Breaking the silence about injustice and speaking the names of those whose lives have been taken from us are both vital to mourning and resistance. But do we as a community recognize the names of Michelle Cusseaux, Tanisha Anderson, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Kayla Moore, India Kager, Shelly Frey, or Korryn Gaines? Black women and girls as young as 7 and as old as 93 have been killed by the police, though we rarely hear their names. The #SayHerName campaign was launched in 2014 to bring awareness to the often invisible names and stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police violence, and provides support to their families.

During each #Say Her Name gathering we say the names of the women, girls and femmes who have been killed at the hands of the police. On the anniversary of SHN, we read every name. In 2022, we read the names of 178 people and, by 2023, that number had, unfortunately, increased to close to 200. Knowing their names is an essential, but insufficient, first step. To lift up their stories, and illuminate the wide-ranging circumstances of police violence against Black women, we need to know who they are, how they lived, and why they suffered at the hands of police.

TODAY’S PRACTICE:

Watch the #SayHerName video by The African American Policy Forum.

Listen to the “#SayHerName: The Art of Bearing Witness on the Page and Stage” episode from the podcast “Intersectionality Matters” with Kimberlé Crenshaw.

DAILY REFLECTION: How can work to combat the invisibility of Black women, femmes, and girls in your family and community’s understanding of state violence?

TAKE ACTION: Read the newly-released book #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of State Violence and Public Silence available here.

️Become a #SayHerName Advocate here.