Ieshia Evans -Woman in Iconic Baton Rouge Police Protest Photograph
“The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” -Malcolm X (1962)
If you follow The Barker on Instagram you will notice for the past two weeks we have been uploading to our instastory the names of Black women who have lost their lives to police brutality in addition to the black men. Recently I’ve been concerned that not enough attention and outrage has been directed to their cases and their much deserved justice. Yesterday while I marched and protested in my local community for George Floyd and #BlackLivesMatter I thought about these women. I thought about the senseless killings of Breonna Taylor-“accidentally” shot 8 times in her home while she slept during a police raid; Sandra Bland- pulled over and arrested for failure to signal a lane change-and then later found deceased in her jail cell; and Atatiana Jefferson- shot dead in her home after playing video games with her nephew.This is just a few names on a long list of others I could mention.
The Barker has collected some ways we can help change this narrative and demand justice:
Today would have been Breonna Taylor's 27th birthday. Here are a few ways we can celebrate her life and demand justice for her as well. If you are on Instagram: go to this user's profile: https://instagram.com/didi_godwin?igshid=1jarko5a75067 click on the link in their bio. It will take you to a pre-written email that you can send to the Louisville, KY district attorney demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. All you have to do is plug in your name and where your from. It takes less than one minute.
Also on Instagram the User: 30flirtyfilm has created this site for Breonna Taylor. https://msha.ke/30flirtyfilm/. The link leads you to eight action steps you can take for the justice of Breonna Taylor-including putting the link in your social media bio to share with others. The first step only takes less than a minutes and will lead you to Change.Org petition which is almost at its goal of 3 million signatures.
If you’re like me and thousands of others and want a continued re-investigation into the Sandra Bland's case, visit the Change.Org site and click the link here: https://www.change.org/p/texas-governor-i-want-sandra-bland-s-case-reopened recruiter=1104129746&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi&recruited_by_id=bdeea560-a54d-11ea-bc57-c15d23bad52d
Below are the GoFund Me pages for Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson that I have found online. If you would like to show your continued support for the families please donate to the causes below:
Breonna Taylor: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9v4q2-justice-for-breonna-taylor
Atatiana Jefferson: //www.gofundme.com/f/1s5tcouu9c?utm_medium=social
Please say their names and do not allow them or any other black woman to get lost in this revolution. Pay attention to the numerous women on the front lines of these protests and marches. They look like us, your friends, loved ones, and they look like the women mentioned in this post. More than likely they probably would have been on the very front lines risking their lives if they were still here with us.They need our voices more than ever. Let’s speak up for the women who have stepped up and made Black Lives Matter the vigorous movement it is today. **Previously when I wrote about the women who have stepped up and made Black Lives Matter the movement it is today, it's important to note and recognize the black lives matter hashtag and movement was founded by three black women Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The three women created this campaign to raise awareness and action related to the violence and systemic racism towards black people. The SayherName hashtag was co founded by Kimberle Crenshaw to raise awareness for Black women who are victims of police brutality and anti-black violence**
***UPDATE***
On June 11, 2020, The Louisville Metro Council voted unanimously to ban no-knock warrants to prevent what happened to Breonna Taylor from happening again, now known as Breonna Taylor's Law. Let's not let up now, continue to fight for Breonna Taylor's justice!
Sign the petitions for Breonna Taylor: