LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville protesters are defending their actions after a scene at the Convention Center on Saturday.
Amber Brown said she does “not apologize whatsoever” after the crowd received criticism for shouting at cheer squads who were walking through the entrance for a cheer competition.
During a livestream by 502 Live Streamer, Tara Bassett, a protester, not Brown, can be heard on the megaphone saying, “The reason why you get to be here with these pretty gorgeous little outfits, and your gorgeous hair and your gorgeous bows is because of your white privilege.”
The protester goes on to say, “Black mothers are burying their babies while white mothers send their children to cheer competitions. Do something Black today with your white privilege, thank you.”
“There were many athletes crying right before they competed,” one cheer mother told WHAS 11, and asked to remain anonymous. “They didn't understand why these people were angry with them. What did they do to make these people angry? They were intimidated, they were fearful.”
The mother said the kids were being called racist and were alarmed by the guns some protesters were carrying.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer addressed the incident on Monday, apologizing to those attending the competition.
“There's no excuse for the type of behavior that took place to intimidate young children,” he said. “It's not a good look.”
Brown said they did not target the Convention Center because of the cheer competition. She explained Monday that she was leading a caravan that was shut down by police.
Louisville Metro Police released a statement on Sunday that said in part:
“Saturday’s activity saw several individuals engaged in behavior that was deliberately reckless and this resulted in several arrests. Included in this was an individual who stood in front of a bus and refused to move, an individual who was riding unsecured on the hood of a car, and an individual who deliberately stepped in front of vehicles to disrupt traffic. LMPD respects the right to protest and is committed to working with any entity or individual on identifying a path forward that allows for freedom of expression in a manner that does not create public safety issues.”
“I, being the organizer of the event, made the decision that we should be on foot,” Brown explained.
That’s how they ended up at the Convention Center, which sits two blocks away from Jefferson Square Park.
“It was pure coincidence,” Brown said. “Not one child was harmed, not one parent was harmed, nobody was hurt.”
A cheer parent told WHAS 11 that the young kids were scarred by the experience.
“The innocent young mind that isn’t used to being in a place where weapons are in their face did get hurt. Their innocence was taken from them in that moment.”
Brown response to that is: “White feelings do not matter more than Black lives.”
Metro Councilman Jecorey Arthur also weighed in with this statement, saying in part:
"Black children have been going through physical and psychological damage for centuries. It’s impossible for me to feel sorry for some white kids going into a cheerleading contest. To what extent is this really about yelling at kids, versus the content of what they were yelling? It is not against the law to yell at anyone, even if they were cursing. You can protest and say what you want to say in a megaphone. That is the reality. Some people have been living under a rock and have ignored racism and have been colorblind racism. 2020 has said no one can live under a rock at this point.”
Brown called the encounter a success and hopes it started conversations between the kids and their parents.
“There are people who stand behind your cause, but when you use intimidation screaming and yelling at young girls, when you go from peaceful to threatening no one wants to stand behind your cause,” said one cheer mom, who did not want to be named.
One of the cheer parents said that unless there are security measures in place, she does not feel comfortable bringing kids back to the convention center for a competition.
Louisville Tourism spokesperson Stacey Yates released this statement in response to Saturday:
“We are hearing from some of the event participants and are working with city and facility leadership on how to address the situation that arose this weekend.”
► Contact reporter Heather Fountaine at hfountaine@whas11.com and follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Heather) and Facebook.