Why is police violence against black women often left out of the headlines?
Black Lives Matter protests erupted in the summer with the death of George Floyd. Unlike previous BLM protests, a key name in the marches included a young woman, Breonna Taylor. Although police violence tends to be against black men, black women are still much more likely to be killed than white women by police.
Who was Breonna Taylor?
Imagine the following scenario:
You are a 26-year-old Emergency Medical Technician. It is past midnight, and you are asleep with your boyfriend at home. Suddenly, you hear knocks on the front door. Knocks continue to batter down. You both go downstairs and, to protect you from intruders, your boyfriend shoots at the door. But the fire is returned from the other side. You are fatally struck by eight bullets. Your boyfriend is taken into custody on charges of attempted murder of a police officer. The most frustrating part of all? Justice has not been made, even after your family and millions of people worldwide protested for your unfair death at the hands of the police. The system has failed you.
The previous paragraph summarises the death of Breonna Taylor - a young medical worker with hopes and aspirations.
Three police officers from the Louisville Metro Police filed a request for a "no-knock" search warrant of Breonna's home after investigating activities of his ex-partner, known to the police as a drug trafficker (according to their warrant report). The police stated that her ex-boyfriend was using her address to mail drugs through the post office. Police added in the warrant that they previously verified that information with the postal inspectors and that he was receiving the packages at Taylor's address.
The police officers used a battering ram to force open the door. They did not use body cameras, a violation of police policy. They blindly opened fire 25 times (some bullets entering other apartments) because they pledged that Breonna's partner was pointing at them with a gun.
Her boyfriend, a licensed gun owner with no criminal record, called 911 as he thought a home invasion was in progress. Miss Taylor died due to a mistaken raid in her apartment, and no drugs were found inside the apartment. None. (ABCNews 2020)
Despite global protests, the officers who killed Breonna did not receive murder charges. A grand jury indicted one of the police officers for "wanton endangerment", but he pleaded not guilty. The other two officers were clear (NYT 2020). How does a young black woman gets shot in her bed as she sleeps, and no one is arrested for murder or even manslaughter?
We must ask the right questions - Would have the outcome been different if Breonna was white? And, also, if the police officers were black?
In essence, the police actions were not guilty of her death - but yet, if any other person had broken into her house and shot her dead - this would be murder. Once again racist actions are protecting the police in the United States, where black people are at a higher risk of being killed by the police than white people, in some areas the rate is as much as six times higher.
But whilst murder charges have been placed on the officer who killed George Floyd, there is no such justice in Breonna’s case. Two weeks ago, the Louisville Metro Police Department fired two detectives connected to the shooting (CNN 2021) - but, how can this be justice?
Linda Sarsour, a political activist calls it “one of the biggest miscarriages of justice I’ve seen in about 25 years.”
Quoting a Malcolm X quote;
"The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.’”
Andrea Ritchie, author of "Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color" suggests that the system failed Breonna in both life and death.
“The system that killed Breonna Taylor is not set up to provide justice or reparations for the killing of Breonna Taylor.”
Race and Feminism
There is a common pattern: the race of the perpetrators and the police remain the same. But the death of Breonna Taylor engaged a new question - why are black women and girls still an afterthought in our outrage over police violence? In Reni Eddo-Lodge’s book “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race”, she discusses feminism and race and how black feminists are often left out of the conversation, with racism considered about black men and feminism always considered about white women, without recognising that some inequalities overlap. Professor Crenshaw coined this overlap “intersectionality” back in 1989. He defined as,
“the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.”
To become more aware of how intersectionality takes place, writer Renni Eddo-Lodge talks about “being a feminist with a race analysis” which would allow us to see how race and gender are intertwined regarding inequalities. (Eddo-Lodge 2017: 172).
Professor Krenshaw went on to start the #SayHerName campaign in 2014 which sought to bring awareness to the often invisible names and stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police violence.
Their evidence finds that,
Black women and girls as young as 7 and as old as 93 have been killed by the police, though we rarely hear their name
Here are a few of their stories;
Sandra Bland
On July 13th 2015, a 28-year-old woman, Sandra Bland died in a jail cell, apparently by suicide, three days after her arrest for failing to signal a lane change whilst she was driving (History 2020). The circumstances surrounding her death led many to question how Bland could end up losing her life following a minor traffic incident.
Bland's case drew international outrage over the treatment of Black people by white police officers and became a painful case cited in the Black Lives Matter movement. On recorded videos, the arresting officer can be heard telling Bland to get out of the car, or he threatened to “light you up”.
Bland’s family and friends immediately questioned not only her treatment but also the official report of her suicide. Bland was reportedly in a good mental place around the time of her arrest, excited by the prospect of a new job she was due to start. Her death fits into a pattern of police violence and systemic racism in law enforcement that became increasingly visible to the American public throughout the 2010s (History 2020).
The prison in which Bland died was found to have been ignoring protocols regarding observing prisoners. In 2017, Texas passed the Sandra Bland Act, which attempts to educate police officers about mental illness.
Rekia Boyd
Rekia was only 22 years old when she was shot by an off-duty Chicago police detective back in 2012. The altercation happened when the officer approached four individuals. He argued with one of them and fired into the group, hitting Rekia in the head. The officer claimed that the individual he argued with was carrying a gun. In reality, such an object was a cell phone. The officer was charged with involuntary manslaughter but waslatercleared of all charges (Huffpost 2016).
Her brother had these stark words;
"They don’t talk about women that much when they get killed by the police. They barely talk about women. Why is that? It’s crazy, because you see that even in death, women play the second role."
Shelly Frey
On 6 December 2012, Shelly Frey, a 27-year-old mother was shot dead in a Walmart car park in Houston, Texas by an off duty sheriff deputy. The officer believed Shelly and her friends had shop-lifted and followed them from the store to the car park where a row escalated. When Shelly and her friends got into their car to drive away, the officer fired his weapon at least twice, striking Shelly twice in the neck. Paramedics tried to save her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officer accused Shelly of trying to run away and felt threatened by her and her friends. But, how does this excuse for this deadly force? As said by Shelly’s mother “Why couldn’t you just shoot the tire, shoot the window? Was it that serious?” The family went on to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff deputy and Walmart Stores. No justice has yet been served.
But Breonna's death showed that violence against black women can no longer be brushed aside or silenced. Her name and story have been recognised worldwide, with #SayHerName and #JusticeforBre trending on social media and with celebrity support from some of the biggest stars. From Beyonce who wrote an open letter to Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, to Lewis Hamilton wearing a T-shirt of support at the Tuscan GP.
The United States recently selected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their 46th President and Vice-president respectively but back in September President-Elect Biden spoke out about the decision not to prosecute the officers in the Breonna Taylor case (Axios 2020).
"I know for so many people today’s decision does not answer that call. A federal investigation remains ongoing, but we do not need to wait for the final judgment of that investigation to do more to deliver justice for Breonna."
"We must continue to speak Breonna Taylor’s name, support her family still in grieving, and never give up on ensuring the full promise of America for every American."
And during the VP debate, Ms Harris stated that Breonna’s life “was taken unjustifiably, and tragically, and violently.” Will they be able to bring justice to this case when they take office this week?
It is something Breonna’s mother, Tamika Palmer hopes for. She penned an open letter in December calling for Biden to keep his promises (CNN 2020).
“We fought for you. It is now your turn to fight for us.”
Meanwhile in Kentucky, the State rep. Lisa Willner has introduced three new bills that addressed the protests in the wake of the death of Breonna Taylor (ABC 2020).
They include;
The "demilitarization bill" that would change the state law to ban police departments from receiving surplus military equipment.
The bill also calls for de-escalation training, banning the use of kettling and limiting the use of weapons such as rubber bullets and chemical agents.
It would remove language that would incriminate people who took part in a protest but did not harm others or cause property damage.
Protection for citizens who film police activity. Under the legislation's rules, people "may not lawfully be asked to stop photographing or recording, or to delete photographs or recordings, and shall not be subject to arrest for photographing or making or broadcasting the recording."
These are positive moves both on a state level and a federal level. But Breonna’s name must continue to be heard across the world to continue to put pressure on the state of Kentucky to do more, and to continue pressuring on policing across the US, and the world. We need deep-rooted change because, sadly, it is always the same people who are protected by the system.
Black Lives Still Matter.
For more watch the documentary below;
References
4WardEverUK. 2021. Shelly Frey. [online] Available at: <https://4wardeveruk.org/cases/cases-abroad/shootings/shelly-frey/>
ABC, 2020. Breonna Taylor's killing Aftermath. [online] Available at: <https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-inside-investigation-breonna-taylors-killing-aftermath/story?id=71217247
Aapf.org. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://aapf.org/sayhername>
Allassan, F., 2021. Biden: Breonna Taylor Indictment "Does Not Answer" Call For Justice. [online] Axios. Available at: <https://www.axios.com/biden-breonna-taylor-indictment-370d4bcb-2698-4979-a11a-9eb0f8e10bf9.html>
Amir Vera and Ganesh Setty, C., 2021. Louisville Metro Police Department Fires Two Detectives Involved In Breonna Taylor Raid. [online] CNN. Available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/06/us/breonna-taylor-officers-fired/index.html>
Eddo-Lodge, R., 2017. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Giulia Heyward and AJ Willingham, C., 2021. Breonna Taylor's Mother Urges Joe Biden To Keep His Campaign Promise Of Police Accountability. [online] CNN. Available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/17/us/tamika-palmer-breonna-taylor-mother-letter-biden-trnd/index.html>
HISTORY. 2021. Sandra Bland Dies In Jail After Traffic Stop Confrontation. [online] Available at: <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sandra-bland-dies-in-jail>
Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 2021. Huffpost Is Now A Part Of Verizon Media. [online] Available at: <https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/police-violence-black-women-documentary_n_580f6491e4b000d0b1587f08?ri18n=true>
News, A., 2021. Kentucky Lawmaker Introduces 3 New Bills In Wake Of Breonna Taylor Case. [online] ABC News. Available at: <https://abcnews.go.com/US/kentucky-lawmaker-introduces-bills-wake-breonna-taylor-case/story?id=75181847>
Nytimes.com. 2021. Since 2015: 48 Black Women Killed By The Police. And Only 2 Charges.. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/us/breonna-taylor-grand-jury-black-women.html>
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