The mayor of Louisville, Kentucky made a bold move this week by issuing a public apology to Black residents for the city’s history of engaging in practices of systemic racism.

Mayor Greg Fischer’s apology came during a Juneteenth luncheon organized by the Metro Human Relations Commission on Wednesday.

He said he pledges to continue to fight systemic racism for the rest of his term as mayor of Louisville.

The mayor is currently serving his third and final term which ends this year.

Fischer has been criticized for his handling of the Breonna Taylor case. Taylor, an ER technician, was killed in her apartment in March 2020 by plain-clothed police officers.

During the luncheon, he said the police chief will have more more dialogue with the community about the history of abuses Black Americans have endured by police.

More about the mayor’s historic apology can be found here.

Opinion: Why now? With a few months left in his term, it seems too safe politically. Kentucky is a red state. A public apology is commendable, but the city of Louisville should also focus on implementing policies that rebuild equity for Blacks who have lost so much after centuries of devastating racist practices. Far right conservatives have demonstrated that when racism is acknowledged, they push back in an attempt to stymy, if not reverse, progress. Following the mayor’s apology, if there are plans or discussions underway to create comprehensive solutions for more equity Blacks can benefit from, there will likely be a battle ahead. Reparations should not be off the table. Hopefully the city commits to staying on track and Black Americans support those efforts by showing up and demanding consistency.