Say Their Names

I remember teaching my third graders online when George Floyd was killed by a police officer. I spent the morning scrambling trying to find the right way to talk about this - I had many Black students and I didn’t want to ignore it. I’m glad I got myself prepared because it was the first thing they wanted to talk about when they logged in. This is what I thought of when I read the assignment - how important it is to talk about racism with your students, and to say the names of the people it affects.

1. Who created this message?

The “Say Their Names” movement stems from the “Say Her Name” movement that started in 2014 to raise awareness for police brutality aimed at Black women (who are 150% more likely to die than white women from police brutality). The movement's name originally was created by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF), and gained more notice in 2015 after Sandra Bland was hanged in her jail cell after a traffic incident. In 2020 an artist named Whitney Holburn created a mural that used “Say Their Names” to bring attention to victims of systemic racism in the United States.

2. What techniques are used to attract my attention?

The name of the movement, “Say Their Names” is intriguing, it makes you ask “who’s names?” and investigate more. It’s simple yet effective.

3. How might people understand this message differently?

There are people (not myself) who may not deem these killings as police brutality. I have heard “Well, why were the police involved in the first place?” as if theft or traffic violations are reasons for death. Hopefully though, movements like these, bring more of these violent deaths to light for what they are: police brutality as a result of systemic racism.

4. What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?

This “Say Their Names” movement sprung off of the “Say Her Name” movement, which built on the Black Lives Matter movement. This message is from the point of view of misrepresented Black lives whose deaths are being sidelined in media.

5. Why was this message sent?

There have been too many deaths of Black people in the United States from police brutality and as a result of systemic racism. This message is being sent so that there is more notice of these deaths and so that people, mainly white people, have a better understanding of what is happening. Too many deaths are being swept under the rug, and the “Say Their Names” movement is to publicize them more and to get people to know and remember the Black lives that have been taken.