A LIFE SHATTERED
Justice For Breonna Taylor #SayHerName
It’s been more than four months since Breonna Taylor was shot and people are still calling for action and demanding justice for the young woman. On the night of March 13th, the 26-year-old Emergency Medical Technician was killed in her home after Louisville Metro police officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove shot her eight times during a drug sting gone wrong. With a “no-knock” warrant, the officers entered the home. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, believed someone was breaking into their apartment and fired his gun at the door, injuring an officer. The police fired more than 20 rounds fatally shooting Taylor.
Two months later, a video of a Minneapolis police officer killing George Floyd ignited an uprising around the nation and the world. Protestors took to the streets, calling for change and justice and their anger galvanized a movement. All four officers involved in the killing of George Floyd have been arrested and charged. But what about Breonna Taylor? Only one officer involved in her death lost his badge, others are on administrative leave and none charged. While the public is enraged and mourns the
Black lives lost to a system of police brutality; many are working hard to make sure the spotlight on Taylor’s death is not extinguished.
Taylor’s family has retained civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump in a lawsuit accusing police of wrongful death, excessive force, and gross negligence. “They’re killing our sisters just like they’re killing our brothers, but for whatever reason, we have not given our sisters the same attention that we have given to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Stephon Clark, Terence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald,” Crump said in an interview with the Washington Post. “Breonna’s name should be known by everybody in America who said those other names, because she was in her own home, doing absolutely nothing wrong.”
The #sayhername protest signs and chants of justice for Breonna Taylor echo everywhere. Demonstrators around the country are continuing to put pressure on authorities in Louisville. Celebrities call for accountability and use social media platforms to reach out to their millions of followers. On June 5th, what would’ve been Breonna’s 27th birthday, high-profile A-listers like: Oprah, Joe Biden, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, John Legend, Kim Kardashian and many others took to Twitter and Instagram to bring awareness to Taylor’s murder. Actor Jordan Peele tweeted, “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor.” It has been retweeted more than 160K times.
The NBA’s Philadephia Sixers Tobias Harris media availability lasted 59 seconds with one direct message, “We want to make sure that Daniel Cameron (Kentucky Attorney General) will arrest the cops and officers involved with Breonna Taylor’s death. And that’s all I’ve got to say.” When another reporter tried to ask a question, Harris responded, “That’s going to be my answer for every question. Daniel Cameron, step up. Do what’s right. That’s the only message I’ve got today. I appreciate everybody. Thanks.”
As summer rolls into fall, will the attention of Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of the police diminish? Despite the demonstrations, social media support and the continued pressure on Kentucky’s attorney general, no arrests have yet been made. How Attorney-General Cameron responds remains to be seen, but Taylor’s death and #sayhername will remain in our collective conscience and be a reminder that Black women are victims, too.
