#SayHerName

“BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS are killed by the police, too.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a blank stare when I made this statement, even in activist spaces. Occasionally I’ll see a few affirmative nods, but overwhelmingly there is apathy. I leave with a sick feeling, wondering, “Where is the rage and protest for my sisters?” and “Who will fight for my life?”

In May, Black Lives Matter, Black Youth Project 100, and Ferguson Action came together for a national day of action for black women and girls. We wanted to shed light on the fact that black women and girls, in all our complexities, have been erased from the broader narrative of police terrorism and modern-day lynching in this country. Cities such as Oakland, Calif., New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Miami all participated in powerful acts of public resistance that involved reading the names of women who have been killed by police and using the hashtag #SayHerName as an awareness tool on social media.

Speaking our sisters’, daughters’, and mothers’ names at a vigil on a day set aside to acknowledge our humanity is powerful, because it says: When the world has forgotten Mya, Aiyana, Tanisha, Rekia (and so many others), we will not forget.

However, mourning our dead is not where the work begins. It begins with honoring and fighting for us while we are still alive, long before we become a hashtag.

For communities of faith:

#SayHerName means naming how the church has failed black women. For many black women, the church has been a site of violence and shaming. Many black girls experience sexual abuse from trusted leaders and are told that our bodies and sexuality are shameful. While congregations are often majority women, sexual violence, trans- and homophobia, and sexism are rarely rebuked as sin from the pulpit. Church leaders and educators must be proactive in addressing these issues from their positions of power by utilizing womanist theological tools in their sermons and curricula.

#SayHerName means affirming black women as being created in God’s image. Black Lives Matter is more than a political statement; it is a theological affirmation that black women and girls are made in the image of the Creator. This affirmation includes naming the ways God has gifted women, especially in regard to leadership. In light of how the mainstream narrative of the black freedom struggle has erased the legacy of black women’s leadership, we must be intentional this time to lift up, document, celebrate, and affirm black women’s leadership in all its forms. We must not wait for a black charismatic male preacher to lead this movement.

#SayHerName means supporting black women in their journey toward liberation. Black women and girls have the right to define themselves for themselves. Those that call themselves accomplices in our liberation have a moral responsibility to financially support organizations and projects that directly benefit black women and girls in these pursuits. In addition, black women have historically been uncompensated for their labor, so this also means giving black women full credit where credit is due for our significant contributions to the black freedom struggle, then and now.

Across the country, a growing wave of sisters is demanding—and willing to put our lives on the line for—the right to be safe, heard, and visible. We believe that fighting for our freedom is our duty. Being silent is no longer an option.