Send a card, send a message.
This coming Friday (June 5) would have been the 27th birthday of Breonna Taylor, the Louisville woman who was killed on March 13 when a squad of police used a battering ram to enter her apartment using a "no-knock" warrant and opened fire, fatally hitting Taylor at least eight times.
Taylor's name is among those most frequently mentioned these days by protesters marching to demand justice for George Floyd, who was killed when a now-fired white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
During a week in which she's been sharing resources for Lovatics interested in donating to or showing solidarity for groups seeking racial justice and police reform -- as well as participating in Black Out Tuesday -- Demi Lovato took time out on Wednesday (June 3) to ask her fans to honor Taylor's memory with a different kind of social action.
"It’s Breonna Taylor’s birthday this Friday. Her favorite colors were blue and purple @iamkevingates was one of her favorite artists. She was an EMT on the frontlines during corona," the thought, reposted from her friend Sirah, read. "Around midnight on March 13th police broke down her door and shot her 8 times, no evidence of a crime was uncovered. The sole crime was the murder of Breonna Taylor. Her crime being asleep in her own home."
Taking inspiration from writer/feminist Cate Young's suggestion, Lovato encouraged fans to honor Taylor's memory by sending cards to Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron. "The most underserved demographic in America is black women, we cannot allow them to forget Breonna," she wrote.
To date, a GoFundMe effort to support Taylor's family has collected more than three times the initial $500,000 goal.
The three officers in the case have been placed on administrative reassignment and the attempted murder of a police officer charges against Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker -- who reportedly fired on police when they burst through the door -- were dropped last month; the FBI is investigating Taylor's shooting.
See Lovato's post below.
