I have to be quick, John.
I just arrived in Louisville, Kentucky for a giant protest in memory of Breonna Taylor. Today would have been her 27th birthday. She is not alive to celebrate it, because on March 13th, police officers shot her 20 times.
20 times. 20 bullets.
As a black woman, as a single mother, there aren’t words to fully describe how it feels to hear the facts of what they did to Breonna. It could have been my daughter. It could have been me. So when organizers from Kentucky called, I answered.
It is not easy running this race, against this incumbent, in this body. It is not easy to show up as an activist and a candidate only a month after being released from hospitalization. It is not easy to put everything I have on the line for my community. But I will do it every time. Your support helps me keep going.
I simply cannot describe what it feels like to know that for most of us, this is just another Friday being Black in America. And as I’ve been saying, when black folks get free, everyone will get free. But it is not enough to simply say that #BlackLivesMatter. We must be specific.
So as we celebrate Breonna’s memory, and protest in all the ways that we can in her honor, remember:
Black women matter. Black kids matter. Black queer folks matter. Black trans men and women matter. Black mental health matters.
I will never stop saying ALL of their names. I will never stop fighting for ALL of our people. The incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay only takes action when he is pressured to care about us. And when he does, it is “incremental” and ineffective. When we accept that as enough, we ourselves become complacent. The longer we all continue to wait for incremental change, the more people will die, and I cannot accept that.
The time for waiting is over. The time for change—real, true change—is now. Will you support those of us willing to sacrifice our entire lives for the hope of a better world?
