Breonna Taylor’s Mom Mourns Her In Emotional Interview, Says ‘People Need To Know’ She Mattered
Breonna Taylor’s mother does not want her daughter to be forgotten. In an emotional interview with Good Morning America on Friday, Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said her daughter was “full of life” and would light up any room she walked into.
On March 13m Taylor was fatally shot eight times by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was working as an EMT in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. As of yet, no officers involved in the incident have faced charges. According to CNN, the FBI opened a formal investigation into Taylor’s shooting on May 21.
“In that brief moment, where people forgot about her for two months at a time, people need to know that Breonna Taylor mattered and that Breonna Taylor was great,” Palmer said during the interview.
Taylor’s family filed a civil lawsuit alleging that police entered Taylor’s residence unannounced and were looking for a man who lives in her apartment. During the interview, Palmer also touched on the “Say Her Name” movement, which is designed to call attention to police brutality against black women.
Kimberle Crenshaw founded the movement, and she also called into Good Morning America on Friday to explain its goals.
Remembering Breonna Taylor’s life and legacy on her 27th birthday and the mission to get more people to #SayHerName. @debrobertsabc has more. https://t.co/i9rZzYvW4s pic.twitter.com/iDeWQihrap
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 5, 2020
“The erasure of black women is a consequence of that fact that we don’t know their names and therefore we don’t know their stories,” Crenshaw explained.
She continued, saying that the movement’s goal was to make violence against black women an explicit part of the conversation. She said that, if black lives really matter, then black lives of all genders must be lifted up.
In an interview with The Washington Post in May, Palmer expressed frustration that there hadn’t been more movement in Taylor’s case. At the time, Palmer said that she hadn’t heard from the police, and said that she just wants justice for her daughter.
“There’s no reason Breonna should be dead at all,” Palmer said.
Palmer also explained that her daughter was an essential worker, which meant that she had to continue going to work in spite of the pandemic. Palmer said that Taylor was okay with that, but that neither one of them ever thought that Taylor wouldn’t be safe in her own bed. Palmer also said that she wanted people to continue saying Taylor’s name.
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, protests have broken out across the country, and Taylor’s name has been one of many mentioned in connection with police violence against black Americans.
