LOUISVILLE, Ky. With the 147th Kentucky Derby on the horizon, Churchill Downs and two of its partners have announced an equity initiative meant to make the race and its related events more welcoming to the entire community.
The initiative spearheaded by the Kentucky Derby Festival comes seven months after a historic 2020 race that saw hundreds of protesters descend on the track, calling on Churchill Downs to play a larger role in addressing racist systems that have put Black people on unequal footing for generations.
Ahead of last year s race, some Black residents publicly decried the Derby and the company, saying the longstanding event was a symbol of segregation, not unity. And they called on the track to cancel the race in the wake of the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot six times by officers serving a search warrant at her apartment.