After voting in favor of a House resolution to honor the life of controversial conservative activist Charlie Kirk, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey called leaders of at least three Louisville-based racial justice advocacy groups, they told The Courier Journal, with two saying the two-term congressman said he regrets his vote.
In separate interviews, Louisville Branch NAACP President Raymond Burse and Louisville Urban League President Lyndon Pryor said McGarvey — who said he opposed Kirk’s views but wanted to condemn political violence in voting in favor of the resolution — expressed contrition his Sept. 19 vote.
Meanwhile, (Un)Known Project founder Hannah Drake said McGarvey reached out to her the morning following the vote, after she published a heated social media post about his position. Drake said she missed his call and only got around to listening to a message he left on Sept. 25. McGarvey had requested she call him back, Drake said, which she had not yet done.
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Burse, who took over as head of the Louisville NAACP in late 2024 after longtime President Raoul Cunningham’s retirement, said McGarvey was remorseful when he called on Sept. 21. Burse said he thinks the congressman, up for reelection in 2026, has time to make amends.
“He’s acknowledged that his vote was a mistake and he apologized for it,” Burse said. “… He's been a true supporter of doing the right thing — supporting civil rights, supporting voting rights, you know, all of those things. It's disappointing that he cast a vote for (the resolution). But he's apologized for it.”
Read the rest at the Courier-Journal.
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