Dear John,
Last week, the Department of Justice charged the four officers involved in the 2020 murder of Breonna Taylor with federal civil rights violations. Back in 2020, about 1.4 million Color Of Change members took action in response to Taylor’s murder, demanding accountability from both the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department and the DOJ.
While it does not change the fact that Breonna Taylor should be alive today, we hope that this news provides a small measure of relief to Breonna Taylor’s family. Our fight to build a safer, more equitable world for Black people continues.
We demanded justice for Breonna, and we must continue to demand justice for 25-year-old Jayland Walker. In June, eight Akron Police Department officers shot at Jayland more than 90 times in seven seconds after a “routine” traffic stop. Jayland suffered 46 gunshot wounds and died. Those officers are still on paid administrative leave.
Year after year, Black people are brutalized and murdered by police throughout the country — whether it’s in their home, like Breonna Taylor, or stopped on the street, as in the case of Jayland Walker.
We must keep fighting and building our power to win a safer and more equitable world, one in which we as Black people don’t have to fear for our lives. When we come together and raise our voices for Black lives, we’re one step closer to ending the police violence and surveillance that threatens our communities.
Let’s be clear: We know that justice isn’t won overnight. But when we unite to demand accountability — when we hold decision makers’ feet to the fire — we can have a real, tangible impact.
Last week, after years of pressure, the DOJ delivered a modicum of accountability. That was only the beginning.
Now, we have to keep up the pressure and demand the DOJ take action in Akron, Ohio. A young Black man being shot at 90 times in less than a minute is an abomination. The actions of those officers deserve scrutiny and rebuke.
We’ll keep fighting for justice for Jayland Walker.
Until Justice Is Real,
Sakira Cook, Co-Interim Vice President
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please help keep our movement strong.
