the former slave auction site.
“We come here and we say peace to our ancestors because that’s the only peace that has ever been publicly given to them,” Calhoun said.
They proceeded to the police department, where some bystanders were talking to officers stationed behind barricades before the protesters showed up. When the larger group of protesters arrived, officers backed off the barricade and watched as protesters raised concerns with the current police collective bargaining agreement.
Protesters continued to the corner of East Vine Street and South Limestone, where they staged a “die-in” for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to honor George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minneapolis. Four cars were blocked, and one driver said he needed to get through for a medical emergency. Protesters let him through and then continued the demonstration.
Police officers gave the other drivers a detour route. One driver left the area, while the other two stayed to watch the rest of the demonstration.
Protesters continued to march for a few blocks and dispersed just before 11 p.m. Sarah Williams, a protest organizer, said the demonstrations would continue, even though turnout has declined in recent days.
“I wouldn’t be discouraged by the decrease in numbers,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of reasons why we have decreased numbers.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 12:19 AM.