We live in a world where even in a pandemic we still have so much injustice being done to Black women. 

Today, Danielle McConell ’24 conducted a vigil including a healing space in honor of Breonna Taylor. 

Breonna Taylor was unjustly murdered in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020 by officers Jonathan Mattingly, Bret Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).

Protests against police brutality spiked in the United States because justice was not being served in favor of the Black community.

Breonna Taylor did not get justice!

SAY HER NAME! 

      “My name is Dani McConnell and I am a first-year student as well as the historian on the executive for the Black Student Association. I am organizing a Say Her Name Vigil in honor of Breonna Taylor’s life. This event is incredibly important to have because I remember the day after the verdict came out for only one of the cops involved in her murder was charged for the bullets that missed.

 That really wrecked me as a Black woman because Breonna Taylor is not that much older than I am. I was determined to have this event in-person because conversations like these work the best when you’re around people that look like you and have faced the same challenges. QTPOC had the same idea so we’re working together because there’s real power in intersectionality and numbers. 

The Black Lives Matter movement can neglect the Black LGBT community so we wanted the healing space to be directed towards all Black-identifying students. In terms of the Say Her Name vigil, I wanted it to happen in-person as well to have a space to grieve what is happening in America to our Black women and to also use that space to uplift the Black women that are on campus. 

I’m incredibly grateful to be in this position to help put this together with my team of BSA, QTPOC, The Marshall Center, and other Black students on campus to make this happen,” said Danielle McConnell.

It was a great opportunity to attend this event in solidarity with the Black students on campus.

Say her name with compassion!

Breonna Taylor!