BLACK LIVES MATTER

#BirthdayForBreonna

By Michelle Beadle Holder, June 5, 2020

Image by @areilsinhana

With the continued murders of Black men and women at the hands of police, we stand with those who demand justice for Black lives.  On Breonna Taylor’s birthday, we also send our love to the mothers, fathers, children, and other individuals who have lost loved ones to police violence. 

As a child I often heard my mom vocalize a simple prayer or wish.  She would say, “My dream is that I live to see you all pass through the worst in life.”  Like other mothers and fathers, she not only wished for a long life, she also prayed to see her children grow up to live healthy and fulfilling lives as adults.  This wish may resonate with many parents who live in a state of trepidation and stress, hoping that their Black sons and daughters escape death from police violence. 

Justice for Many Black Lives

Yesterday the family and friends of George Floyd laid his body to rest after being killed on the streets.  The sound of his voice and the images of his neck being pinned to the ground will forever be imprinted in my mind.  In the words of Rev. Al Sharpton, during the memorial ceremony, we say to the police and those upholding systemic racism, get your knees off our necks.

Breonna Taylor, the emergency medical technician who was killed in her home by police on March 13th, 2020, is yet another casualty at the hands of police.  Today her loved ones must live with the heartbearking reality that their daughter did not live to see her 27th birthday.  Today we call for justice against those who took her life.     

Anger, sadness, numbness, rage, and frustration are among the  range of emotions that I’ve felt. In the midst of these feelings I think back to the love letter that Alicia Garza penned following Travon Martin’s murder.  Her words were that Black Lives Matter.  With these words, Garza and the other co-founders of #BlackLivesMatter framed the feeling of Black America and mobilized a movement for systemic change against racial injustice and the other intersecting injustices that threaten the lives of Black people.  

Part of the Larger Movement

The mission of Food at the Center is intricately linked to the larger movements mobilized to save Black lives.  While food is not at the center of the Black Lives Matter movement, systemic racism exists within our food system.  The street corners of our neighborhoods are laced with fast food restaurants with high sodium and high sugar processed food that slowly poison our bodies.  Chronic diet- and stress-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressures), and heart disease are also among the top leading causes of death in our community. 

The focus of our work at Food at the Center is not only food. We focus specifically on the health and well-being of Black women and their families.  Like Breonna Taylor, Black women have worked as caretakers to nurture and care for others.  Yet Black women often remain in the shadows of justice.  Let today be the day that we never forget Breonna’s name.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

On her birthday, I ask that you not only say Breonna’s name.  Join the  #BirthdayForBreonna campaign started by Cate Young to call to bring justice for Breonna and mobilize to save Black lives.  This campaign has 10 action items that include lifting up her name on social media, sending a loving note to her family, fundraising, and demanding accountability from the government.