There’s a new statue of Breonna Taylor at Latham Square in downtown Oakland. It replaces two previous ones that were smashed and desecrated. The new one is made of bronze and was paid for through a Go-Fund-Me campaign.
Here’s the inscription on the memorial plaque below the statue:
“Breonna Taylor was a black healthcare worker from Louisville who became an iconic figure of the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprising, the largest protest movement in U.S. history. She was murdered in her home by three plainclothes police officers. Her name has become a symbol for the countless victims of racist oppression and the fight to end that oppression.
This status was originally erected in ceramic in December 2020. Two weeks after the installation, it was smashed and stolen during repeated attacks. This attempt to intimidate the movement backfired, as hundreds of people donated in solidarity to fund this bronze recreation. The ceramic elements above are from the original statue, as is the original pedestal, visible from the back.
Dedicated to the victims of police violence and all those fighting for a world free of oppression.”
The new bust is one of several memorials to Ms. Taylor in Oakland. Her death came as a result of a botched raid by Louisville KY police on what they suspected was a drug house. They used a no-knock warrant to kick in Ms. Taylor’s door. Her boyfriend testified he thought they were invaders and shot at them in self-defense. The officers shot back. Ms. Taylor was hit by six bullets and died.
The incident was horrid. But we need to get one thing straight: The officers did not “murder” Ms. Taylor. They were never charged with the felony of murder. They were charged with violating Ms. Taylor’s civil rights, unlawful conspiracy, obstruction, and unconstitutional use of force. These are serious charges, and the officers will face the consequences, but they murdered no one. For the creator of the memorial plaque to allege that Ms. Taylor “was murdered in her home” is false and inflammatory. The problem with such lies, as we’ve seen time and time again in Trump’s America, is that a lot of people believe them, with disastrous consequences. This is related to the psychological condition known as “confirmation bias”: the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories. People who believe that the police are a rogue, racist force that wantonly murders Black people are particularly susceptible to this claim. This is a pestilential falsehood, but it has deep roots in some populations. I suspect that the actual criminals who slaughter so many Black men and women in Oakland would be the first to say they think Ms. Taylor was murdered because of her race, and that cops murder Black people all the time.
It’s lovely that Ms. Taylor has so many memorials. She deserves to be remembered, mourned and celebrated. It’s said of Breonna Taylor “Say Her Name.” Here are some other names to say: Isaiah Sanchez. Maurice Wilson. Kapree Anderson. Daven Woolfolk. Tyrone Banks. Tonnell Williams. All were shot to death in the space of five days last month in Oakland.
Regardless of what they did or didn’t do in their lives, none deserved to be slaughtered. None of them has a memorial, to the best of my knowledge. I don’t hear protesters marching in the streets condemning their murders. I don’t see paintings of their faces on walls. I don’t see the City of Oakland placing plaques with their names in our public squares. I don’t see “the community” rising up and demanding an end to these murders, even though we’re told that many individuals know exactly who these repeat criminals are but will not help OPD because they’re afraid to cooperate or don’t trust the cops. But here is the awful truth: These senseless murders will never cease until the community—which is to say, primarily people of color—makes them cease.
I have a simple question: Why are the people who are so upset by Breonna Taylor’s death so complacent about the murders of scores of Black people? Ninety-two homicides in Oakland so far this year, the majority of them Black men.
So say their names: Isaiah Sanchez. Maurice Wilson. Kapree Anderson. Daven Woolfolk. Tyrone Banks. Tonnell Williams.
Steve Heimoff