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Say Her Name

Her name was Korryn Gaines. And she was a person with problems, like all the other people with problems who have ended up in a standoff with police. But she was a person of color. And now she is dead.

Look at the data for standoffs with police, white vs. black. You will see the odds were not in her favor. Clearly she knew this.

I don't want to hear all the things wrong with her that some think justify taking her life. Mental illness, pointing a gun, prior record. Because plenty of white folks have been and done the same and are still alive.

No, she was not perfect. We are none of us perfect. Is the price for survival perfection? Or is the ticket to staying alive deeply rooted in the systemic racism of this country?

She was not accorded the basic human rights that others in similar situations have received. Her life was not worth the wait.

 

 

 

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