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Black Women Won’t Stop Seeking Justice for Breonna Taylor
We’re not done yet. Let’s regroup.
Black women are still reeling after a Kentucky grand jury refused to do right by Breonna Taylor. We are experiencing the full stages of grief and anger, accented by our innate ability of knowingness. No police officers were charged with her killing, and we are left to grapple with the idea that once again, no one cares to protect us or even to require ownership of their clear wrongdoing.
When Louisville Metro Police arrived at the 26-year-old first responder’s home on March 13 with a no-knock warrant, the initial public response was muted. Erasure from safety narratives — who should have it and who shouldn’t — is something Black women know well. Now it seems society is doubling down on that sentiment.
“I am mainly just grappling with what it means for us as Black women, as Black people; we are living in a racist dictatorship in which the police forces and criminal justice operate in alliance with a White nationalist leader,” says Kali Gross, the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University who also teaches African American Studies at Emory University.
Wednesday’s decision confirmed a pervasive feeling of society’s neglect for our need for safety and protection. Many Black women know what it feels like to be over-policed and under-protected both psychologically and physically. And it’s not just about policing. The neglect and lack of caring extends from every corner of society. Wells Fargo’s CEO Charlie Scharf drew a collective eye roll recently when he said the company couldn’t find Black talent. Think about the overwhelming numbers of Black women who head households and others carrying heavy student loan debts for want of an opportunity.
As a young woman on the verge of unlocking all the possibilities life had to offer with hard work and vision, Taylor was pursuing a career, building a future with her boyfriend, and wanted to get matching motorcycles with her mom. But the law seems to be telling us that Taylor had no right to her pursuit of happiness. Being true to what we say on paper, to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., officially does not apply to her in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Wanna bet Black women by and large know the laws have to…
