Source: Getty / Getty
Even before now-fired police officer Derrick Chauvin rammed his knee into
George Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes killing him, too many pockets of this country have always felt on fire. But
something about now is different.
Perhaps it’s been a culmination of things: a
coronavirus crisis that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans in the past few months, and a president—
whose racist and inflammatory language, and inability to acknowledge science—has put every last American in danger. Or perhaps,
it’s the time being isolated and bored, coupled with the incessant ability to be on social media that allows you to absorb and internalize every last ounce of news and injustice. But Floyd’s death has unleashed Black people’s collective rage that has been pent up for centuries. For the first time, white America, whether it’s
performative allyship or a
genuine reawakening,
can no longer ignore the blaze around them—not on our watch, not today.
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This is a time of reckoning.
But while things seem to be changing, the one constant that hasn’t is the ability to somehow push Black women are killed by the hands of the police out of the narrative of this movement. While Floyd and
Ahmaud Arbery are often on the tongues of those in the streets, the question has to be asked:
What about Breonna Taylor?
Ain’t she a victim, too?
Source: Brandon Bell / Getty
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Taylor, who would have turned 27 on June 5, was killed in March when Louisville Metro Police stormed into her house and fatally shot her. Taylor’s boyfriend claims that the police never announced themselves, causing the EMT worker to grab her gun, which had a license for, and fire a warning shot that struck one of the officers in the leg. That’s when they shot and killed her.
Some three months later, those involved in her shooting, Officer Brett Hankison, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove, have not been fired or charged with Taylor’s death.
Yet, Taylor’s story continues to get drowned out of the Black Lives Matter protests and the narrative around who is impacted by police violence. But today with the help of the organization
Until Freedom, Black female celebs are doing their part to correct that.
Cardi B,
Kerry Washington,
Lala Anthony,
Kelly Rowland and others, have used their social media accounts to share the video, “Do you know what happened to
Breonna Taylor?” as a way to raise awareness and call for the arrest and job termination of those involved.
Take a look below and never forget to
#SayHerName:
