SayHerName

Name of movement • SayHerName stems from the idea that having individuals and the media say the names of Black women who have been victims of police violence will make people ask necessary questions about the causes and circumstances of that violence. And the concept of saying the name is also a symbol or shorthand for learning and telling the stories of these women, again both between individuals and in the media. Crenshaw has said, "If you say the name, you're prompted to learn the story, and if you know the story, then you have a broader sense of all the ways Black bodies are made vulnerable to police violence." Creation of the campaign The #SayHerName movement is a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the mainstream media's tendency to sideline the experiences of Black women in the context of police brutality and anti-Black violence. The campaign for this movement began in December 2014 by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies (CISPS). The reasoning behind the campaign is to bring awareness to the most often invisible names and stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police. Statistics have shown that Black women and girls as young as 7 and old as 93 have been victims of police brutality. According to Kimberlé Crenshaw, one of the founders of the AAPF, Black women's continued exclusion from stories about police brutality, racism, and anti-Black violence contribute to an erroneous notion that Black men are the chief victims of racism and state-sanctioned violence which underplay issues such as rape and sexual assault by police. #SayHerName does not seek to replace Black Lives Matter or dilute its power but aims to simply add perspectives and lived experiences to the conversation of racial injustice. Over the past five years, the #SayHerName campaigned has expanded and overall increased its focus on direct advocacy. Intersectionality • SayHerName builds on texts and movements like Anannya Bhatacharjee's 2001 report Whose Safety? Women and the Violence of Law Enforcement in 1989. Since then, it has become a key element of many modern feminist practices. Brittany Cooper explains how intersectionality provides an analytical frame originally designed to address the unique positions of women of color within rights movements. Its relevance to #SayHerName is highlighted by Crenshaw's founding position in both the concept of intersectionality and the movement itself. The focus on the victimization of Black women within the #SayHerName movement is dependent on the notion of intersectionality, which Crenshaw describes as "like a lazy Susan – you can subject race, sexuality, transgender identity or class to a feminist critique through intersectionality". Additional factors in an intersectional analysis within #SayHerName include cis or trans status, education, geographical location, and disability This relationship is demonstrated by two Canadian cases: • Regis Korchinski-Paquet, an Afro-Indigenous woman, died during a police mental health call in Toronto in May 2020, sparking national outcry • D’Andre Campbell, a Black man with mental health issues, was fatally shot by police in Brampton in April 2020 after calling 911 for help These incidents show how the intersectional perspective of #SayHerName extends to racialized and immigrant communities in Canada, calling for more justice and accountability. ==Social media==

The #SayHerName movement is one of many contemporary social justice campaigns that engage in hashtag activism and digital activism. Created by AAPF and CISPS in December 2014, the #SayHerName hashtag provides an online community for activists, scholars, news reporters, and other social media users to participate in the conversation on racial justice along with other social movements such as Black Lives Matter. The hashtag is mostly active on Twitter. Of its many uses, the #SayHerName hashtag has principally served to highlight recent incidents of Black women's fatal encounters with police and anti-Black violence as well as advertise upcoming events. An analysis of Twitter activity found that a third of Tweets using the hashtag were in conjunction with the name of a Black woman who was a victim of police violence. The #SayHerName hashtag strives to advance one of the chief goals of the movement: to re-integrate Black women's lived experiences into mainstream narratives about police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. The movement has received support from several celebrities, which is integral to the spread of the movement and its social media reach. Through the use of the #SayHerName hashtag, influential figures can increase public awareness and shed light on instances of racial injustice, which can sometimes go unnoticed. Such high-profile support was seen immediately following the death of Sandra Bland; musical artist Janelle Monáe tweeted the #SayHerName hashtag, as did actress Taraji P. Henson. Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, and Zendaya Coleman all recognized Bland's death on Instagram. For example, to refer to Nicki Minaj's tweet on twitter, she stated: "If you haven't looked into this story yet, please do. It's the most disturbing thing going on right now. #SandraBland." Later within the same day, Nicki posted a disturbing video that included footage from the police officers' dash camera during the arrest that consisted of Sandra Bland repeatedly begging the officer to stop hurting her. The video was captioned with "Rest in Peace #SandraBland" and gained over millions of views. The American Civil Liberties Union has supported the movement, using the hashtag to promote activism particularly regarding violence against transgender women of color. The Human Rights Campaign likewise uses the hashtag in this manner. The 2017 Women's March also used the hashtag on Twitter, recognizing transgender women of color killed in 2017. ==Activities==

Since the movement began in late 2014, there have been two nationwide events (one that occurred in May of that year and another one twelve months later) to increase public awareness. The second #SayHerName Silent Protest: National Day of Action to End State Violence Against Women and Girls took place in major cities around the country and garnered significant attention on social media. In New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, men and women took to the streets with duct tape over their mouths to represent the silence and erasure of Black women and girls' narratives along with signs in their hands to remember those that have lost their lives to police brutality and anti-Black violence. Another event that occurred recently since the movement began is the annual Mothers Weekend in NYC. This took place years following 2015 and had the purpose of shining spotlight on mothers who have lost their daughters to police brutality. Weekends are reserved for educational purposes so individuals can learn about the specific needs of family members of black women and girls who are victims of racist state violence and provide a safe environment/comfort zone. This resulted in a community being formulated that supported fighting for the #SayHerName movement while also creating a network for activism. The overall goal of these events is to get everyone to speak up more on this issue but mainly those who are victims of police and gender violence crimes. They begin every session with a moment of silence for the women who had lost their lives. The AAPF memorializes these women on their "Angel Day", the day they were killed. In 2020, there was a resurgence in the #SayHerName campaign. This was due to the growing popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement and the murder of Breonna Taylor. Taylor was a Black woman killed in March 2020 by police officers in civilian clothing, during a rushed police raid. A year after her death, Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear, signed a bill into law that would limit no-knock warrants. The city of Louisville responded to this and officially banned no-knock warrants in Spring 2021 and named it "Breonna's Law." The first weekend of their season, the players wore jerseys honoring Breonna Taylor and the #SayHerName movement. Angel McCoughtry, a player for Louisville, created the idea to put Breonna Taylor on the back of the women's jerseys. McCoughtry has brought greater light to this by saying, "It's a lot deeper than just the jersey, but I think that's a great start." In 2021, Janelle Monae released "Hell You Talmbout" alongside Kimberlé Crenshaw and the AAPF. Advocates claim that the #SayHerName hashtag has successfully created a safe online place for marginalized groups to come together and mourn their losses. However, as the hashtag spreads from Twitter to Facebook along with other social media platforms, the rhetoric does not change. Despite the diversity in background, with each woman sharing her story, the same underlying themes of vulnerability to physical police and aggressive sexual violence keep reappearing, making it appear that simply saying the names, remembering the faces and increasing awareness is not enough. and outnumbered by white women at the ratio of 5:1, Black women and girls have accounted for 20% of the unarmed people killed by police since 1999. ==Relationship with #BlackLivesMatter==

Although the movement makes an active effort to engage in discourse and conversation with the Black Lives Matter movement, #SayHerName is different in its construct, goals and methods. Feminist theorists such as Kimberlé Crenshaw have pointed out that the #SayHerName movement addresses intersectionality of gender, class and disability that play out on Black women and girls' bodies. These are aspects that do not appear to be so readily addressed by the Black Lives Matter movement, which is specifically known as a movement that addresses racial inequality within the criminal justice system. Many supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement were largely sparked by outrage of the deaths of young African-American males at the hands of police with excessive violence and no repercussion from the legal system. In contrast, when stories of African-American women meeting similar fates in just as harrowing circumstances were brought up, the number of supporters and advocates seemed to decrease; female victim's names and stories are generally less recognized than the male victims. #SayHerName aims to raise awareness of how sexism and racism simultaneously play out of colored female bodies, no matter their background, while still being a safe, inclusive space for all individuals to come together and create and participate in discourse. ==Role of the African American Policy Forum==

The #SayHerName movement represents one of three recent racial justice initiatives engendered by the AAPF. Since coining the #SayHerName hashtag in February 2015, the AAPF has assumed a central role in mobilizing the campaign – an effort that has culminated into at least two significant events: the AAPF's release of the report "Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality against Black Women" and its sponsoring of "#SayHerName: A Vigil in Remembrance of Black Women and Girls Killed by the Police". May 2015 report In May 2015, the AAPF, in conjunction with the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School and Soros Justice Fellow, Andrea Ritchie, issued a report entitled "Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality against Black Women". In addition to these, the report includes several accounts detailing incidents from the last three decades of Black women's fatal encounters with police brutality and state-sanctioned violence.''' ==Mothers Network==

In November 2016, the #SayHerName Mothers Network was made official. This took place a year and half after the first #SayHerName vigil was held in Union Square in New York City. The mother's network was reconvened on many occasions since the original official meeting. These times include women's march in Washington, lobbying for police reform on Capitol Hill, and several focus groups for strategizing purposes. These mothers also meet together to go over needs of new members who have been directly affected by police violence with their daughters. These mothers also organize vigils for victims of police violence including Charleena Lyles and Vicky Coles-McAdory, who was an original member who died from a stroke in 2017. Events The AAPF hosts events promoting the #SayHerName movement on a semi-regular basis. One example was an event in March 2017 titled "Say Her Name: An Evening of Arts and Action Los Angeles". There was also a protest that was held in remembrance of Sandra Bland and all other Black lives that have been lost. Sandra Bland's mother along with Janelle Monae lead a BlackLivesMatter protest in Chicago shortly after Bland's death. There were roughly 200 protestors present at this protest, all demanding justice for the unfair actions that were being done towards blacks. Well-known Janelle Monae also wanted justice so this caused her to being her activism to Chicago. In her words: "I come here as a black woman. We come as a black man, black human beings. We are particularly drawn to all of the stories in this movement, and we have recorded a tool for you to use, those who are out here on the front lines. This is the least we can do." With this statement, Monae was referring to her song "Hell You Talmbout". In social movements and protests, songs tend to be used as an outlet as well as a speaking voice so individuals can be heard. "Hell You Talmbout" has been used as a battle cry for protestors worldwide throughout protests. Relatives of Tanisha Anderson, Rekia Boyd, Shantel Davis, Shelly Fray, Alberta Spruill, Kyam Livingston, Kayla Moore, Miriam Carey, and Michelle Cusseaux attended, marking the first time that the family members gathered at the same location for the purpose of honoring the women. Given how the vigil occurred one day prior to the National Day of Action on Black Women and Girls, one of its principal aims was to mobilize the New York City community into action against gendered and racialized forms of violence and police brutality. Some phrases included "I fight for those who have been murdered by the state", "with love for female masculinity", and "to end infant mortality". == Murder of Brianna Ghey ==

On February 11, 2023, 16-year old British trans girl Brianna Ghey was killed. Two teenagers were charged with her murder. Many activists claim that this attack was an anti-trans hate crime; police are still investigating the matter. Major news sites faced backlash for using her deadname in their articles. This launched an online movement where the hashtag #SayHerName was used to advocate for her chosen name to be used. Though many of the major news sites edited their articles to use the name "Brianna Ghey", the online movement faced some criticism for its repurposing of the hashtag. == Murder of Laken Riley ==

During the 2024 State of the Union Address, Marjorie Taylor Greene interrupted Joe Biden by demanding he mention Laken Riley, a university student who was murdered on February 22 while jogging outside of the University of Georgia by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Greene had been wearing a pin and shirt that featured both Laken Riley and the phrase "Say Her Name". There was criticism towards Greene for using the phrase to reference her murder from Kimberlé Crenshaw of the African American Policy Forum, who had coined the phrase in 2015, and Tamika Mallory, with both stating that while Laken Riley deserves justice, Greene is appropriating the phrase whose original purpose she had previously demonized. == Killing of Renèe Good ==

Main article: Killing of Renée Good On January 7, 2026, Renèe Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent. The killing lead to massive protests and outrage across the country. People on social media used #sayhername, as well as protesters and vigils used “Say Her Name”. The Co-Founder of BLM chanted it with a crowd of people wanting ICE to have accountability for her death. There has been criticism with using the saying as Jonathan Turley calls it “Democrats Rallying Call” as well as it being called “Toned Deaf” by others as another example of how society elevates white women over Black women, and how it was originally used for at the time unknown Sandra Bland which brought attention to the case, but has been used for multiple white women like Heather Heyer, Justine Damond, and Ashli Babbitt. == See also ==