Kali Speaks drew one of the biggest reactions of the night with her impassioned speech during Friday’s peace and reconciliation rally in Smothers Park. She said it might have been because she said things no one is willing to hear yet.
“I just wanted people to recognize that you can’t just show up when we die,” Speaks said, referring to the killing of black people. “All of the little things add up to our death. If you can see it before it gets there, that’s what we’re going for.”
The 28-year-old graduate of Owensboro High School and Murray State University said many people don’t realize even the simplest things can be rooted in racism.
“A lot of people think being racist is calling people slurs and hanging them from trees,” she said. “Racism is deeper than that and it’s more involved than that, and sometimes you can’t recognize it. … I’ve been in classes where my dark-skinned, black friends would get in trouble for something and my white friends would not, even though they were doing the same thing. That’s racism. They don’t think about it.”
Speaks said the first step toward creating change and putting an end to systemic racism is simply listening to black people rather than letting stereotypes drown out the message.
“It’s a big conversation,” she said. “It’s a lot of little stuff, it’s a lot of big stuff. It all amounts to the same thing and it all ends in black suffering. I hope people are willing to listen to us. We are going to tell you what to do, all you have to do is show up and do it.”
Several hundred people attended the event, which was live-streamed on the Owensboro Times Facebook page.
Of the roughly two dozen speakers at the event, Speaks was one of a small number from the younger generation.
The Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph, one of the organizers of the rally, said she was overjoyed to not only see young people standing up for equality, but also for their message to be well-received.
Randolph, who is president of the Owensboro NAACP chapter, shared her own heartfelt message to close out the evening’s event.
“The message I’m trying to get out is people are tired of marching and tired of protesting,” she said. “Although they serve their purpose and they have their place, you have more change and you are more effective when you sit down at the table and bring some viable options for people to grab hold to so there can be a lasting change.”
Other speakers included several church leaders; the mayor and city commissioners; the judge-executive and county commissioners; the police chief; leaders of local organizations; and community activists.
Though each speaker offered their own personal messages, prayers or apologies, the recurring theme was that the community and local leaders must work together to actively create change.
Words will not be enough. It will take action to fight back against systemic racism in the goal toward true justice and equality for all.
“We’re really hoping that this is about making people understand to hold our leaders accountable,” said Naheed Murtaza, co-event organizer and Human Relations Commisssion Board Vice President. “Change won’t come by just criticism. Change will come when you step it up and get involved and voice your concern and teach and be active in the position of pushing justice and equality.”
