Mar 15

Mar 15 Say Her Name [1.4]

Breonna. Say her name.

JS: March 13, 2022 marked two years since the killing of Breonna Taylor. To the nation, they tried to cover up her death. Eleven hours before confirming her whereabouts to her mother. Fourteen hours before the family was permitted to enter her home. Two months before national news media picked up on the shooting.

The Louisville Police department tried to silence her name. “Another person, suspect, drug dealer”… Covid couldn’t silence her name. The ugly picture they attempted to paint could not stick. Would not stick.

So much attention is focused on the heavy loss and pain AND frustrations with YET ANOTHER killing at the hands of the police… we feel heavy ALL the time. It’d be nice to focus on the beauties around this tragedy…

JE: Two years later…I have so many thoughts about all of this, but I hear your desire to focus on the positives just for a moment.

JS: Her impact on those close to her shined through. Her joy. Her smile. Her kindness. Her resilience. Her tenacity. Her character left the lips of her loved ones and beautifully painted who she was.

JE: Exactly! I hope she knew how proud she made her loved ones during her life. To hear her mother, sister, cousins, and boyfriend talk about her, her beauty that they, and others who knew her personally, experienced intimately that the rest of the world didn't have the privilege of.

In her death she's had a broad impact across the nation. The injustice of her death fuels so many of us to fight for better for ourselves, our children, and the world; but I'm so drawn to the depth of her impact, especially on those who really knew her.

Breonna Taylor. Say her name.

JE: We say her name. We celebrate her accomplishments which we had to learn about second hand, but they know know. They knew. Her smiles and laughs meant something deeper than we can truly appreciate.

JS: I hope every Black girl can be encouraged by what we've learned about Breonna…

JE: being the first to graduate high school, becoming an EMT, leaving the job and continuing to search for something better and ultimately getting a new job, leaving her ex to hold onto a man that was better for her – just everyday doing it and getting it done.

JS: Makes me think of a rose growing from concrete…her name continued to rise, despite.

{silence}

Yeah. So I think about giving Black girls, this month, all their flowers, the flowers that I hope Breonna got before her death. People want to label a Black girl something she's not, before they even know her name, to fit their narrative.

To see how impactful their name alone can be and it doesn't have to be one that America deems appropriate. Breonna with an ‘O’.

There’s so much in us that they would want to kill, and even when they try, we still rise

{chuckle}

JE: Despite what the world around us tells us, God has a purpose for us. What He calls us to, we may not see its fruit before we pass. We push for justice but it doesn’t come in full until Jesus returns.

{pause}

This world is wack. Racism, murder, police cover-ups, and injustice are wack. But God has the final word. So I'm waiting for that day.

JS: yeah.. And the truth is we can't escape from the pains and the sins of this side of heaven. And so, as we're here, what is our job? What is our calling? How do we fight for better reforms? How do we fight this fight? And not just say, “Welp, I got shot. I'm not supposed to be here anyways.” Like, “I have a second home anyways.”

…because we leave here and the generations behind us are still here. So, how do we think about what we're doing today that can positively impact those to come?

JE: Yeah, you’re right...

{pause}

Girl, let’s pray.

Breonna Shaquelle Taylor.

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

— 2 Cor. 4:18 (NLT)