Story by Niki King; photos by Brendan J. Sullivan 

 

Over the summer, the Bellarmine community joined the worldwide movement to demand racial justice following the deaths of four Black people in the U.S.  

 

Faculty, staff and students attended protests and organized campus events, such as a Faculty and Staff Community Conversation and a Prayer Vigil for Racial Unity and Justice. Students, including some from the Student Government Association, also worked with the offices of Identity and Inclusion and Public Safety to collect more than $4,000 and two vanloads of supplies like water and snacks for Louisville’s protesters. For students in particular, the movement has become a defining moment that’s left lasting impressions, stoked their passion for social change and influenced what they want to do with their lives. 

 

“To boil it all down, I’m not going to stop protesting or using my voice until justice has been served in all cases—not just in Louisville, but everywhere,” said Kenna Mink, a sophomore majoring in Business Administration.  

 

For Kenna, the movement is deeply personal. Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville woman shot to death in her home by police, was a family friend. 

 

Kenna attended protests every day in the beginning, nine days in all, witnessing how the demonstrations grew and became more peaceful and organized as time passed.  

 

She continued to go as the summer progressed, but not quite as often. She was frustrated by increasing restrictions placed on protestors, like not being able to walk in the street, and by how many people seemed unaffected by their cries for change. But she still believes the protestors’ actions matter and will hasten progress, she said. 

 

Kenna also spoke at a peaceful student-led protest in the Quad, sharing her experience and explaining what the Black Lives Matter movement means to her.  

 

“If I can show people, help them understand what I stand for, I will,” she said. “This is what I’m going to use my voice for. I feel like I’m a voice for a lot of my generation.” 

 

 

“I know Bellarmine is a lasting home for me because the people in this community supported us,” Kelze’ said. “It affirmed for me this is where I need to be.”  

 

Kelze', who plans to attend law school next year, said her passion for civil rights ignited after she traveled to Selma, Alabama, for Alternative Spring Break. On those trips, Bellarmine students joined thousands for the Bloody Sunday anniversary marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and spent time in a restorative justice training program. 

 

She said the death on July 17, 2020, of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who was beaten for leading the first march across the bridge in 1965, was yet another call to action.  

 

“The people who really paved the way for us are starting to die off,” she said. “So how am I going to contribute to change for the next generation? I’ve got to work to become a phenomenal lawyer.”   

 

She said she was at a peaceful protest in downtown Louisville when law enforcement dispersed the crowd. 

 

“Seeing all that made me realize that all the things I’ve been learning about from the Civil Rights movement are still present today,” Kelze' said. “It may feel like Civil Rights history was so long ago. In reality, it’s still knocking right at our front door. That has been incredibly emotional for me.” 

 

For Bellarmine’s protest, students met at the Quad, then marched to a site near the waterfront, past the University of Louisville, joining thousands of others in Jefferson Square for an evening of powerful demonstrations in sweltering heat. 

 

Theo Brainer, a junior majoring in Business Administration, said he showed up because he hadn’t previously been to a protest. 

 

“I don’t think I’ve been very educated about the Black Lives Matter movement, but I know what happened to Breonna Taylor, and others, all the way back to Trayvon Martin,” he said. “I don’t want things like that to happen anymore.” 

 

Alexa Glass, a junior who majors in Business Administration and Design, Arts & Technology, said she came to support the movement. “Nothing has changed, and it’s been years,” she said. “I want to help make a change as much as possible.”   

 

Dr. Helen-Grace Ryan, Bellarmine's vice president of Student Affairs, said students’ involvement and leadership have been remarkable, especially considering how carefully they have followed all COVID-19 precautions.   

 

“I’m infinitely proud of our students,” she said. “They’re finding their voice and standing up for the rights of others, and that is a critical part of the college experience.”