Say Her Name

Black women have experienced violence to a heartbreaking degree since they were brought to these shores. Police, in particular, continue to get away with violence and outright murder to this day. Much of the time the coverage of police killings by media is distorted or they simply give little or no coverage.

There is a movement to change this: expose the injustices, hold those accountable, and confront the systemic racism and patriarchy that perpetuates the murder of black women. Kimberlé Crenshaw, Co-founder and Executive Director of African American Policy Forum (AAPF), Professor of Law, Columbia and UCLA, has spearheaded this movement with the hashtag #Say Her Name. If you haven’t already explored the wonderful work they are doing, we urge you to do so. The information shared here is from the webinars and inspirational work they have been doing over the years.

Photos are from a moving vigil “Say Their Names” for Black Womxn, held June 21, 2020 on the Duke Ellington Bridge in Washington, DC., thanks to Freedom Fighters DC.

Below are the names of some of the black women who have been murdered by law enforcement. Almost none of the police officers have had to face any consequence for their actions. Almost all the women killed were unarmed. Some were experiencing mental health issues. Instead of being helped, they were shot.

The media reported police justifications for their shooting. In many cases, neither the women nor their families had a voice, particularly in the initial reports that were all that the public heard. The distorted narrative could not be corrected and media headlines often, perhaps inadvertently, summed up the lives of these women in distorted ways. For instance, a headline using the term “shoplifter” or even “suspected shoplifter” implies this somehow contributes to the justification for killing her. In one case, she was no threat, unarmed in her car with her child. To sum up her life in that manner not only affects all that read this narrative. It will affect her children who grow up to read about “why” their mother died. And it puts the blame on the woman rather than the killer, painful to the family. Not only do they lose a beloved mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt – they see the killer get away with the murder. The killer is almost always not charged at all. Nor do they lose their jobs and can go on to continue violent behavior.

Fortunately a movement has grown to #SayHerName. More people speaking out on behalf of the murdered women. Sandra Bland’s murder in 2015 in particular brought attention to the experience of black women, as has Breonna Taylor’s this year.

We must hold the media reporting of the killings accountable when they simply report the police justifications for their killing. We must not let the media, in headlines or in their stories, lend credence to justifications by focusing on what the murdered black woman (or black man) are alleged to have done when those nonviolent actions alleged in no way can justify being shot. The narrative matters.

These are just some of the many black women shot by police and killed in police custody. When you learn about the lives of these women, their hopes and dreams cut short, see photos of them graduating school or with their children and families, it is even more heartbreaking and will inspire you to speak out. Their stories are not told in this article but you can hear about many of them from the AAPF and #SayHerName movement. You can also go to the media to search and will see much of the distortions. Killings caught on camera often show much of the injustice. Stopped for a traffic violation and ending up dead speaks for itself. In many cases ending up shot for not doing ANYTHING that can be construed as wrong, as in the Breonna Taylor case, still resulted in police not facing charges.

We at WIFP are motivated in our media democracy and media justice work in part because of all the violence against women over the decades, and the violence against black women and women of color is particularly horrendous. We are at an important moment when we can get closer to the justice we so desperately need.

Say Her Name (this list is just some of known black women killed)

2020

Breonna Taylor – 26 years old – Louisville, KY – March 13

2019

Pamela Shantay Turner – 44 years old – Baytown, TX – May 13

2017

Morgan London Rankins – 30 years old – Austin, TX – February 22

Charleena Lyles – 30 years old – Seattle, WA – June 18

2016

Bynnya McMillen – 16 years old – Elizabethtown, KY – January 11

Kisha Michael – 31 years old – Inglewood, CA – February 21

India Beaty – 25 years old – Norfolk, VA – March 19

Symone Marshall – 22 years old – Huntsville, TX – May 10

Jessica Williams – 29 years old – San Francisco, CA – May 19

Korryn Gaines – 23 years old – Baltimore, MD – August 1

2015

Natasha McKenna – 37 years old – Fairfax, VA – February 8

Janisha Fonville – 20 years old – Charlotte, NC – February 18, 2015

Meagan Hockaday – 26 years old – Oxnard, CA – March 28

Mya Hall – 27 years – Baltimore, MD – March 30

Alexia Christian – 26 years old – Atlanta, GA – April 30

Sandra Bland – 28 years – Waller County, TX – July 13

Joyce Curnell – 50 years old – Charleston, SC – July 22

Ralkina Jones – 37 years old – Cleveland, OH – July 26

India Kager – 27 years – Virginia Beach, VA – September 5

2014

Yvette Smith – 47 years old – Bastrop County, TX – February 16

Gabriella Nevarez – 22 years old – Sacramento, CA – March 2

Pearlie Golden – 93 years old – Hearne, TX – May 7

Michelle Cusseaux – 50 years old – Phoenix, AZ – August 13

Sheneque Proctor – 18 years old – Bessemer, AL – November 1

Aura Rosser – 40 years old – Ann Arbor, MI – November 9

Tanisha Anderson – 37 years old – Cleveland, OH – November 13

2013

Kayla Moore – 42 years old – Berkeley, CA – February 12

Kyam Livingston – 37 years old – Brooklyn, NY

Mirian Carey – 34 years old – Washington, DC

2012

Rekia Boyd – 22 years old – Chicago, IL – March 21

Shantel Davis – 23 years old – Brooklyn, NY – June 14

Shelly Frey – 27 years old – Houston, TX – December 6

2010

Ahjah Dixon – 23 years old – Corsica, TX – March 4

Aiyanna Stanley Jones – 7 years old – Detroit, MI – May 16

2008

Tarika Wilson – 26 years old – Lima, OH – January 4

2006

Kathryn Johnston – 92 years old – Atlanta, GA – November 21

2003

Kendra James – 21 years old – Portland, OR – May 5

Alberta Spruill – 57 years old – Harlem, NY – May 16

1984

Eleanor Bumpurs – 66 years old – Bronx, NY October 29