Part II – Say Her Name Too!
Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, Michelle Cusseaux, Korryn Gaines, India Kager, Lajuana Phillips, Crystal Danielle Ragland and the list goes on.
In February of 2015 the African American Policy Forum coined the hashtag Say Her Name in an effort to raise awareness for black women and girls being killed by police brutality. Why? Because they weren’t receiving the necessary attention to stir up the masses.
You may be thinking, “What is the purpose of setting black women’s deaths aside from black men’s? Shouldn’t we be working together?” And the answer is yes, we should but sadly we don’t. In general, black women killed by the police generally receive less press coverage than other individuals. The lack of news coverage results in little justice for these women.
Protests are rarely held in their honor, floods of phone calls demanding justice are not made to police and elected officials offices, and their families end up dealing with the pain of knowing that their daughters, mothers and sisters have died in vain.
However, in some cases, black women do receive the attention that they deserve. Under what pretenses though? On April 20th, 2021 Ma’Khia Bryant (16) was killed in cold blood by a police officer after calling them for help when she was being taunted and later attacked by two other young girls. Bryant, in an attempt to defend herself, utilized a knife as a weapon.
As police were arriving on the scene Bryant dropped the knife and was almost instantly shot and killed by Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reardon. He has yet to be charged for her murder. When her story came out many were quick to shout that she was angry, horrendous, the aggressor and a maniac. Why, though? This was somebody’s baby girl. She was loved, she enjoyed making Tik-Toks just like any other teenager.
Why were people so quick to align her name with all of these negative connotations so quickly? We may never know but we do know that for every one person who talked against her there were several who were on her side. Ma’Khia’s name held weight in recent protests and people have and continue to make noise for her in an effort to bring her justice. However, her story is the exception when it comes to supporting and demanding justice for black women. The only reason that Bryant’s death made such an impact is honestly because it was relevant at the time.
Taylor was killed in March 2020. George Floyd was killed in May of that year. Surely people cared about Taylor being killed in March, but it seems that she wasn’t given her due until the video of Floyd’s death went viral. Both events were significant, but if it weren’t for Floyd, would people have been as riled up about Taylor?
But for anyone wanting a solution to bring justice to these unheard black women’s voices let’s make it our goal to advocate for them, stand up for them and cause some good trouble for them. Make people feel as though they are as important as anyone else who has suffered from police brutality, as they already should be considered.
Black women are some of the most understanding and concerned individuals when it comes to others but the emotions aren’t always reciprocated. And now we need unity now, more than ever.
- Sojourner Chief
This is the second of a four-part series. Click here for Part I – In the Beginning. Next up is Part III – Please Record in Your Notes that You Refused.
