Knowing this—and better understanding their identity—is not only respectful, but also a way to elevate their stories and portray the staggering circumstances that make Black women disproportionately victimized by police violence. To combat this and illuminate the plight that these women face, we need to know who they are, how they lived and why they suffered at the hands of police. Much of the work of the #SayHerName Campaign is informed by the Mothers Network, a community of mothers, sisters, daughters and other family members of those lost to police violence. The #SayHerName Mothers Network’s mission is to provide support to the families who have been harmed by racist police violence. It also works to bring about reforms in social, judicial and law enforcement practices that can ensure humane, just and empathetic change in communities across the nation. #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence , written by Kimberlé Crenshaw and the African American Policy Forum and officially released on July 18th, 2023, moving testimonies from our Mothers Network. Their stories, together with those of the many other Black women who have been killed by police violence, form the heartbeat of this essential act of testimony, remembrance and action. This book is also in the memory of the members of the Mothers Network that we have lost, including Vicky Coles-McAdory, Cassandra Johnson and Amber Carr. Including Black women and girls in police violence and gender violence discourses sends the powerful message that all Black lives matter. If our collective outrage is meant to serve as a warning to the state that its agents cannot kill without consequence, our silence around the cases of Black women and girls sends the message that certain deaths do not merit repercussion. Please join us in our efforts to advance a gender-inclusive narrative in the movement for Black lives and become a #SayHerName advocates by BEARING WITNESS, EDUCATE, AMPLIFY, ACTIVATE and DONATE . For more information on how to get involved visit the aapf.org to learn about our 5x5 Advocacy Timeline.
IMPORTANT STATISTICS
Black women and girls as young as seven and as old as 93 have been killed by the police, though we rarely hear their names. The Fatal Interactions with Police Study (FIPS) research project, published in 2018 by Washington University in St. Louis, reported that between May 1, 2013, to January 1, 2015, 57% of Black women nationwide who were killed by police were unarmed .
You can find more materials on #SayHerName at AAPF's website www.aapf.org/sayhername You can also follow us on our social channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @aapolicyforum
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