LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Protests in Louisville are now well passed their second week. While the number of protesters has gone down, those who remain say they’re not going anywhere, and more than a dozen people are now there 24 hours a day and seven days a week. 

“As a black woman, I need to be out here. I need to speak up because enough is enough,” said Rosie Henderson who said she has stopped her catering business to protest all day every day. 

Her tent is one of more than a dozen set-up at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville. The green patch has become the hub for protests that started 18 days ago. 

Abraham Roque and his fiancé arrived Friday to start camping out, as well. He said his motivation is his Dad’s side of the family who is from Puerto Rico. 

“Because not a lot of people realize [this] but during the Civil Rights march in the ‘60s in the ‘50s, Latinos, they were treated the same as black people, honestly,” Roque told Spectrum News 1.

Both Henderson and Roque were two strangers protesting like everyone else.

Now, they are here for the same reason, which is not stopping until justice is served for George Floyd, David McAtee, and Breonna Taylor.

“We are going to take on the fight for my ancestors, but we’re going to do it in a peaceful way. We’re not leaving until them officers are prosecuted and in jail,” Henderson explained.

Roque was laid off from his job because of the pandemic, but he said his volunteer firefighting and EMT experience helps provide medical support, in addition to him just being here in solidarity.

“To me personally, I feel more purpose and fulfillment since I’ve been out here standing up for this than I have in literally my entire time in my entire life,” Roque said.

Both didn’t know each other before this. 

Now, both consider everyone here family, and they are both committed and in it for the long-haul.

“Ain’t nothin’ but love. This is love right here; it truly is. It truly is,” Henderson said.

Both are first-timers camping in protest and both said it’s what is needed to send a message about and take a stand for justice.