LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 411: As Louisville heads into the fourth week of protests, a former NBA champion and ESPN Analyst Stephen Jackson will travel to the city to show his support and to bring more awareness in the Breonna Taylor and David “YaYa” McAtee cases.
Jackson was childhood friends with George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The incident played out on video for the world to see and sparked a worldwide movement toward racial justice and police reform.
Jackson said once he got past his friend’s funeral, he would use his voice to bring awareness to similar cases like Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers in March.
On Sunday, June 28, Jackson will team up with Darrell Griffith Jr., Ravon Churchill and LaVon Clack to host an event called Black Culture Sunday. The event will be held at Cox Park on River Road from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Churchill said the decision to hold the event at Cox Park was intentional.
“We chose Cox Park because of its history among blacks in Louisville," he said. "Blacks frequented Cox before Chickasaw and Shawnee."
Chickasaw and Shawnee are two parks located in West Louisville.
“Sometimes referring and connecting the right people instead of doing things yourself is best for the overall goal and using your platform to do something positive for the city makes it even better," Griffith Jr., said.
"Being a black male with what’s going on in the world today I just wanted to play my part in this possible historic event.”
Thursday night, organizers confirmed the following speakers for Sunday’s rally:
- LMPD Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder
- Retired U.S. KY Sen. Gerald Neal
- Navy Colonel and Louisville native Pamela Stevenson
- Representative Charles Booke
- Evon Smith, president of One West Louisville and the president for the Sickle Cell Association of Kentuckiana
- Councilmembers David James, Keisha Dorsey, Jessica Green and Donna Purvis
- Jamon Brown, NFL Atlanta Falcon and Louisville native
- Former University of Louisville and University of Kentucky players
- Jason Clayborn, gospel artist
- DJ Kaos
- DJ Knitti
- Rev. Timothy Findley
The organizers of Black Culture Sunday put together the event to advocate for Breonna Taylor and David McAtee, who was killed in Louisville on June 1.
Breonna Taylor was killed on March 13 in the early morning hours when officers entered her home via a “no knock” warrant. She was shot multiple times and died. Her story came to light after her mother, Tamika Palmer, filed a lawsuit giving details on what had happened that morning.
David McAtee was killed on June 1 by the Kentucky National Guard when guard members and LMPD officers were trying to clear a crowd of people near Dino's Food Mart.
In addition to the guest speakers, there will be vendors to recognize small businesses and entertainment from area artists who have national platforms.
Contact The 411’s Sherlene Shanklin at sshanklin@whas11.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.