LEO Weekly July 29, 2020

Food Equality How protests are giving new hope

FREE JULY.29.2020

WHERE ARE THE MAYOR’S ALLIES? | PAGE 4 INSIDE THE PROTEST HUNGER STRIKE | PAGE 9

MY COVID-19 STARTED WITH A COUGH | PAGE 7 CAN CONGRESS SAVE LOCAL MUSIC VENUES? | PAGE 19

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A LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

LIKE LEO? HERE’S HOW TO HELP.

BY LEO WEEKLY We at LEO offer our sincerest congratulations to The Courier Journal for winning its 11th Pulitzer Prize, this one for studiously and unrelentingly chronicling the avalanche of last-minute pardons and commutations handed out by the corrupt, craven and mercenary Gov.-reject Matt Bevin.

We are fortunate as a city to have it as our paper. In a poignant tribute and plea, former CJ reporter Howard Fineman wrote in The Washington Post that the paper’s latest plaudit “should remind us (and surely was meant to remind us), that what we call ‘local’ journalism is profoundly essential to self-government as the Founders designed it, and to the American way of life.” He cited a study that found nearly 1,800 newspapers have closed since 2004, and he said, “Virtually all of the remaining 7,000 are thinner and weaker than ever.” He implored you to subscribe to the paper because, as the op-ed’s headline said: “My former newspaper is struggling — and is more important than ever.”

This is all true, but there is more.

What Fineman’s op-ed neglected to underscore is that the news media landscape extends far beyond daily newspapers and must include alternative weeklies.

Alt-weeklies also provide “local journalism” and are “profoundly essential.” They are critically important because they work in the margins and areas where newspapers do not or cannot. They provide free-to-read accounts of a community’s culture, ethos and priorities. Good ones are not substitutes for daily newspapers, although their coverage and stories may overlap.

At LEO, our goal since John Yarmuth founded it in 1990 has been to dive deeply into areas that The CJ and other mainstream news media have neglected, dismissed or overlooked. Accordingly, LEO is the authority on local music, theater and visual arts. We publish A&E guides twice a year. Every issue of LEO has (or had) at least two food and drink stories, including reviews, a beer column and insiders’ views on the service industry. We offer a range of commentary, which, admittedly, skews left but also has included conservative and right-leaning views (such as a column from, gasp — Mitch McConnell). We print op-eds that The CJ would not, such as from Black Lives Matter. We champion equality and provide a voice to the LGBTQ+ community. Our printed and online lists celebrate the best things to do in the region to help you plan your week and weekends. We also publish news stories that are written differently (we’d like to say, more interestingly) than a newspaper would run. They include primary source stories (first-person) and stories told through alternative (there is that word again) formats. Our core topics include those that the daily paper rarely touches, such as urban planning, race relations, labor and the environment (since The CJ’s ace enviro reporter moved on). And, they include media criticism (we are looking at you CJ, but we have given ourselves thorns) because who else is going to do it?

In short, Louisville has at least six ways you can get your news, counting TV and radio.

We try to not be like any of them.

We try not to tell the same story.

We try to be more interesting and less predictable.

And the hundreds of thousands of people who read us and click on our stories tell us we are doing something right.

Alas, LEO, as you might imagine, also has been crippled by this virus, as have alt-weeklies across the nation.

LEO is free to pick up and relies almost entirely on advertising. No subscriptions. No grants. No membership drive for donations twice a year.

The backbone of our advertising is entertainment (think: music, ballet, theater and visual art) and food and drink. Similarly, we distribute to places where people enjoy those activities and relax (think: bars, coffee shops, restaurants, etc.), and those have been closed. LEO already runs lean and has not had to furlough any editorial staff — yet — but our editorial budget has been cut by three-quarters. LEO has been online-only mostly since the epidemic began. Starting with this issue, our goal is to publish a print edition every other week. Fortunately, we have been an outlier among alt-weeklies, so far.

A story from NiemanLab listed more than 40 alt-weeklies that had taken steps to survive within just days of us all realizing this pandemic was real.

Many suspended print publication, others furloughed staff and, still, others asked for donations.

They included Pittsburgh City Paper, which launched a membership program: “in order to help fight some of these losses, with the hope that readers who depend on our daily coverage of local news, arts, music, food, and entertainment recognize the importance in the work we do to keep the city informed and want us to continue.”

We like that idea!

Won’t you please consider helping to fund LEO’s mission by underwriting a reporter or providing financial support for more stories?

You could sponsor a reporter to cover a specific topic or issue, such as visual arts or theater or labor… or poverty… or the environment or… you name it.

Perhaps you want to sponsor a weekly column on dance or jazz, or you want to underwrite a series of stories on land use in The West End. You would not have a say in exactly what we write and what gets printed, but you would see more coverage in the area you have selected.

If you are interested, please contact us at: leoweekly.com And, please, if you value LEO and want us to continue to survive and thrive, continue picking up the papers, continue sharing stories on social media and consider advertising if you do not already.

As always but particularly now, thank you for reading LEO, and thanks to all of you who have emailed and called to ask when you would see another printed edition on the news stands.

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Protesters were arrested after they had placed barrels and other obstacles to block Market Street. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

PROTESTERS OCCUPY NULU On Friday night, protesters for racial justice and equality took their demands to NuLu around evening rush hour, closing off a section of Market Street to highlight gentrification there and what they say is a lack of Black representation and acceptance by businesses. By evening, 76 people had been arrested. LEO photographer Kathryn Harrington was on the scene. Go to leoweekly.com/web to see our photos.

Food Equality How protests are giving new hope

FREE JULY.29.2020

WHERE ARE THE MAYOR’S ALLIES? | PAGE 4 INSIDE THE PROTEST HUNGER STRIKE | PAGE 9

MY COVID-19 STARTED WITH A COUGH | PAGE 7 CAN CONGRESS SAVE LOCAL MUSIC VENUES? | PAGE 19

ON THE COVER

PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON PICTURED: CASSIA HERRON

LOUISVILLE ECCENTRIC OBSERVER

Volume 30 | Number 36 974 BRECKENRIDGE LANE #170. LOUISVILLE KY 40207 PHONE (502) 895-9770 FAX (502) 895-9779 FOUNDER

John Yarmuth EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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The LEO Weekly is printed on recycled newsprint with soy-based ink.

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Robin Garr, Stephen Robert Miller, Kenya Turner, James J. Wilkerson, Writer Illustrations by Yoko Molotov ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Marsha Blacker, mblacker@leoweekly.com Eric Clark, eclark@leoweekly.com Julie Koening, jkoenig@redpinmedia.com Karen Pierce, kpierce @redpinmedia.com

ON: SADIQA REYNOLDS, MY THOUGHTS ON MAYOR FISCHER

I have so much respect for Sadiqa. Her talk following Trayvon Martin’s murder was heartbreaking and one all of us could benefit from hearing. We are getting lost in the fear of unrest and not focusing on the cause. Social justice is far from us right now. We need leaders to rise up. —Mary Haynes

ON: JON HUFFMAN, MY RACIST ASS GOT HANDED TO ME

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Wow. Thanks for sharing. —Marna Smith Saunders

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Great read. —Teresa Acosta

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LEO Weekly welcomes letters, emails and tweets of no more than 350 words. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity.

This is a really excessive use of space for sharing a white learning moment. This painful dramatization of calling Someone Else a slur does not need to be printed. White ppl need to work through these moments internally and move toward accountability and reparation. —austin lee @variesly

ON: PHOTOS, MAMMA’S MARCH FOR RACIAL JUSTICE I always feel weird (as a white woman) posting stuff showing myself protesting bc it’s not my place to lead...but hopefully I can encourage other white women to stop upholding white supremacy. If any of you ever wanna go protest, please join the people. —AL @ A_L__22

ON: CATS VS. DOGS, YOUR ANSWER MEANS A LOT ABOUT YOU

No complaints here but I think it’s interesting that what some see as neediness, others see as loyalty. Might say something about their relationships in general. Maybe the line’s not that fine, though. —Abby Pollard

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Dogs are both. Loyalty and neediness aren’t mutually exclusive.

Also anyone who says cats aren’t loyal has apparently either never had one or didn’t know how to treat one. —Tanya Nelson I am a cat — appalled at the lack of both bowel control and a sense of self-esteem shown by dogs. :-) —Roseanne Johnson Southard

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LEO Weekly is published weekly by LEO Weekly LLC. Copyright LEO Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Publisher. LEO Weekly is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express permission of LEO Weekly LLC. LEO Weekly may be distributed only by authorized independent contractors or authorized distributors. Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO) is a trademark of LEO Weekly LLC.

Thanks for one of the most adorable obits I have ever read. My last cat, Bud, was found and named by my daughter at Paul’s on Taylorsville Road, where some cruel person had dumped him. She was a teen, working there after school and took him up the street to the vet. ... He, too, was a lap cat, and I would love playing hide and seek with him. Or dragging him in a paper bag on the floor.

When he was about 15 he was diagnosed with diabetes, and we tearfully let him go to cat heaven. —Patricia W. Oliver LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

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EDITOR’S NOTE

WHERE ARE THE MAYOR’S ALLIES?

By Aaron Yarmuth | ayarmuth@leoweekly.com IT’S DIFFICULT to imagine a time in his last two years as mayor when Greg Fischer will have the political power to bring about the change the community wants and needs.

To make change, you need support. To be a leader you need followers.

But it is beginning to look like Fischer is the mayor of a deserted island.

Where are all of the mayor’s supporters?

Where are his defenders during the most difficult, trying time of his time in office?

Fischer began to lose the liberal, progressive side of his base years ago when he: focused on downtown development instead of underserved, overlooked neighborhood investments; refused to declare Louisville a sanctuary city; and held fast on the city’s compassion-less approach to serving the homeless population, clearing and trashing their camps.

Now he’s seemingly losing — perhaps lost — his most loyal supporters.

The painful, personal Facebook post from Sadiqa Reynolds, which LEO published last week. She had worked for Fischer, so her feelings about him encapsulated the severity of the problem for the

UNDERCOVER

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mayor. “I wouldn’t waste time speaking or writing if I didn’t love you and know you could do better,” she wrote. This personal, public plea coming from someone who would have one time been the mayor’s first — or last — defender.

Even the business community is turning on the mayor.

Greater Louisville Inc. CEO Sarah Davasher-Wisdom sent a letter to the mayor on behalf of Louisville business owners, last week, imploring the mayor to provide “clear accountability and leadership,” according to a Courier Journal story. The letter cited an apparent “outpouring of concerns, confusion and emotions from businesses.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic-controlled Metro Council has been increasingly rebellious of its leader in the City Hall.

Back in late June, the Council announced a bipartisan resolution to investigate Fischer, his administration and the events surrounding the killing of Breonna Taylor.

A friend of mine within the Democratic Party — not my dad and not a councilman — brought it to my attention recently that Fischer never built a coalition of allies to

come to his defense, in times of legislative or public crisis. Such coalition building is a hallmark of many successful presidents, governors, mayors and, to some extent, any elected officials.

The first sign of the mayor’s coalition problem was his failure to pass his tax increase through an overwhelming-Democrat-controlled Metro Council last year to forestall major budget cuts. The mayor was just reelected, winning over 60% of the vote.

So, even with the public’s approval and support, he couldn’t gain the majority of the Council’s support.

Sure, the Council had several new members who had only been in office for a few months, but one would expect a twice-reelected mayor would have enough support from his own party to pass the most important legislative item.

Now, with a good portion of the Council eying his job in two years, he won’t find many willing to stick their neck out for him.

He might be the earliest lame duck elected official in history.

Speaking of Fischer’s last reelection, it began with a primary challenge from his progressive left, before a general election from the Republican right. I wrote in the Nov. 29, 2017 issue: “If everyone’s mad at you, you must be doing something right. In Fischer’s case, I expect it to hold true.”

I went on to say in that column: “unwarranted blame comes with positions of leadership as much as unwarranted praise — everything is always going to be seen as the mayor’s fault, just as everything is the president’s fault.”

Fischer recently published an op-ed in The CJ in an attempt to address, what he must sense is, unwarranted blame.

He accurately pointed to several significant changes that he has made to local policing; the state law that binds him from saying more about the Breonna Taylor investigation; and acknowledging that more has to be done. He even drew attention to his effort as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, “to study and develop proposals for reparations for Black Americans,” which would be the most significant change to social and racial justice in America’s history.

But he needs allies to carry that message, especially if he expects it to translate into real, tangible change.

His comfortable victories in both elections were evidence that I was right in 2017 — which wasn’t too difficult to foretell.

Unfortunately, this time, that same perspective doesn’t hold true; this time, it appears, all sides might be mad at the mayor and he might be wrong. Now, he has to find someone to help him off the island. •

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COSBY, KELLY, AND RACIAL INJUSTICE IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES

By James J. Wilkerson | leo@leoweekly.com THE TARNISHED MEDIA MAVEN Bill drug-facilitated sexual assault. For decades however, fans and colleagues alike willfully Cosby’s career began in the 1960s and turned a blind eye to these allegations. It spanned six decades through stand-up would not be until 2018 that Cosby would comedy, television, film and music. With a finally be held to the law and found guilty career covering so many areas through such for sexual misconduct that happened 14 a large duration of time, your age will indicate which Cosby you’re most familiar with. years prior.

In a 2005 deposiIn her 60s at the time tion, Cosby admitted of this writing, my While not on the to buying Quaalumother still recalls des (a sedative and Cosby’s comedy persame level of hypnotic medication) formances on specials such as 1968’s “To success as Cosby, from gynecologist Leroy Amar for the Russell, My Brother Robert Kelly is yet purpose of giving Whom I Slept With” to women and 1983’s “Bill another fallen Black them he wanted to have Cosby: Himself.”

Now in my late 30s, icon, buried under sex with. Cosby’s testimony would I vaguely remember years of sexual mis- ultimately show a watching “Fat Albert” history of coerced sex as a child. I greatly conduct accusainvolving Quaaludes recall however, going to the theater tions. Kelly’s career with multiple young women. Cosby to see such films as began in 1989 as would also admit “Ghost Dad” and the that he knew giving universally-panned a member of the the drugs to others “Leonard Part 6.” was illegal. Despite And who could forget R&B group Public being initially watching Dr. Cliff Announcement. sealed, the contents Huxtable and family of this deposition dance to “Kiss Me” would play a role in each week on NBC’s Cosby’s eventual undoing in 2018, when “The Cosby Show.” For many young Black he was found guilty of three second degree children in the 1990s, their first interaction felony counts of aggravated indecent assault with college was checking in on the weekly against Andrea Constand, a-then employee happenings at Hillman College, the fictional HBCU in the Cosby-produced show, “A Dif- of Temple University. ferent World.” And of course, there were the memorable Jell-O Pudding Pops ads, which featured the comedian for almost 30 years.

THE PIED PIPER OF R&B In the Black community, Bill Cosby was in While not on the same level of success very rare air. He occupied a space reserved as Cosby, Robert Kelly is yet another fallen for only the most excellent in our communiBlack icon, buried under years of sexual ty. A space filled with other luminaries such misconduct accusations. Kelly’s career as Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson. began in 1989 as a member of the R&B Bill Cosby was more than an icon; he was a group Public Announcement. In 1993, he Black icon. would leave the group and embark on a As a result of Cosby’s iconic stature, solo career that lasted three decades. During when he was formally charged in 2015 of that time, Kelly would sell over 75 million three counts of aggravated indecent assault, records, placing him at the top of the list of the Black community took it especially hard. R&B male artists in the 1990s and gaining It’s not as if allegations of sexual assault him the nickname, the King of R&B. In were new for Cosby. For as long as his addition to R&B, Kelly would also successcareer has spanned, so have the allegations fully dabble in gospel and was a mainstay in of sexual misconduct, including rape and the hip-hop world, collaborating with some

of the most successful artists of the genre including The Notorious B.I.G., T.I. and Jay-Z. As with Cosby’s, Kelly’s history of sexual misconduct was not necessarily a secret. In 1994, a then 27-year-old Kelly married fellow singer Aaliyah, a controversial union considering Aaliyah was only 15 at the time. Kelly would even produce Aaliyah’s debut album; the boastfully titled, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number. Then, in 2002, R. Kelly’s legal troubles would begin.

At the time, he was preparing to release his first joint album with rapper Jay-Z as well as his monumental Chocolate Factory album.

It would also be the year that a Chicago newspaper received an anonymous delivery of a videotape that allegedly depicted R. Kelly engaged in sexual intercourse with an underage girl. The “R. Kelly Sextape” would be sold at swap meets and barbershops throughout the country; never mind the fact it was child pornography.

Kelly would not stand trial until 2008 where he was charged with 14 counts of child pornography. At trial, the prosecution needed to prove that (1) R. Kelly was the man in the tape, (2) the girl on the tape was underage and (3) the tape was genuine. R. Kelly’s defense claimed that the singer has a distinctive mole on his back, and as the man in the tape did not have the mole, it could not have been Kelly in the tape. When it was pointed out that you in fact, could see the mole, the defense claimed the marking was a video artifact and not the mole that Kelly has.

The largest element in Kelly’s favor however, was the girl’s unwillingness to testify. Stephanie Edwards (a singer formerly signed to R. Kelly’s label) would testify that the girl in the tape was her niece and was, in fact, underage. Kelly’s defense would respond saying that Edwards’ testimony was a measure of revenge on Kelly for dropping her from his label, further casting doubt in the jury’s mind. So, despite the video showing Kelly’s face and being filmed in a room on a property Kelly owned, the jury found the singer not guilty on all charges.

Kelly’s musical career would continue following this trial. Then in January 2019, the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” premiered on the Lifetime channel. Over six episodes, the documentary detailed Kelly’s

long history of sexual misconduct with underage girls. As a result of the docuseries and a more politically correct climate, Kelly was dropped from his longtime recording label RCA, had his music removed from numerous radio stations and had numerous musical colleagues denounce him.

In February, a new sex tape emerged depicting an alleged R. Kelly involved in sex acts with a 14-year-old girl. At the time of this article, R. Kelly is awaiting his trial for 18 federal charges including child pornography, kidnapping and various sex crimes.

WHY US AND NOT THEM?

The fall of Kelly and Cosby produced a very curious response. While most condemned both men for their heinous actions, a loud voice in the Black community spoke in a more supportive tone. Rather than condemnation, the argument was made that both Bill Cosby and R. Kelly were victims of strategic character assassination and that their convictions were a plot to destroy Black masculinity. Many asked what the point of charging both men for crimes that happened “so long ago” was. Others questioned whether the misconduct even happened, indicating that the accusers did so for financial gain. At the height of the argument was a widely shared meme. The meme featured headshots of white celebrities such as Charlie Sheen, Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump. The question asked: Why has “justice” been served to these two Black men but not these white men of similar stature? The fix was in, and the media was attacking the Black community by tearing down their most successful leaders.

Now, anyone who takes the five minutes of research required to be actually informed on the matter will be able to quickly see the issue with the meme. Not every case of sexual misconduct is equal. At the time of the meme’s sharing, Harvey Weinstein had only been charged and had yet to go through the legal system. Charlie Sheen’s accuser had passed away several years earlier and no charges were filed. Bill O’Reilly committed sexual harassment (not a criminal offense) and had settled his lawsuits for millions of dollars. And Donald Trump hides behind his LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

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presidency, boldly reminding the country that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime. Despite these individual cases however, some continue to live by the timehonored, social media philosophy, “never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.”

To say that Black men have historically been given a tough time in court would be a huge understatement. Black men are more likely to receive tougher sentences for their crimes than others and also are imprisoned at six times the rate of white men, per The Washington Post. The New York Times points out that nearly 1 in 12 Black men, aged 25 to 54 are incarcerated, compared to 1 in 60 non-Black men, 1 in 200 Black women and 1 in 500 non-Black women. Research from the group ThinkProgress shows that in many of the country’s largest cities, Black men are more likely to be treated as criminals, which includes being stopped and frisked by police more often than any other group. And one need not have to look too hard to find numerous cases throughout history that highlight the unfair treatment of Black men in the judicial system; from the Central Park Five (more on them later) to the Trenton Six, six Black men who were arrested for the killing of a store owner and, despite all having rocksolid alibis and not matching the description of the actual killers, were coerced into confessions, found guilty by an all-white jury and sentenced to death (later overturned on appeal).

So, yes, the argument that Black men are unfairly treated in the judicial system is a valid one that most certainly should be made. But should Bill Cosby and R. Kelly be the champions of this fight? In the words of “The Boondocks’” fictional 10-year-old revolutionary, Huey Freeman: “Yes, the government conspires to put a lot of innocent Black men in jail on fallacious charges, but R. Kelly is not one of those men!”

And for the simple matter of guilt, neither is Bill Cosby.

OUR TRUE CHAMPIONS FOR RACIAL INJUSTICE

Though some may argue that R. Kelly has yet to be convicted and thus it is unfair to write him off just yet, there are still much cleaner choices one can select when arguing that Black men are unfairly treated in sexual assault cases. When selecting a champion for the cause of racial justice in sexual assault cases, the prerequisite should be unequivocal innocence. Unfortunately, the American justice system gives us many options to choose from. Five viable champi-

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ons for this argument are Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana: otherwise known as the Central Park Five. In 1989 these five boys, then ages 14 to 16, were convicted of the rape of a white jogger in Central Park.

The case drew much criticism due to the false confessions that were coerced from the boys. The boys served between six and seven years apiece, except for Wise who was tried as an adult, serving 13 years. In 2002, the charges of all five boys would be vacated after the true rapist confessed from jail. The Central Park Five’s story was recently retold in the Netflix miniseries, “When They See Us.” There is also the case of the Groveland Four who, in 1949, were accused of raping a 17-year-old white girl, tortured into confessions and convicted by an all-white jury. In 2019, they would all receive pardons for the wrongful convictions. Unfortunately, all four of them are dead; Samuel Shepherd was shot by a sheriff who transported him to a retrial, Ernest Thomas was killed by a mob shortly after the incident, and Charles Greenlee and Walter Irvin both served life sentences.

If you would rather go solo than do the group thing, there is always Archie Williams who in 1982 was convicted of attempted murder and rape in Louisiana. Now keep in mind, three people testified that Williams was at home asleep when the rape occurred, the fingerprints at the scene did not match Williams’, and the sole witness did not point out Williams in two photo lineups. Despite all this evidence, Williams was still found guilty and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

The wrongful conviction would not be vacated until 2019.

You could also cite the case of South Florida’s Barney Brown.

In 1962, 15-year-old Brown was accused of raping a woman and robbing her husband. Due to the woman’s inconsistent and contradictory story that failed to positively identify Brown as the culprit, the teen was acquitted in juvenile court. But a silly little acquittal would not stand in the district attorney’s way.

Brown was charged again, this time in an adult criminal court, and the DA got the guilty verdict he was searching for.

It would take 38 years for Brown’s conviction to be

overturned under double jeopardy laws, making it unconstitutional for a person to be tried again after being acquitted for the same crime.

Of course, if you are looking for something even more “historical,” there’s always Emmitt Till. In 1955, Till was accused of whistling at a white shop owner, Carolyn Bryant. Till was kidnapped, beaten and ultimately lynched by Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother, J.W. Milam. While Till never saw the inside of a courtroom, his killers did. But as this was the Jim Crow South, it only took about an hour for an all-white male jury to find both Bryant and Milam not guilty. Five decades later, after the deaths of Till, Roy Bryant, Milam and the entire civil rights movement, Carolyn Bryant would come forth to admit that the most damning parts of her testimony (that Emmitt grabbed her hand and waist) were lies. It should be noted that despite her admission Bryant has never faced any amount of justice for her role in Till’s murder.

These names are just a few of many; the many who have had years of their lives stolen by a justice system that has tortured and tormented to get confessions, ignored evidence and written off alibis on the journey to convict their Black targets. It is no surprise that racial minorities make up the vast majority of those assisted by the Innocence Project, which, since its founding in 1992, has been working tirelessly to exonerate the wrongly convicted through DNA testing.

While the names I’ve listed above may not be as glamorous as those of media barons and R&B kings, these names are the ones that actually make the point that when it comes to sexual assault in America, Black men have been historically railroaded by the system. Next time you wish to make that point on Facebook, skip the Cosby/Weinstein comparison and choose the Central Park 5/Brock Turner one instead. • James J. Wilkerson, J.D. is the director of Staff Diversity and Equity and the Deputy Title IX Coordinator at IU Southeast.

This was first published by “I Taught the Law” at medium.com/itaught-the-law, “untold stories of the rules, institutions, and people that govern our lives (without too much legalese),” as written by lawyers, law professors, students and other legal professionals.

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MY EXPERIENCE WITH COVID-19, IT STARTED WITH A SMALL COUGH

By Kenya Turner | leo@leoweekly.com ON SATURDAY, July 4, I cycled 15 miles with a large group. It was the longest ride I’d been on all season. I rode with people I had not seen in weeks, others in years and some I knew from social media but met in person that day for the first time. We were not masked, but we were practicing social distancing. The single cough that had occasionally come out of nowhere since Thursday was so mild and so rare that I thought nothing of it.

After the ride, I got a call from my parents that some relatives were in town. So, I altered my plans and went straight to their house for what turned out to be a short July Fourth visit — just a few hours with family.

The following day I met up with a group at the lake. I did a little fishing from the shore, keeping my distance as much as possible. I love to swim any chance I get, so I came prepared with my bathing suit. I mean, you can’t go to the lake without getting in the water. When an opportunity to paddleboard came up, I seized it. The weekend was ending well. And the weather was truly amazing. The skies were blue, and the clouds looked like puffy cotton balls spread all across the sky. Picture perfect.

While still at the lake, shortly after paddleboarding, I noticed I was feeling a bit tired, but I assumed it was due to the heat and all the paddleboarding. When I arrived home, I immediately headed to the pharmacy for over-the-counter cold medicine.

My cold-like symptoms were worsening, and I wanted to stay on top of it.

In my mind this all made sense. I had increased my workout routine. I was consistently in and out of the heat and the air conditioning. Plus, I had begun to ramp up my running mileage and incorporate cycling, another passion of mine. I had taken a bad bike fall in the summer of 2017 that left me with, among other things, a sore left arm and a sprained left pinky. As a left-handed person, this was problematic, but I took it in stride at the time and allowed myself time to heal. It made sense now that my increased activity might account for the soreness I soon noticed in my left arm and pinky finger.

CASE OF THE MONDAYS

Monday morning would be a different story. I awoke feeling like someone had

opened a box that I had been crammed into for 24 hours. I had muscle aches, coughing, nasal congestion, fever and a runny nose, and I was lethargic. My left arm and pinky were sore, like I had reinjured myself. I realized I couldn’t taste anything. “Goodness,” I thought, “this cold is terrible. Or is it the flu?

Or both?”

A friend had a different idea: He encouraged me to get tested. He said, “If you don’t get tested, just think of all the people that may be potentially affected by the spread of COVID-19.” That conversation changed the course of my day. I thought of all the people I’d been in contact with. I got tested that day.

HEY 19

By Wednesday morning, I had already made up my optimistic mind that what I was experiencing was just a common cold — even after spending the two previous days practically bedridden and realizing on Tuesday that my sense of smell was not working, either. But Wednesday was different. I was feeling a bit recharged. I took my oral temperature and got excited. It read 98.5. I had started to lace up my running shoes when I received a call at 8:36 a.m.

The lady on the other end said, “You’ve tested positive for COVID-19.”

I paused. I stood up from where I was seated and asked her to repeat what she’d said because I couldn’t believe the news.

She calmly and slowly repeated back to me the test results. I immediately grabbed a pen and began taking notes. From there I devised a plan for who to contact first. It made logical sense to begin with my parents.

LET THE TRACING BEGIN

Knowing that they were working at their respective jobs, I initially sent a text that read, “Please call me now.” Then I thought, “To hell with texting. I need to call them.”

I was able to reach my dad first. Trying not to create alarm, I kept the information simple. I let him know that I had mild symptoms and that it was important for him and the rest of the family to get tested. They

knew I hadn’t been feeling well on Sunday, but what they didn’t know was that I’d had symptoms as early as seven days prior to testing positive.

From there, I contacted the relatives who were in town to visit. I recalled walking into my parents’ home on July 4, donning my mask and greeting everyone with a smile they couldn’t see behind it. These relatives I hadn’t seen in several years. And of course, the most natural thing to do was hug. Before doing so, I had held my arms tightly by my sides, saying, “Are you sure it’s OK to hug you?” My cousin responded, “Girl, get over here and hug me.” And so I did. With everyone.

I spent the remainder of Wednesday contacting everyone I knowingly came in contact with during the week prior to being tested. Everyone I informed took the news well. Part of me thinks it’s because I sounded so upbeat and calm. I didn’t sound sick. I wasn’t gasping for air, and I didn’t sound like I was experiencing trouble breathing. Everyone wished me well, offered some home remedies and advice on how to stay well. Though I appreciated their concern, I knew I had to do what was best for me.

THE DAY AFTER

Thursday I wasn’t feeling like myself.

It was day four in isolation, and I already had a self-care routine, but today was a little different. I was experiencing slight shortness of breath, and it was difficult to take complete deep breaths. Yawning felt like being stabbed in the center of my chest. The muscle aches in my calves were starting to creep me out a bit. Just when I was about to take a needed nap, I received a call from the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. I had to give them the names and telephone numbers of everyone that I had come in contact with when I first began exhibiting symptoms. Luckily, the call was an easy one because I had made calls to everyone shortly after my results call the previous morning. The call with the public health department lasted a little over an hour, and when it was over, I was quite exhausted.

LET THE SUN IN

Saturday morning I finally went out onto my balcony, mostly to breathe in the fresh air that I still couldn’t smell. I tried not to take deep breaths to avoid the chest pain and the cough it caused.

LET THE CHURCH SAY AMEN

Sunday morning, July 12, I woke up to the sound of rain.

I opened the blinds and took my oral temperature, which by then was my daily routine. It read 98.3.

“Finally!” I said to myself. “A temperature that’s trending in the right direction.”

The goal was to stay in that range or slightly lower.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

7

VIEWS

But it was short-lived; it jumped back up to 100.1 before I watched Mass via livestream.

After Mass, I conducted a smell test of all my spices and extracts to see if my sense of smell was coming back. Out of all the spices, I could faintly smell only one — cumin — although it didn’t smell like cumin. It smelled like burnt cigarette ash.

I sprinkled a little bit onto the palm of my right hand, tasted it and waited.

Nothing.

NEW WEEK

Pets OF THE Week

Rocky - Are you looking for a Rock Star type of dog? Well, Rocky is looking for a rockin’ new friend as well! This 70-pound Australian Shepherd/Husky mix came to the Kentucky Humane Society when his owner moved and couldn’t take Rocky with them. This one-year-old is a little bit of both breeds: energetic, goofy and tenacious! He has met doggy friends and done well with most...but some pups are a bit too much for him. So if you have a pooch at home, bring him over during your appointment to see how they interact! Rocky hasn’t lived with cats or children. But with his energy level, older kids and no felines would be ideal. His new family should be prepared and willing to continue Rocky’s training in a consistent, positive way. He’s eager to learn and is still working on leash handling. But once you take him home, you’ll have a spunky adventure buddy for life! Rocky is neutered, micro-chipped and up-to-date on his shots. Visit kyhumane.org/dogs to learn how to meet Rocky today!

Simba - Be prepared! King of the

Jungle coming through! Simba is a regal orange tabby looking for a pride of his own! At only two years old, Simba finds himself at the Kentucky Humane Society once more; perhaps that’s just the circle of life. His motto may be “hakuna matata,” but Simba didn’t always “feel the love” with his previous cat siblings.

As such, he would benefit form slow introductions with felines in his future home. This little lion just can’t wait to be king! Simba is neutered, micro-chipped and up-to-date on his shots. If you’re looking for a quirky feline to be your new friend, come adopt Simba today! Visit kyhumane.org/cats to learn how to meet Simba today!

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

time to educate yourself about the dangers.

Rely on reputable medical sources, not on the well-intended information of friends, family, or others. “I heard that…” is not expertise. When you hear a phrase such as “There is little risk,” please understand that the important word in that sentence is risk.

There is risk with every activity in which you engage. When this is over for me, I will continue to wear my mask and be even more consciously aware of maintaining six feet of social distance. Like the chorus in the Steely Dan song “Hey Nineteen” goes,

We’ve got nothing in common Monday through Wednesday were my No, we can’t dance together biggest progress days — all of my sympNo, we can’t talk at all. toms had subsided, and the cloud of fatigue had been lifted. Not much advancement in the taste or smell department, but as of If I could leave you I WANT TO Wednesday, cumin KEEP IT THIS was a little more with some wisdom WAY MOVING pronounced and still FORWARD. from this experithe only spice I could I have fully recovtaste. And my appeered from almost ence, it would tite had improved. I all of the symptoms was getting me back, be that it isn’t a related to COVIDback in my own skin.

19 but continue to

WHO I AM

cold or the flu — it is COVID-19.

It has a name for a reason. It will sneak up on you and beat you up.

The beat down is better for some and not for others.

I got beat, but it didn’t take me down like it has others.

When I began this account of my experience with COVID19, I purposely did not share my age, race, gender or health condition. I wanted you to read my story.

Because this can happen to anyone.

What has taken you minutes to read or skim has taken me 13 days — 312 hours, or 1,123,200 seconds — to muster the courage to share with complete strangers.

I was lucky. I had mild symptoms. The COVID-19 experience is unique, like a fingerprint. And, like a fingerprint, you never know how the virus will leave its impression on you.

As a healthy fitness enthusiast, an African American female in my early 40s, this experience has reminded me that anyone can get this virus. While there is so much information hitting us at every turn about who can and cannot be affected, I encourage everyone to invest in yourself. Take

experience anosmia or loss of taste and smell. However, I am optimistic it will return.

If I could leave you with some wisdom from this experience, it would be that it isn’t a cold or the flu — it is COVID-19. It has a name for a reason.

It will sneak up on you and beat you up. The beat down is better for some and not for others. I got beat, but it didn’t take me down like it has others.

Nothing will prepare you for this experience. Don’t shrug off a little cough. Think enough of yourself, your loved ones, and those you interact with regularly and remember that “little” risk is still a risk nonetheless. Be smart, wear your mask and social distance responsibly. You may be spreading the virus without even knowing it. And that’s what’s so scary. • Kenya Turner is a Louisville resident, small business owner, author and fitness enthusiast.

NEWS & ANALYSIS

THORNS & ROSES THE WORST, BEST & MOST ABSURD THORN: WE ALL SHOULD SHARE THE PAIN

Gov. Andy has shut bars and cut restaurant dining-in capacity to 25% as a reaction to a coronavirus case spike. But the Kentucky State Fair, Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Kingdom continue on. Fair? As Seviche owner and chef Anthony Lamas told The Courier Journal: “It’s easy to point the finger, but we’re all in this together.

It’s not a restaurant virus. It’s a community virus.”

ABSURD: TAYLOR CASE JUDGE TALKS

In what may be the first public comment from the judge who signed the five search warrants that prefaced Breonna Taylor’s death, Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Mary Shaw told CNN she could not discuss the case because she was “restrained in my ability to comment on ongoing legal matters.” But she said Taylor’s death “will stay with me forever.” And she told CNN she took more than 30 minutes to review and consider the warrant applications and “made the probable cause determination required of me by law.” On June 10, The CJ reported: “Jefferson Circuit Judge Mary Shaw signed all five within 12 minutes.” Which is it?

ROSE: BUT NULU FEST CLOSES STREETS...

Ari Maybe, Vincent Gonzalez, Tabin Ibershoff and Amira Bryant. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

#JUSTICEFORBREONNA

AFTER MORE THAN 60 DAYS OF PROTEST A HUNGER STRIKE

By Danielle Grady | dgrady@leoweekly.com THERE have been marches, phone zaps, petitions with millions of signatures, an occupation of the Second Street Bridge and countless posts on social media asking, unsuccessfully, for the police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death to be fired.

“We just saw that nothing was happening,” said Ari Maybe, a 33-year-old nonprofit worker turned antiques and collectibles picker. “And unfortunately, if you want something to happen, sometimes you have to do dramatic shit.”

“Dramatic” — like launching a hunger strike with three other people and livestreaming it on Facebook for hours a day.

In addition to Maybe, the other

strikers who are refusing all caloric intake until the Louisville police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death are fired and have their pensions revoked are Amira Bryant, a 27-year-old residence hall director; Vincent Gonzalez, a 33-year-old social worker; and Tabin Ibershoff, a 29-year-old musician, interpreter and event planner.

The “Hunger Strikers for Breonna” protest started July 20. Now on their 10th day, the strikers have consumed nothing but black coffee, herbal tea, vitamin supplements, prescription medications, zero-calorie gum and water. Last Wednesday, Bryant and Maybe said they hadn’t started to fully experience the impact of not eating.

Both have fasted in the past for health reasons. But on Sunday, the strikers posted to Facebook that they were “losing energy” and couldn’t “stand up quickly for long periods of time.”

The strikers, most of whom did not know each other beforehand, are living together in an Airbnb at an undisclosed location in Louisville.

Even though Louisville’s other protests have not yet resulted in the police officer firings, Bryant said that all of the actions have been necessary.

Another form of protest, however — a hunger strike — was needed, too. “[It] is and has for years been the most extreme and most peaceful way to protest,” said Bryant.

Extreme, she said, because it’s so

The latest stop for protesters was NuLu, where activists closed off Market Street, saying businesses are beachheads for gentrification and do not reflect and accept the Black population. The unannounced occupation of NuLu was done with wit and whimsy — a trampoline, art displays and a dining table so displaced residents had a seat at the table. The cops didn’t play along: 76 arrests were made. Jecorey Arthur, whose Metro Council District 4 primary victory just about makes him NuLu’s councilman, had a message for businesses there: “ ... If you are that concerned about your business, then put boards up. But don’t be naive enough to believe that those boards are going to hide the fact that you don’t hire Black people. Those boards aren’t going to hide the fact that you don’t carry Black products. Those boards don’t hide the fact that you aren’t very welcoming to Black people in your business. You can put boards up all day long but they do not hide racism. Your board’s going to protect your glass, but it won’t protect your...” Later, Arthur posted: “We’re not a threat to your business. We’re a threat to your system.”

ABSURD: YOU SAY SHOT, BUT I SAY NOT

John “Grandmaster Jay” Johnson, head of the Not Fucking Around Coalition, said about the three people accidentally shot during the Black militia’s march here: “One person got hit in the leg. One dude got hit right here in the shoulder. The other girl got hit in the arm,” Johnson said. “That’s it. Nobody got shot.”

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

9

NEWS & ANALYSIS

UPCOMING EVENTS Stay home and stay safe while still supporting your favorite local places with online and future events.

Weekly Psychic & Mediumship Development Group

JUL - AUG

Jessica Tanselle: Medium JUL - AUG

Getting All Thai’d Up In Kentucky All Thai’d Up Online

Various Boozy Drink Classes (Cocktails, Slushies, Tips & Tricks, etc.)

JUL - AUG

Make & Muddle AUG 6

Level Up: Techniques to Improve Your Novel Louisville Literary Arts

The Devil’s In The Details: Research for Nonfıction Writers

AUG 15

Louisville Literary Arts AUG 18

Found Poetry: Discover the Poet Within Louisville Literary Arts

redpintix.com 10

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

record, five times. No drugs were found at risky for the strikers’ health. And peaceful her home. because it puts only their bodies in danger.

Local protesters have been demanding Another benefit to the hunger strike, said since May that the city fire the officers and Maybe, is that they can’t get arrested for it. charge them. Hankison was fired on June “This allows us to continue a protest that 23, but the other officers remain employed. puts more and more pressure on them every Mayor Greg Fischer has said that he cannot day,” he said. “Because they can’t touch us. fire the officers without following proceThey can’t arrest us. They can’t throw us dure outlined in state law and the collective in jail. They can’t throw us back out on the bargaining agreement between the city and street. They don’t have the power.” the police union. The contract says that the Gonzalez originally came up with the Louisville police chief, now Interim Chief idea for the hunger strike. He started reachRobert Schroeder, ing out to people and the authority posting on social Bryant and Maybe has to fire officers. The media, trying to get Louisville Metro others to join him. said that each Police Department Bryant, Maybe and hunger striker has told LEO that they Ibershoff responded. not comment But, they aren’t the their own limit that could on the strike due to only ones involved the ongoing investiwith the strike. A they’ve discussed gation and pending team of 35 to 40 is with the others. litigation. And, a helping run it, said for the Maybe, including Some, said Maybe, spokesperson mayor’s office said medics, communications professionals have a set number that the city believes that the Kentucky and the Kentucky of days they are Retirement SysAlliance Against tems’ board is the Racist and Political willing to go, and only entity with the Repression. authority to revoke The strikers’ plan others are willing officers’ pensions. is to get the attention to push it to a ‘very But, the strikers of everyone possible point out that officers with their protest, serious level’ and involved in recent said Bryant. have discussed the killings of unarmed “So, of course, Black men in Minwe want the attention possibility of ‘do nesota and Atlanta, of those who are in including in the death the administration, not resuscitate’ of George Floyd, Fischer, we want orders‘ ... were fired almost Attorney General immediately.

Daniel [Cameron].

“I’m sure they had We want his attention,” she said. “We want LMPD’s attention. a policy and procedure,” Maybe said.

He said the strikers are trying to be realWe want the citizens’, the local people’s, attention and everyone outside of us because istic about what to expect from the strike.

That is why they are not demanding that the it’s just going to lay on more and more officers involved be charged, too. pressure.”

“I think that’s what, a lot of people are So far, no one from Metro government has contacted the strikers, said Gonzalez at a looking at us and just thinking that we’re just being idiots,” Maybe said. “But we put press conference on Sunday. thought into this. There has been strategy The officers the strikers are targeting in place. And we feel that if we just throw are Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and detectives ourselves into this and just hope for the very Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison. On best case scenario then we’re going to fail, March 13, they were executing a no-knock and that will ultimately be a detriment to the search warrant at Taylor’s apartment as part movement.” of a narcotics investigation when Mattingly Hunger strikes have a rich, modern was shot by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth history as a nonviolent form of protest. In Walker. Walker has said that he thought India, Mahatma Gandhi performed them to the officers were intruders, not police. The protest British rule in the 1900s. In recent three officers returned fire, striking Taylor, years, hunger strikes have been used by a 26-year-old ER tech with no criminal

renters who were forced from their New York City apartment complex because of safety issues and by workers in Hong Kong who wanted to reinstate a labor law. Most hunger strikes occur in jails or prisons where participants have no other way to protest, according to an analysis of 1,441 hunger strikes, titled “Starving for Change: The Hunger Strike and Nonviolent Action, 19062004.” The report found that 75.5% of 327 strikes with clear outcomes achieved positive results, such as concessions, reforms or persons given amnesty or released from prison. Most hunger strikes, 72.5% of 631 for which researchers could determine a result, were called off by the strikers, and only 6% resulted in death.

Bryant and Maybe said that each hunger striker has their own limit that they’ve discussed with the others. Some, said Maybe, have a set number of days they are willing to go, and others are willing to push it to a “very serious level” and have discussed the possibility of “do not resuscitate” orders if they stop breathing or their heart stops beating.

If officials let the strike go that far, Maybe said, it will show what he already knows. “The system doesn’t care about the people that it is funded by and created to protect,” he said.

Their constant updates, including the muted livestream and regular video checkins blasted on a Hunger Strikers for Breonna Facebook page are part of a strategy to grab the public’s attention and to ensure that the correct narrative about the strike is told.

“And this kind of protest, if no one sees it, it’s worthless,” said Maybe. “If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it. If a bunch of people sit in a house and starve together and just say they’re doing it —“ “It’s tangible,” said Bryant. “It was one thing when everything was word of mouth.

But now, actually seeing footage and content and other documentaries, you can’t deny it.”

Bryant and Maybe said they don’t know of any other hunger strikes around the world that have been livestreamed.

The strikers also want for the public to participate in and post about the hunger strike on their own, either by giving up something themselves, such as smoking or dessert, and promoting it, or by just sharing the Facebook page.

Even if the strikers get what they want, however, it won’t be “justice for Breonna,” but a start to it, said Maybe.

“It is not the end of he road,” he said.

“This is really the scaffold for the next act whatever that may be whether we’re involved in it or not.” •

Cassia Herron near where David “YaYa” McAtee ran his barbecue shop, before National Guard fatally shot him. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

For Grief-Stricken West Louisville,

Hope May Look Like A Grocery Store

Cassia Herron spent years trying to bring fresh food there, In the wake of tragedy, new hope emerges

By Stephen Robert Miller | leo@leoweekly.com CASSIA HERRON fumed as she watched an armored SWAT vehicle idle in the parking lot across from David McAtee’s barbecue stand in Louisville. It had only been four days since the National Guard had fatally shot McAtee while enforcing a curfew during protests sparked in part by the March killing of another Black Louisville resident, Breonna Taylor. The city was raw with anguish.

McAtee was a fixture in Louisville’s West End, who

worked for years as a cook at a local homeless shelter and was known for giving away food to customers at his restaurant who couldn’t afford to pay. People in West Louisville don’t need armored police intimidating residents, said Herron, a local entrepreneur and community advocate; they need the city to prioritize their health and well-being.

They need grocery stores.

In the past five years, more than a handful of grocers

have abandoned the city. In West Louisville, a cluster of predominantly Black neighborhoods pocketed between a revitalizing downtown and the deep Ohio River, their exit has left behind a nutritional wasteland. The area is a food desert, though Herron takes issue with that term. A desert is something natural, she said. “The conditions of our neighborhoods are not natural, they’re intentional.”

As Taylor and McAtee’s names continue to echo across LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

11

the country alongside calls to defund police and invest in Black communities, Herron is continuing a decades-long fight against injustice at the plate level. In Louisville, a sharply segregated town built with old money reaped from slavepowered tobacco plantations, tens of thousands of Black residents can’t afford healthy food or can’t get to a place that sells it. To Herron, systemic reform begins with addressing food insecurity.

A “country girl who grew up in the city,” she earned her master’s in urban planning from the University of Michigan, then returned to Louisville where she has spent 20 years in what has often been a frustrating search for ways to feed her community. City priorities have shifted with each new administration; neighborhood food councils have been formed and team, fund a scholarship or help seniors repair their homes. disbanded; inspiring projects have started, sputtered and In Herron’s vision, kids on scooters deliver food to elderly stopped. All the while, Herron has pushed for a cooperaresidents who can’t access the store and the co-op’s doors tively owned, affordable market that sells Kentucky- and open onto the sidewalk and an accessible bus stop — not a Indiana-grown produce. It would be the only such store in football-field-sized parking lot.

Louisville and she calls Herron and others it the Louisville Comincorporated the co-op The roots of West Louisville’s munity Grocery. in June 2019 and It would be open assembled an eightfood inadequacies date back as to everyone, but co-op member board of members who pay a fee far as the 1950s, when middle directors. In January, based on their income — group completed a class residents fled the city for the $150, or $25 for senior, retail analysis of four youth and low-income the quiet suburbs, taking their potential locations for a members — would planned 10,000-squarereceive a discount and dollars and family-owned busi- foot store, which would have a say in how the sell “basic items at nesses with them. store is managed. They budget prices,” local would elect a board and organic produce, that hires a general manager and weigh in on what gets meat and prepared foods. The co-op has so far signed up stocked. Once the store turns a profit, members would cola little more than 100 members, but outreach at farmers lectively decide whether to pocket the money or reinvest markets and monthly meetings at the library have not been it into other neighborhood co-ops, support a youth sports as fruitful as Herron hoped; she needs 2,000 dues-paying

12

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

members to finance the rest of the planning, construction, hiring and opening.

“The dream is to rebuild our economy based on cooperation and not competition,” she said. And why not? “Corporate grocery stores are leaving our communities; there’s a business case for that. Family Dollars are opening; there’s a business case for that. And co-ops are opening in urban communities across the country; there’s a business case for that.”

The roots of West Louisville’s food inadequacies date back as far as the 1950s, when middle class residents fled the city for the quiet suburbs, taking their dollars and family-owned businesses with them. It has accelerated more recently with the national rise of corporate retail chains which have pushed the industry toward superstores that sell everything from lettuce to televisions and are slinking to the outskirts of towns in search of floor space.

“Grocery stores are low-margin businesses and decisions to close are based on their individual profit metrics,” said Caitlin Bowling, communications manager for the city’s economic arm, Louisville Forward, who noted that shifting consumer habits have encouraged large retailers to focus on online sales and delivery.

A Louisville Community Grocery co-op meeting. The group has struggled to raise funds from the city and get buy-in from locals. | IMAGE COURTESY OF CASSIA HERRON.

As the retail giants have moved out of West Louisville, many people are stranded more than a mile or two from a market that offers fresh produce and meat. That might not be a problem in the vehicle-rich suburbs, but in parts of West Louisville, nearly 30% of households that are more than a half-mile from a supermarket also don’t own a car, according to the USDA. There are plenty of food marts and convenience stores, but these typically stock nonperishable canned goods, bags of chips, soda, beer, toiletries and lottery tickets.

Broadway, West Louisville’s main east-west artery, offers nearly 20 fast food restaurants and one remaining full-service grocery store, a Kroger. Given the recent closures of other stores — a Kroger several miles south, another near Spalding University to the east, a familyowned grocer up north and an independent market that had been in business downtown for more than 70 years — the Broadway Kroger has become more than just a grocery store; it’s a lifeline.

“We hold our breath every day, because there’s a chance that it will close before we can open our co-op,” Herron said.

As president of the Louisville Association for Community Economics (LACE), Herron’s envisions the co-op

sitting at the center of a circular supply chain that builds wealth in a community where the local poverty rate of 40% is nearly three times higher than the regional poverty rate.

Get outside Louisville and its encircling tract housing and the Kentucky landscape spreads out into farmland.

Historically, the state was thick with tobacco, but in the past 20 years it has labored to transition to hemp, corn, soy and other crops. Today, Kentucky raises more cattle than any state east of the Mississippi, but Herron rarely sees local beef in local stores. By building relationships with the region’s farmers, she intends to stock the market with products grown nearby.

“In order for the grocery store to be successful, it needs to do business with other businesses that have the same values,” she said.

The city hasn’t necessarily shared this vision. Herron has been trying to raise $50,000 in the last four years — from city government and others — to help hire a single LACE staff member who would build up membership to get the co-op started. Though they have raised some, they have not had funds for staff.

“Food access hasn’t been a focus of the city for years,” said Karyn Moskowitz, who directs New Roots, a food

advocacy organization that runs pop-up, affordable produce markets in some of the city’s least food secure neighborhoods. “They’ve focused on gun violence, needle exchange and vaccinations.”

Under Mayor Greg Fischer, whose campaign commitments to supporting local food systems had once given Herron hope, the city had plans to build an indoor food court and regional farmers market with an indoor growing operation in West Louisville, but the project fell through and has been replaced with a $50.5 million indoor track and field facility. Broadway almost landed a Walmart in 2016, which would have brought fresh produce, but the deal disintegrated.

Using federal funds, the city has tried to subsidize new stores, but success has been rare. “Because groceries in America are part of the capitalist system, supply and demand won’t always bring a grocery to every neighborhood,” Bowling said. “So, local government and economic development organizations have to subsidize grocery locations and operations.”

The city has invested in community nonprofits, including New Roots; helped start a community garden; and partially funded a partnership between Kroger and a local food bank to operate a mobile market.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

13

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

been driven in large part, he said, by presBut a mobile market is a far cry from a sure from Black Lives Matter protestors well-stocked neighborhood grocery with who have occupied Jefferson Square Park reliable hours. And while the city seems all (dubbed Injustice Park) across from city too eager to invest in multimillion-dollar hall and called on the city to defund police. development projects downtown, Herron Coan, who worked on food justice said, it has been reluctant to buy into the issues for Mayor Fischer’s first campaign, community-driven cooperative model — a said the new city budget includes several hesitancy that hasn’t gone unnoticed in bonds aimed at addressing systemic issues West Louisville. affecting underserved neighborhoods, “It’s felt like we’ve been in competition and the grocery store is a centerpiece with local government,” she said. investment.

Perhaps the most significant obstacle “Development of a full service grocery Herron has faced is convincing her store where there aren’t any is the biggest neighbors that they can be owners — of a thing you can do to make progress on food co-op, or of anything. Building the co-op’s access,” Coan said. membership hasn’t been difficult because Herron is well aware that a grocery locals don’t have the $150 or $25 needed to store isn’t going to bring justice for Taybuy in, she said. “It’s because people don’t lor’s killing, nor answer calls to defund believe they have a role. It’s us believing the police, but it’s in ourselves that “We we have the social Coan, who worked on something. recognize that capital, the intelthis long overdue ligence, the innovafood justice issues investment comes tion to do it.” for Mayor Fischer’s to us as a result “I’m not a the tragic loss business owner, first campaign, said of of Black lives,” I don’t even own my own car. I’m a the new city budget LACE posted to its website in Black woman who includes several response. “We doesn’t own shit,” carry this project she said. bonds aimed at forward in memory Nearly three weeks after police addressing systemic and honor of Breonna Taylor, shot McAtee across issues affecting David McAtee the street from and thousands of the only grocery underserved neighother victims of store remaining racism and police on Broadway and borhoods, and brutality.” more than 100 the grocery store By the end of days since Taylor’s the year, Herron murder less than is a centerpiece intends to have three miles away, a business plan Herron’s efforts investment. for two locations. finally bore fruit.

There is no shortOn June 25, the age of empty buildings in West Louisville, city’s Center for Health Equity, under the so securing space shouldn’t be a problem.

Department of Public Health and Wellness, But there is still that other obstacle to overearmarked a $3.5-million bond included come: ownership — of food, of property, in the Metro Council’s approved budget of a community’s outlook. • “to support the development and operation of a grocery in an area underserved by HuffPost’s “This New World” series is existing operations, to promote job creation funded by Partners for a New Economy and community health.” The money hasn’t and the Kendeda Fund. All content is editobeen allocated yet, but Herron expects to receive enough to begin opening the Louis- rially independent, with no influence or input from the foundations. If you have an ville Community Grocery. idea or tip for the editorial series, send an The city has known about the food email to thisnewworld@huffpost.com. insecurity problems in West Louisville For more content and to be part of the for years, said City Councilman Brandon “This New World” community, follow our Coan and “has made modest but inadFacebook page. equate investments to improve access.”

This substantial and sudden allocation has

CO-OP GROCERY GROUP TO CITY: ‘TRUST US’ ALTHOUGH THE CITY appropriation aimed at bringing fresh food to West Louisville is for a “Louisville Community Grocery,” the city says a $3.5 million grant would not automatically go to a group that has been working for years to open a coop grocery by that name.

Cassia Herron and others incorporated the Louisville Community Grocery co-op in June 2019. In an email, she asked the city to amend the process so the money can be released to her group.

Herron said she is frustrated that Metro Council made the declaration to fund the Louisville Community Grocery, but it “appears Louisville Forward is impeding the process with unnecessary hoops to jump through.”

“With our consultants, we are doing our due diligence on interested properties the community identified and will have a proforma and business plan by the end of the year. We need staff to complete this work and increase the number of community residents who become owners by investing,” she wrote. “Please trust and follow our lead.”

Councilman Bill Hollander, chair of the budget committee, told LEO: “This was talked about at the Budget Committee, the Democratic Caucus and the full Council. No one in any of those meetings took the position that the funds were ‘meant for’ any particular group. The co-op grocery was mentioned as one of the parties to be consulted. We have obviously sent appropriations directly to other organizations and did not do that here.”

He added that in the budget, “the language says a plan needs to be presented to the Council for approval. I hope we get that plan soon.” •

PHOTO ESSAY

NOT FUCKING AROUND COALITION CAME TO LOUISVILLE TO DEMAND A FASTER INVESTIGATION INTO BREONNA TAYLOR’S DEATH

By Kathryn Harrington | leo@leoweekly.com HUNDREDS of members of the Black militia, the Not Fucking Around Coalition, came to Louisville on Saturday to demand a speedier investigation of the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.

The Black militia based in Atlanta also joined protesters to demand more transparency in the investigation. The militia got into formation in Baxter Park and marched down Broadway to Louisville Metro Hall. In response to the NFAC coming to Louisville, mem-

bers of the right-wing “Three Percenters” militia also came to the area around Louisville Metro Hall. Police separated the groups on Fifth Street.

Flanked by armed members of the NFAC, Grandmaster John “Jay” Johnson spoke to the crowd from the steps of Metro Hall, saying the group would return to Louisville in four weeks demanding the truth of Taylor’s case. •

Members of the NFAC stood on the steps of Louisville Metro Hall while John ‘Grandmaster Jay’ Johnson spoke to the crowd of protesters and spectators on Saturday. | PHOTOS BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

Members of the Black militia group all dressed in black, and all were armed.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

15

PHOTO ESSAY

NFAC members looked for possible snipers on nearby rooftops.

The Atlanta-based NFAC marched from Baxter Park to Louisville Metro Hall, demanding justice for the killing of Breonna Taylor by LMPD in March.

Law enforcement observed the NFAC and groups of protesters on Broadway on Saturday.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

PHOTO ESSAY

Members of the NFAC occasionally knelt throughout the march to Louisville Metro Hall while other members checked rooftops for snipers.

Three Percenters and the NFAC were separated by bike rack barricades police erected along Fifth Street on Saturday.

Several protesters went around the police blockade, and some members of the groups talked with each other.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

17

STAFF PICKS THROUGH AUG. 26

‘Poetic Gra��ıti’ By Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch B. Deemer Gallery | 2650 Frankfort Ave. | bdeemer.com | Free When you see graffiti on buildings or ARTS overpass walls, you can interpret it two ways: defacement of property or artistic expression. Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch sees it as art.

For her latest body of work, she was influenced by the graffitied trains that pass by her Lexington home.

She started each mixed media encaustic painting with writing her poetry on a panel. Then the layering began, just like it does with graffiti in real life. The resulting paintings are a homage to the (sometimes-illegal) creativity that covers our world.

—Jo Anne Triplett

FRIDAY, JULY 31

LGBTQ Solidarity March

KFC Yum Center | 1 Arena Plaza | Search Facebook Free | 7 p.m.

There was no pride parade this year, but every EQUALITY week, members of Louisville’s LGBTQ+ community plan to march — and they’re doing it for Black lives. “We want to honor the struggle for justice for Black lives, just as our struggle for justice for our lives exist,” its organizers wrote.

They encourage participants to be “gay as hell” and to “bring the names of our siblings murdered by police.”

The march will start at the KFC Yum Center at 7:30 p.m. (be there by 7) and travel to Injustice Square, officially known as Jefferson Square Park. —Danielle Grady LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

Socially Distanced Music!

‘Be Real Black For Me’ (July 31) | Facebook Live | Search Facebook Free | 7-7:30 p.m.

Enjoy a live musical performance from the safety of your own home. Actors Theatre Direct Artists-in-Residence, Ken and Christina Acosta Robinson will perform their MUSIC version of the 48-year-old song “Be Real Black for Me,” which encourages Black people to be their full selves. Their performance premieres on Facebook Live and will be available afterward on Facebook, YouTube and actorstheatre.org/direct for unlimited socially distant viewing.

Kiana and the Sun Kings with Casey Powell (Aug. 1) | Floyd County Brewing Co. 129 W. Main St., New Albany | Search Facebook | $5 | 8-11 p.m.

‘Poetic Graffiti 5’ by Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch.

Mixed media encaustic painting on panel.

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THURSDAY, JULY 31 AND AUG. 1

Floyd County Brewing Co.’s new, outdoor music venue, The Enchanted Forest, came just in time for COVID. Fortunately, we can now enjoy it and its shaded stage, giant mushroom installation and boulder seating — with enough space to spread out. This Saturday, your entertainment includes the amazing vocalist Kiana Del with her band The Sun Kings as well as multiinstrumentalist Casey Powell.

—LEO

STAFF PICKS

FRIDAY, JULY 31

SATURDAY, AUG. 1 AND AUG. 2

Zoom | filson.simpletix.com | Free | Noon-1 p.m.

The governor may have closed bars, but who can deny the puppers?! These events are still on.

Filson Friday — Designing Women: The Dresses Of ‘Women at Work’ The Filson Society isn’t going to offer the common, generic, Wikipedia history experience. For HISTORY instance, don’t expect to see the iconic World War II image of “Rosie the Riveter” when you think of their latest exhibit, “Women at Work.” Instead, Filson Associate Curator of Collections Jana Meyer hosts this lecture on local designers of several dresses from the 19th and early-20th centuries. These handmade, ornate textiles were made for prominent women and often crafted in the Ohio Valley region by women as they began entering the workforce. Learn about the women who designed these dresses, and the women who (unfortunately) had to wear them in this god-awful heat and humidity. —LEO

A graduation gown by Madame Grunder, one of Louisville’s leading dressmakers. | IMAGE FROM FILSON HISTORI CAL SOCIETY.

SATURDAY, AUG. 1

York’s Mother

Falls of the Ohio State Park | 201 W. Riverside Drive, Clarksville | Search Facebook Free ($2 parking) | 3-4 p.m.

Go back in time to learn about the life and experiences THEATER of York, the slave who traveled with Lewis and Clark on the great expedition to the Pacific. You will learn about it through the voice of his mother, Rose Clark with song and storytelling. Marlene Rivero assumes the role of Rose, as she recounts her son’s story from, “York’s boyhood with his owner, William Clark, as well as his experiences and adventures west during the expedition up the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, leading to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.” Rivero has incorporated historic documents, such as journals, letters and legal documents sent to the Clark family, as well as 19th-century music, to develop her character and story. To stay comfortable and socially distanced, organizers recommend bringing a blanket to sit on during the performance.

—Aaron Yarmuth

Happy Puppers!

Puppy Pool Party With A Purpose! (Aug. 1) | Old Louisville Brewery 625 W. Magnolia Ave. | Search Facebook | No cover | 4-9 p.m.

There’s a beer for every season, and it’s currently pool season… especially for those fully furred. Old Louisville Brewery, in partnership with the Kentucky Humane PUPS! Society, is bringing the two together for a fun-filled fundraiser. They provide the puppy pools and beer, and you bring the pups and enjoy the socially-distanced beer in the beer garden. The event is in honor of OLB manager Jenn Fraley’s pup Scout, who recently passed. Ten percent of all sales will go to fund the Humane Society’s annual Waggin Trail event. This event will depend on cooperating weather, so keep an eye on the radar.

Yappy Hour (Aug. 2) | World of Beer 9850 Von Allmen Court No cover | Noon- 4 p.m.

COVID life doesn’t just mean more dog time, but more patio and outdoor imbibing as well. Now you can combine doge time with beer time on the patio (or in the tent) outside World of Beer on Sundays. To encourage puppy attendance, free pretzels will be offered to anyone who brings the fur. Human food and beverages will be available too, making it kid friendly as well. —Aaron Yarmuth

Scout was Old Louisville Brewery Manager Jenn Fraley’s sweet pup. She died at 15.

SATURDAY, AUG. 1

A Taste Of Bootcamp

Jefferson Square Park | 301 S. Sixth St. | change-today.org | Free | 2 p.m.

As well as being a beacon for protesters demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, Jefferson Square Park, also known as Injustice Square, has become a community cenFITNESS ter with a garden, memorial for Taylor and activities. Change Today, Change Tomorrow, a Louisville nonprofit serving the local Black community, has been holding free, fitness classes at the space. This one is led by Britt Parchment from A Taste of Health and the first 10 participants receive resistance bands. In addition to exercise, CTCT is bringing alkaline water from Health Daddy Wow and fruit from Beli’s Arrangements. —LEO

Marlene Rivero will portray Rose, the mother of York, the only African American on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. | PHOTO BY JASON J. KNIGHT. LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

19

MUSIC

‘SAVE OUR STAGES ACT’ COULD KEEP LOCAL MUSIC VENUES ALIVE BUT WILL CONGRESS PASS IT?

By Scott Recker | srecker@leoweekly.com THE PANDEMIC has the potential to be a nuclear bomb to the concert industry, leading to the closure of hundreds of small and mid-sized venues across the country, but last week there was a reason for optimism when the Save Our Stages Act was introduced to the U.S. Senate. The bipartisan bill, if passed, would establish a $10 billion grant program to help independent venue operators, promoters and producers pay for a variety of expenses that have stacked up during the COVID shutdown, including rent, utilities, mortgage payments, taxes and payroll.

The Save Our Stages Act could be the “Hail Mary” that the industry has been hoping for, according to Billy Hardison, co-owner of Headliners Music Hall and the Kentucky precinct captain for the National Independent Venue Association, or NIVA, a group of concert halls and industry leaders that have joined together to lobby Congress.

“The timing of this is great — we’re all sort of starting to run on fumes,” Hardison told LEO. “It’s getting scary. Every day more venues close, just like we see with other businesses and restaurants. It’s going to take a major relief package to get the job done.”

In March, the live music industry came to a halt with the outbreak of COVID-19, and the vast majority of concerts, festivals and tours remain shut down. Venue operators and promoters have been scrambling to reschedule shows amidst an ever-changing and unpredictable situation, which has sent many spiraling into major monetary losses. The Save Our Stages Act, in theory, would provide six months of financial support to businesses that qualify, which would hopefully get indie venues to the other side of the economic turmoil caused by the virus.

Dayna Frank, president of NIVA and CEO of First Avenue Productions, said that without a stimulus directed at small concert halls, the entire landscape of the live music industry would be affected.

“Our members told us months ago that if the shutdown lasted six months or longer and there wasn’t federal relief to hold them over, 90% of them would fold permanently,” Frank said in a press release. “With no revenue and immense overhead, four months in, it’s already happening. The warning light is flashing red and our only hope is for legislation like Save Our Stages Act or RESTART Act to be passed before Congress goes on August recess. Otherwise, most businesses in this industry will collapse.”

CAN THE BILL PASS?

The bill was introduced in the Republican-controlled Senate by bipartisan sponsors — Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota. After a vote there, it would have to make it through the Democrat-controlled House and then to President Trump’s desk.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell did not respond to a request for comment.

Although on opposite sides of the political aisle, Cornyn and Klobuchar issued statements that echo each other about the importance of local music, because of its history and its future, in their respective states.

And Texas and Minnesota definitely have two iconic scenes with similarities. Texas has made invaluable contributions to country, hip-hop, psych-rock and other genres.

Cornyn said in a statement: “The culture around Texas dance halls and live music has shaped generations, and this legislation would give them the resources to reopen their doors and continue educating and inspiring Texans beyond the coronavirus pandemic.”

Minnesota boasts a deep and diverse indie scene, and, of course a giant in Prince.

Klobuchar said in a statement: “Minnesota’s concert halls, theatres, and places of entertainment, like First Avenue in Minneapolis, where Prince famously performed, have inspired generations with the best of local music, art, and education.”

Every state has a storied musical past, which is most likely why financial relief for indie venues has gained bipartisan support. In May, LEO obtained a letter that was circling among members of Congress, championing for action similar to what the Save Our Stages Act would provide, and it was sponsored by two members of the House and two members of the Senate — a Republican and Democrat from each chamber.

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, said he supports the Act, but he also brought up

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recent, similar legislation that he feels has been stalled by McConnell.

“Independent venues that rely on ticket sales and a flood of people through their doors have not only been hit hard by COVID shutdowns, they likely will be one of the last areas of our business community to reopen and reopen fully. These venues are a critically important part of the Louisville economy and culture, which is why I have raised these concerns directly with House Leadership. There are provisions in the House-passed HEROES Act that would help, but Senator McConnell has blocked this legislation for more than two months.

We must do more, including enacting the Save Our Stages Act, or Louisville’s thriving arts and music scene will be one of the biggest economic losses of this pandemic.”

SMALL VENUES BUILD COMMUNITY AND STARS

Without small venues, it’s hard for a city to have a thriving music scene. And without a thriving music scene, it’s hard to get bands to the level where they can record and successfully release albums, tour and maybe even be able to achieve critical and financial success.

A music scene is an ecosystem and different-size venues help artists build from the bottom up. The small, indie venues tend to act as cultural nerve centers, places for new scenes and bands to emerge and possibly grow.

That’s why hundreds of famous and rising musicians signed and sent a letter June 18 to Congress asking for federal assistance to be granted to indie venues. The letter, which was signed by Billie Eilish, Neil Young, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant, André 3000, among others, stated: “Entertainment is America’s largest economic export, with songs written and produced by American artists sung in every place on the globe. All of these genres of music, and the artists behind them, were able to thrive because they had neighborhood independent venues to play in and hone their craft, build an audience, and grow into the entertainers that bring joy to millions.”

Here in Louisville, there’s a vibrant and storied indie scene that spans decades and genres, one that still consistently delivers an incredible amount of original music for a mid-sized city. Jim James, frontman for My Morning Jacket, a local band that achieved global notoriety around the turn of the millennium, said that has a lot to do with the city’s stages.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of saving our local venues so that live music can continue and thrive once it is safe to do so again,” James said in a statement to LEO. “Local businesses are the heartbeat of what makes each town special and unique and, as a touring artist, local venues are so critical to the development and survival of art and music, not to mention all of the amazing service industry professionals who work in those venues’ restaurants and bars making those places so special and taking good care of us all. Local venues give us all a great place to share ideas and connect with one another.

MMJ would have never made it outside of Louisville had we not had the wonderful small venues and business we had to perform in learning and growing up and still enjoy to this day. Let’s do all we can to get assistance to those who need it during these difficult times to keep hope alive.” •

FOOD & DRINK

RECOMMENDED

BurgerIM fries are thick whole rounds cut across the potato, deep-fried pale golden and dressed with garlicky aioli.

BURGERIM BRINGS BEEF, LAMB, FALAFEL BURGERS AND MORE

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com Two meatless BurgerIM specialties, a burger-size falafel and an Impossible Burger. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

IF YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING about the odd name of that new gourmet-style hamburger joint in the Vogue Center, wonder no longer: The Hebrew plural ending “-im” on the English word “Burger,” yields “BurgerIM,” a crafty way to make a common word a trademark.

We brought home a bunch of burgerim, er, burgers, the other day and found them estimable, particularly considering the double whammy that the franchise owners have had to face during their first months in business.

First, while the husband-and-wife team of Veronica Michel and Nirmal Raj were busy converting the former The Artist in You shop to fit the restaurant, the 4-yearold parent corporation, California-based Burgerim Group USA, collapsed.

“Burgerim was once one of the hottest, fastest-growing brands in the U.S.,” the industry journal Restaurant Business reported Jan. 20. “Then its founder left the country, leaving behind a wreckage of unpaid workers, bankrupt franchisees and others struggling to make it work.”

Ouch.

Still, like other individual franchisees around the country, Raj and Michel persevered. They got everything done and scheduled their grand opening for March, just days before the pandemic locked down the state’s restaurants.

“Yes, we did open BurgerIM in Louis-

ville the week before the pandemic hit,” Veronica Michel told the HotBytes Forum.

“The corporate had their own mishaps.

While they are fixing their act, we are doing everything we can to make it right within Louisville. We have received overwhelming support from the community and are very grateful for that.” Add my voice to that chorus of support.

BurgerIM’s menu is simple and, as you might expect, made up almost entirely of burgers and toppings, with only a handful of non-burger items at the end of the list for those who insist.

The menu layout took me a little time to figure out, but work on it, and you’ll get there. At the top are eight Big Burgers (all $6.99 or $7.99) with extensive toppings. The Dry-Aged Beef, for example, lavishes an onion ring, bacon and cheddar cheese and a dollop of barbecue sauce on its 1/3-pound patty and soft, dark-goldenbrown burger bun. The Spanish Beef burger loads spicy, habanero aioli, grilled jalapeño, pepper jack cheese and leaf lettuce on its 1/3-pound burger.

If you’d rather fashion your own burger combo, choose the Duo ($6.99) or Trio ($9.99) option to order two or three slidersize BurgerIM, then take your pick of 1/3ounce proteins (yes, it does say that), bun and toppings.

All burgers come with Roma tomato, leaf lettuce, shaved onions, pickles, American

A lot of open-air dining is piled into the Vogue Center’s courtyard, where BurgerIM is one of four food-service shops.

cheese and house sauce. An additional 99-cent charge piles on premium toppings such as bacon, avocado, fried egg, fancy cheeses and even pineapple or jalapeños or

an onion ring.

Non-burger items include chicken wings or strips (both $6.99), a vegan Indian samosa ($3.99) and a couple of salads ($3.99). The LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

21

FOOD & DRINK

BurgerIM’s thick, sweet onion rings, are thickly coated with crunchy panko breading fried dark golden brown.

beverage list includes soft drinks, milkshakes, commercial and craft beers and White Claw.

We filled up on four burgers — two meat options and two veggie selections — and a couple of sides.

A samosa ($3.99) made a fine starter.

A seriously spicy ball of mashed potatoes, onions and peas was rolled into a triangular pastry turnover and deep-fried golden. It was flaky, delicious and so filling that I saved half for another day.

The meat burgers — an Angus beef burger on a regular bun and a lamb burger in a lettuce wrap — were lean and gently chewy. The beef remained barely pink at the center after the 10-minute drive home; the lamb had no pink remaining. The lamb came with a tasty tzatziki sauce with a touch of mint and standard toppings of lettuce, pale tomato and a thin slice of onion. The Angus burger was painted with pale, creamy sauce and topped with melted yellow American cheese and the regular toppings.

The meatless burgers — a falafel and an Impossible Burger — demonstrated different approaches to the art of building a vegetarian burger. Falafel is a ubiquitous street food dish in Israel and the Near East. These crisp, deep-fried balls of chickpea flour, cumin and other aromatic spices are often stuffed into pita bread with tahini as a walking-around

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // JULY 29, 2020

snack, and it’s delicious that way. But it’s just as good as a burger! Crisp and chewy, BurgerIM’s falafel burger is mild on aromatics, but tahini and lettuce, pickle and tomato on a good bun made up for that.

The Impossible Burger leads the growing niche of modern, high-tech alternatives to meat that seek to replicate the flavor and texture of ground beef in an animal-free product. BurgerIM’s halfmoon-shaped version is flattened like a smashed burger and grilled deliciously dark and crisp-edged. With standard burger toppings and melted yellow cheese, the flavor is dead on. We had to look carefully to be sure which burger was the Angus and which was the Impossible.

On the side, BurgerIM fries are thick, whole rounds cut across the potato, deepfried pale golden and dressed with garlicky aioli. Fat onion rings are thickly coated with crunchy, panko breading and fried darkgolden brown.

An excellent meal was a good value at $29.19 for two, plus a $9 tip. •

BurgerIM’s lamb burger in a lettuce wrap and an Angus beef burger offered a mix-and-match experience.

BURGERIM

3733 Lexington Road The Vogue Center 901-1101 burgerimlouisvilleky.com

The samosa at BurgerIM, a crunchy fried turnover in the Indian tradition, is one of the few non-burger offerings.

PHOTO BY RACHEL ROBINSON

ETC.

SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage | mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage

FRIENDS IN DEED

Q: I’m a 20-something, more-or-less lesbian in an East Coast city. I’m primarily into women, and I’m only interested in relationships with women, but I’m sometimes attracted to men and have enjoyed sex with men in the past. For various reasons, I decided a few years ago not to pursue physical stuff with men anymore, and I publicly identify as a lesbian. This worked great pre-pandemic, but now, with a tiny social bubble and no dating prospects, I find myself feeling very attracted to a male friend/coworker. He’s 30-something, single, straight, and we’ve hung out a few times since COVID (only outside, and while socially distanced). As far as work goes, neither of us has a management role, we’re in different departments, and we rarely interact professionally. So, hypothetically, the coworker part wouldn’t be an ethical issue if we were to get involved.

I have a feeling he’d be down for a casual pandemic thing… although it’s possible I could be projecting. But I have no idea how to broach this subject. He’s a respectful person, and we work for a very progressive organization, so he’s not going to flirt with me since I identify as gay. I don’t know how to bring up in casual conversation that I sometimes like sleeping with men, Dan, and my usual approach to flirting involves a lot of casual physical contact, which obviously isn’t possible right now. What should I do? Should I just let this go? Even though we don’t work closely together, there’s obviously the potential for professional issues if feelings got hurt, and celibacy is obviously a responsible option during this pandemic. But COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions are going to continue, and he and I seem well enough suited to keep each other company. I was single and celibate for a while before the pandemic and am feeling desperate to touch another human being. If it’s not a terrible idea, how do I flirt with him without endangering public health, messing up our friendship, or making our work situation incredibly awkward in the event that he’s not into me?

Craving Organic Viable Earthly Touching A: There’s no way to ensure that a sexual and/or romantic relationship with a coworker (or anyone else) won’t end badly — and a little awkwardness would be the least of your worries if this proposed arrangement ended badly.

But if your relationships and breakups are generally drama-free, COVET, and if you’ve been friends with this guy long enough to know that his relationships and breakups have been mostly drama-free, I think you should tell him how you’ve been feeling. Ask him if he’s interested in finding a COVID-19 sex

buddy, as the Dutch call them, and if he is, tell him you would like to apply for the position.

While most couples meet online these days, COVET, roughly 10% of opposite-sex couples — which is what you two would be — still meet through work. And while you’re not interested in anything romantic or longterm, couples that meet through work remain the most likely to marry. Which means work relationships don’t always end in tears and/ or pink slips and/or lawsuits. (Although they do sometimes end in divorce.) People who find themselves attracted to coworkers need to be thoughtful about power dynamics, of course, and cognizant of company policies where workplace romance is concerned. And it sounds like you are being thoughtful and it doesn’t sound like either of you have power over each other and are unlikely to ever be in positions of power over each other.

And life is short and this pandemic is going to be long.

So the next time you get together for some socially distanced socializing, COVER, open your mouth and tell this guy what you’ve been thinking. If he’s as liberal and progressive as you make him out to be, he’s no doubt aware that human sexuality is complicated, and that while many of us can find a perfect fit among the most commonly understood set of labels, many of us pick a label that doesn’t fit perfectly because it comes closest to capturing some combo of our sexual and/or romantic interest and desires. Don’t think of this ask — don’t think of this disclosure — as walking anything back, COVET, but of expanding and complicating what he already knows about you. You remain homoromantic — you’re only interested in other women romantically — but you are sexually attracted to both men and women sexually. In other words, COVET, your heart is lesbian but your pussy is bi.

If he’s up for being your COVID-19 sex buddy, swear to each other that you’ll handle the inevitable end with grace and compassion. For while awkwardness can’t be avoided, COVET, stupid and unnecessary drama certainly can. And it’s been my experience that promising in advance to act like grown-ups ups the chances of everyone acting like grownups. Similarly, simply saying, “Well, this might get awkward,” in advance of awkwardness or, “This is awkward,” if things should get awkward reduces the strength and duration of awkwardness by at least half.

Finally, a note to all the guys out there reading this who think COVET’s question gives them license to hit on women who identify as lesbians: No, it doesn’t. Don’t do that. If there’s a lesbian-identified-but-not-averse-toall-dick dyke in your life… if you work or to

go school with a homoromantic-but-bisexual woman who identifies as a lesbian… and if that woman is even remotely interested in fucking you, she will let you know. And even if your hunch is correct — even if your dickful thinking is spot-on and that one lesbian you know does wanna fuck you — being disrespectful enough to make the first move instantly disqualifies both you and your dick.

Q: This is a letter from a gay guy. If one of my regular kinky playmate friends were to gag and hood me and then fuck me while wearing a condom, would that reasonably be expected to prevent COVID-19 transmission?

Hoping Or Otherwise Determined A: You’re less likely to contract COVID-19 if you’re hooded and gagged, and it’ll be even safer if your kinky playmate wears a mask, too. But you should be hooded and gagged before your kinky playmate arrives, HOOD, because if gets close enough to hood and gag you himself then he’ll be exhaling all over you and inhaling whatever you’re exhaling. And that — inhaling what other people are exhaling — is the risk we all need to avoid right now. And while COVID-19 has been found in semen, the jury is still out on whether semen presents a significant risk of infection. (Unless a dude shoots so hard his semen is aerosolized and his sex partners are in danger of inhaling his spunk into their lungs.) That said, COVID-19 isn’t the only thing we need to worry about, HOOD, so he should wear a condom to protect you from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The biggest risk, according to health departments from sea (NYC Health) to shining sea (British Columbia Centres for Disease Control), is kissing — we’re being urged to forgo “kissing and saliva exchange” with randos for the moment — so kinky fuckers who get off on wearing masks, gags, and hoods have a built-in, hard-wired advantage.

But no kissing before the hood goes on.

Q: Please settle a debate with my “friend.” I’m correct in that your staff comes up with the clever names of those who submit letters to your Savage Love column, right? My “friend” holds the delusional belief that the clever names are created by the letter writers themselves. Please settle this with a confirmation that I am correct.

Friendship Risked In Entirely Needless Dispute A: A million or so years ago I began shortening sign-offs created by the letter writers — I began making acronyms out of them — to cut my word count and save space. Readers noticed what I was doing and began creating sign-offs that, when acronymized, became words that playfully referenced their questions.

It quickly became something “Savage Love” readers looked forward to — something they as much or more than my dick jokes — and it wasn’t long before readers were letting me know they were disappointed when sign-offs

didn’t result in clever acronyms. So nowadays when readers don’t go to the trouble of creating clever sign-offs for themselves, I do it for them. I would say I come up with roughly half the sign-offs that appear in the column, FRIEND, which means you and your friend are both right.

On the Lovecast, Dan interviews an activist from “Love is Not Tourism.” savagelovecast.com mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

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Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2012 Toyota Camry Black VIN #4t1bf1fkocu596516 ,Owner Gregory D Cousar-Roper of 1804 Harbor LNDG Roswell GA 30076 Lien Holder: Santander Consumer USA Inc. 5201 Rufe Snow DR North Richland hills TX Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice. Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2008 Volkswagen Passat Grey VIN #WVWAK73C58E160029 ,Owner Michael Twum Sam Lien Holder: Tack holdings INC Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice. Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-7279503, has intention to obtain title of a 2007 kia Rio Red in color VIN #KNADE123776227237 ,Owner Twy’Mic Brown Lien Holder: none Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice. Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2000 Chevy Black Suburban VIN #3GNGC26U9YG192223 ,Owner Shannon Mahoney 5675 Santiago Dr Ohio Lien Holder:none Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice.

I am a Kentucky Notary Public State At Large - I will notarize any document or legal document. $30 Flat Fee (Up to 5 documents. More than 5, we will negotiate the price) $5 Travel Fee (Must be in Jefferson County) I am the cheapest and best notary in the 502! Text me at 502-693-3627 or email me at ericac5555@gmail.com

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107 113

85

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18

58

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75

111

32

57

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105

15

41

67

71

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56

59

13

28

31

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43 49

12

24

29

110

9

21

25

80

8

20

22

48

7

94 101

95

102

103

108

104

109

114

115

116

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118

119

120

121

97 She played ‘‘the devil’’ Miranda in ‘‘The Devil Wears Prada’’ 101 ‘‘Dagnabbit!’’

102 Kind of pants 104 Japanese beer brand 105 Partially landlocked bay 106 Drachma replacement 108 ‘‘My word!’’

109 Five of these are needed to play Yahtzee 110 Astronaut Grissom 111 Transcript fig.

112 Topic discussed by the bar 113 Barely manage, with ‘‘out’’ 115 Children’s author Asquith

H E E A R T S A M S D U T B C T U U R D M S O T T O

C L I N G

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T E E N A G E

C A P R I

N E R T S

P A B S T

S T P A T S

P A U P T S T E S E I D I Z D E O U P

P A N I I R O N C C T H S A D C E T Z C O N E Y A C H B H O T O W I R A R K S N U I S N C L O R A I N A R K S E E L D L I R I I P O C K S E E

A S A H I

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M E R Y L

C B A R R U L E E D A Y E G R E T R O L H O O S R U T E O P E T A P H I E M I L T O N E T C K Y Y S

52 Adolescent 53 ‘‘What’s up?’’ in textspeak 56 A.C. measure 58 First man, in Maori mythology 60 Oil-rich nation that’s not in OPEC 61 Sour milk product 62 Cathedral in N.Y.C. 64 ‘‘Revelations’’ choreographer 65 Small, in a way 67 Oscars, e.g.

68 Blue Ribbon brand 69 It’s found in a key: Abbr.

72 Mountain nymph of Greek myth 74 Comfy shoes, for short 76 Writing on many a license plate 77 Opposing forces in Risk 79 Preventing spills, say 80 Sporty option 81 Folk singer Guthrie 83 H.S. class 84 Monopoly token 85 Have a serious crush on, informally 87 Less expressive 90 Issa of ‘‘Insecure’’ 92 Puts down 93 Little bump 95 Ancestor of the modern lemon and lime 96 Ring combo

N O D U L E

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C T R E E N A N M E R A R B M I I O E S I S A Y

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Down 1 Lengthy reprimand, so to speak 2 Lowbrow 3 Taste 4 ‘‘Ouch!’’

5 Half of some matching sets 6 Put away 7 Hold tightly 8 National Medal of Arts winner Davis 9 Played miniature golf 10 Altar place 11 Snap 12 Inverse trig function 13 Choking-hazard label 14 How TV shows may be shown 15 Some Montanans 16 Plant part 17 ____ king 18 Spanish chess piece 19 Put away for later 23 Expert advice 27 Evaluate, as an opponent 30 Phoenix sch.

32 Like polka 33 What sheep participate in 34 Plant part 35 Alternatively 38 Summer hrs. in Colorado 40 Words of commitment 41 Pyle’s portrayer on ‘‘Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.’’ 42 Pang 43 Love, in Lyon 44 Defeat soundly 45 Couple of fins 48 Head of ____ 49 Happy refrain 50 National economic prosperity, metaphorically

4

E K E

Across 1 Ones out of this world, for short 4 Club setting for scenes in ‘‘GoodFellas’’ and ‘‘Raging Bull’’ 11 Something pressed in an emergency 19 ____ Lee (dessert brand) 20 Gets better 21 Oppressive dominance 22 *Performers who set the bar high?

24 *Go-getter’s maxim 25 In a way 26 Eves 28 One-named Grammy-winning singer 29 Worried exclamation from Astro on ‘‘The Jetsons’’ 30 Writer and film critic James 31 Platinum-selling rapper-turned-TV-cop 33 Sr.’s hurdle 36 English cathedral city 37 Brand with a jingle to the ‘‘Dragnet’’ theme 39 *Public health agency’s mission 43 Part of a ventilation system 46 Actress and civil rights activist Ruby ____ 47 Boors 48 *Feature of a Chippendales show 51 Fix the colors on, say 54 Boor 55 Special orders on new autos 56 It means well in Italy 57 P.R. event 59 Smooth sailing 60 Gas numbers 63 Bug 66 Stand-up comic Wong 67 *Places for coasters 70 Move in a hurry, quaintly 71 Best horse of the 20th century, per The Associated Press 73 Language spoken on Easter Island 74 Jazz’s Jackson 75 Matriarch’s title, maybe 78 Chats away 79 Large musical combo 80 Spud 82 Palette cleansers between courses 84 *How to screw in a light bulb 86 Common chords 88 ‘‘I didn’t need to know that’’ 89 Tries hard 91 *What keeps up standards in the radio business?

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A B A S E S

No. 0712

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T H P A R T O H T U I R P T S O A M W A A N R D S S T O N I E R

BY WYNA LIU / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

1

E U R O

DOUBLES PLAY

94 Temple cabinets 95 End of many addresses 98 Pioneer of detective fiction 99 Reed in a pit 100 A while back 103 Author/magazine editor Welteroth 105 Singer/activist Horne 107 Half of a record 109 Celebrity . . . but just barely 110 *‘‘Holy moly!’’

114 *Occasion for hiding in the dark 116 In trouble, metaphorically 117 Genre for the Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair 118 Beat poem allegedly inspired by a peyote vision 119 Carpentry contraption 120 Words of understanding 121 Italian diminutive suffix

E T S S A R A T R A P O F S O R U H R E L Y A S T R I T R I M E A S E A L I M A N O G R T A T E T R I A O L D D P O E L G G L O U P A C S A W H

The New York Times Magazine Crossword