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Has anything changed since Sandra Bland died in police custody?
Unfortunately, no.
The #SayHerName campaign that Bland’s story
has become associated with points out that she is neither the first
nor the last black woman to be lost to systemic violence.
Like Rekia Boyd of Chicago, shot
by an off-duty police officer in 2012,
or Janet Wilson of Dearborn, Michigan,
shot by police while fleeing a traffic stop in January.
And there are so many more.
From domestic violence to police brutality, black women
are more likely to experience violence than any other group of women.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund
reports that from 2009 to 2014,
women of color accounted for twenty percent
of unarmed people killed by police.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice,
black women are twenty-two times more likely
to experience domestic violence than women of other races.
And a study in New York City
reveals that sixty-six percent of women are arrested along with their abusers
or because of a complaint filed by abusers are black or latina.
We must end all forms of violence
that threaten the lives of black women.
Organizers from Black Lives Matter,
Black Youth Project 100, Ferguson Action,
and Project South have declared May 19th National #SayHerName Day of Action
to do just that.
You can join with those organizations and others
to make sure no woman has to fear for her life and demand justice
for those who have been lost.
Recognize these women, say their names, take action.
I’m Marcus Ellsworth, and this is The Racket.