Viewpoint on Breonna Taylor

By Rosemary Kilkenny, Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer

I am saddened that we are once again confronting the predictable reality that Ms. Breonna Taylor and her family have been denied justice that so many of us have longed and hoped to witness. Two days before the announcement of the fate of the officers responsible for the killing of Ms. Taylor, various establishments in the downtown area of Louisville were boarded up; law enforcement and national guard were mobilized; and a state of emergency was declared. I would argue that these defensive tactics foreshadowed the outcome of the review and that justice is not blind, justice is not fair and justice is elusive. How can Black citizens ever be expected to have faith in the legal process? I believe that this lack of faith gives voice to many Black citizens and their white allies who collectively proclaim that Black Lives Matter.

The fact is that none of the officers were held responsible for Ms. Taylor’s death and only one was indicted for wanton endangerment of her white neighbors, not her Black neighbors whose homes were also invaded by bullets of the white officers. In my view this reflects for many, that the miscarriage of justice continues and diminution of Black lives continues. Through it all, I stand in solidarity with Ms. Taylor and her family and I am further committed to tirelessly exemplifying those foundational values upon which Georgetown was founded namely, social justice, community in diversity and cura personalis – care for the whole person.