SIGN UP: ‘Race for Justice’ highlights historical sites showing Louisville’s injustices, progress

Future Ancestors 502 is asking you to meet them at the intersection of justice, love and compassion.  Run, march, walk or dance forward at the ‘Race for Justice’ on June 18th, 2022.  Participants are encouraged to embark on a creative path through Louisville.  The unique race route highlights historical sites that show the city’s progress from injustice to present.  

Sign up for the race, here. Future Ancestors 502 partnered with Humana, the Louisville Urban League, and the Jefferson County Teachers Association for this event. The race will benefit a few local nonprofits around town — Queer Kentucky being one of them. The others are La Casita Center, Mattingly Edge, Roots 101, The Bail Project, and Americana.

Designed by a local femme-led and student-led group, the high school students and recent graduates were inspired by the Breonna Taylor murder and protests in Louisville to create something to unite and move the city forward. Teammates will work together in a five mile loop to complete a 26.2 marathon.  Each mile is dedicated to one year in Breonna Taylor’s life with the final mile being completed as a team.

Founder and Executive Director Nubia Ali is passionate about addressing the discrimination against black women, specifically in medical settings.

“Being in the middle of a pandemic along with the movement surrounding Breonna Taylor’s death, I felt called to make a change.  I knew that I could work with some of my peers to create and bring more awareness to injustices inherent in our community.”

17-year-old Armelle Bondonga (she/her) was born and raised in Kinshasa, Congo. She wants to utilize her voice to change the things she doesn’t like in the world.

“I come from a country where citizens’ opinions are not important at all and oftentimes anyone that dares speak out against the government or those in power faces possible jail time and sometimes execution. So for me to be able to speak out publicly and demand change is a privilege to me. I don’t want it to waste. I am interested in pursuing a career in politics to be at the forefront of making these important changes.” 

A few students are working on a film to document the process of creating the race with the help of local documentary filmmaker Remington Smith and the owner of Best Dad Media, Kyle Gordon.  His original documentary “Voices of the Movement” interviews 50 protestors and records their response.

“In the first couple of months of the protest, I had an idea for a project.  I wanted to interview as many protestors as possible and just ask them one simple question, ‘Why are you out here protesting?’  I believe that sometimes, the most powerful thing in the world is just looking another human in their eye and hearing their why.”

Read more about the teens behind the Future Ancestors and how to donate to support their cause and mission.