Last Thursday nearly 200 people gathered in the rotunda to share prayer, cheers, stories of triumph, and a call for the General Assembly to do one simple thing: "Let Us Vote".
This Thursday (February 26th) members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and allies will be gathering at the Capitol for a focus lobby day and rally in support of voting rights for former felons, and ask the Kentucky General Assembly to Let Us Vote! We hope you will join us in asking legislators to pass House Bill 70, and let the people vote on voting rights for former felons.
KFTC and several ally groups late Friday filed a motion to intervene in a state enforcement action against Frasure Creek Mining for violating the Clean Water Act at its coal mining operations in ea
KFTC members had a big year in 2014, and you can revisit that work through the 2014 KFTC Annual Report. It's filled with KFTC faces and tells the story of our work last year. Click here to read it online.
Vision Smoketown began as a volunteer-based community canvassing project conceived after the Jefferson County KFTC Chapter moved its office to Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood in July 2013. Members of the chapter’s Economic Justice Team were focusing their attention on local affordable housing issues. After moving to Smoketown, the team wanted to understand the desires and needs of Smoketown residents within the changing dynamics of Louisville.
Sean Hardy is a member of the Jefferson County Chapter of KFTC's Air Quality Team. The following is the speech Sean gave at the 10th Annual I Love Mountains Day rally at the State Capitol in Frankfort. To learn more about the chapter's Air Quality Team click here or contact our Jefferson County chapter organizer Alicia Hurle at [email protected] or 502-589-3188.
Hello, my name is Sean Hardy and I have been a proud KFTC member for the last 2 years. I also am a native of West Louisville, Kentucky. The West Louisville neighborhood is one that has provided both economic empowerment and home ownership to many African Americans throughout the years.
It is also home to a conglomeration of chemical plants aptly named “Rubbertown” – referencing its WWII ties as a rubber manufacturing company.
Where are we, Louisville? How is our local narrative fitting into larger regional, statewide and national social conditions?
Louisville, like the rest of the country, has become a place with a more visible and increased militarized police presence. Less than a year ago our local media in conjunction with with many elected officials and police, used an incident with young people downtown to funnel over $200,000 into more surveillance and policing of youth of color particularly along the Waterfront and new areas of “urban” development. Young people were framed as rioting and dangerous. The damaging effects of this increase in the policing of young people can be seen in the case of the Misidentified 4, where young men from our community were brutalized and whose families have been vocal about the need for a civilian review board.
People of faith have a long tradition of standing together against injustice. There are many passages throughout spiritual texts calling for people of faith to work for justice and fight against oppression. Also, many social justice advocates have channeled their faith when leading social change movements.
During the 2015 General Assembly, KFTC members and fellow voting rights advocates are joining together in prayer, song and testimony to put pressure on Kentucky’s Senate leadership to pass a proposed constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to nearly a quarter million Kentuckians.
“We are here to express our love for Kentucky and our belief in its bright future,” said KFTC Chairperson Dana Beasley Brown as she welcomed the crowd to KFTC’s tenth I Love Mountains Day.
Frigid winds and snow flurries couldn’t compete with New Power as hundreds of people from across Kentucky marched up Capital Avenue and rallied on the capitol steps for a brighter future for Kentucky.
Beasley Brown thanked KFTC members for “your vision, your courage and your persistence” and recognized the many communities across Kentucky who were represented in the crowd.
The Saturday following I Love Mountains Day, the Northern Kentucky chapter celebrated their own love for the mountains with Northern Kentucky Loves Mountains. Aimed at raising awareness about issues that impact Kentuckians from the Appalachian region, this event focused on the devastation of mountaintop removal and the need to re-imagine the possibilities in eastern Kentucky.
