The group at Puente de Toledo, Madrid. All photographs are my own.
These images were taken to be distributed as part of the Justice for Breonna, Black Lives Matter and other movements in relation to the violent police response to protests in Louisville. Around the world, groups have gathered to spread awareness and show solidarity with the victims of the many instances of unnecessary police brutality on black people in the US.
These images were taken at Puente de Toledo, Madrid, on Sunday the 31st of May. The group are mainly Americans who are living in Madrid, whom wanted to show their solidarity with the cause.
Text below taken from: https://justiceforbreonna.org
The poster translated reads: Breonna Taylor was a black woman who the police killed in Louisville, Kentucky on the 13th of March, 2020. She was an emergency medical technician and wanted to be a nurse. 3 policemen invaded her house. Still they’re being investigated by the FBI, they haven’t arrested the policemen.
“Breonna Taylor was an award-winning EMT and first responder in Louisville, KY, who loved helping her patients and her community. “She was an essential worker. She had to go to work,” her mother, Tamika Palmer said of her dedication to standing on the frontlines of this pandemic. “She didn’t have a problem with that.”
On the night of March 13th, the Louisville Metro Police executed a warrant, looking for drugs they never found, reportedly trafficked by a person who did not live with Breonna or in her complex-and whom they already had in custody.
A lady and her son who joined us after hearing about the protest through Afrofemeninas.
They sprayed her home with 20 rounds, shooting Breonna 8 times, killing her in her bed.
Neither the Louisville Metro Police nor Mayor Greg Fischer have given her mother any answers. “Not one person has talked to me. Not one person has explained anything to me,” Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said in an interview. “I want justice for her. I want them to say her name. There’s no reason Breonna should be dead at all.”
This protest was part of many around the world. This group wanted to spread awareness about Breonna Taylor, however unfortunately there are many similar stories. The #sayhername movement, created by the AAPF, aims to change the public perception that victims of police brutality and anti-Black violence are predominantly male by highlighting the gender-specific ways in which black women are disproportionately affected by fatal acts of racial injustice. “The officers involved need to be charged, judged, and sentenced appropriately. There is no way this was unintentional. Institutional systemic racism needs to be addressed and fought through all available methods.” – Charlotte Keys
You can donate to the groups’ chosen charity, the Louisville Community Bail Fund, here:
“To build transformative communities, we must perform transformative acts of liberation. Cash bail is one of the aspects of the criminal justice system that keeps communities wrapped up in systemic slavery and in debt. The need to end cash bail is not new. Thanks to the Ferguson Uprising and the Kalief Browder story, we know that the bail system creates financial barriers for those who find themselves against the criminal justice system. One of the largest barriers is not being able to afford bail.
The Louisville Community Bail Fund exists to not only bail out folks, but provide post-release support to get them from jail, fed, and to a situation of safety. LCBF also maintains a focus on preventative measures for those targeted by law enforcement and threatened with incarceration. While we work with national networks, we are also one of the only bail funds that rely entirely on support from individuals in our social justice community.”