Placerville protesters want to keep saying Breonna Taylor’s name until there’s justice
Breonna Taylor’s name might not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind now that it’s been about five months since the Kentucky woman studying to become a nurse was shot to death during a police raid.
But those who continue to gather for protests in her honor, including about 20 people with placards standing outside the El Dorado Superior Courthouse in Placerville on Monday, say their effort is more than just a trend on social media. It’s a movement, said Elizabeth DuBose, a Black woman who has lived in El Dorado County for 15 years and will continue to protest until justice has been served in Taylor’s case.
“We know it’s been about 150 days since the murder of Breonna Taylor,” DuBose said. “We’re just here to say that we haven’t forgotten about Breonna Taylor; she’s still with us in our hearts, she’s still close. She’s not going away, her name is not going away.”
Taylor, an emergency medical tech, was shot by police multiple times March 13 inside her Louisville apartment. The officers were serving a no-knock search warrant for a suspect in a narcotics investigations who didn’t live there. No drugs were found.
Taylor’s boyfriend, who said he fired a warning shot at one officer because he didn’t who was bursting into the home, was initially charged with attempted murder. But the charge was later dropped, The Associated Press reported.
Dubose, 26, of Pollock Pines, said protesting in support of Black Lives Matter in Placerville has grown in the past few months. More people continue to gather on the steps of the courthouse on Main Street, she said, and support has come in from a variety of community groups.
“Honestly, we’re never going to be quiet about it,” Dubose said. “I’m going to keep doing this until I get the justice for the men and women and children who died at the hands of law enforcement and white supremacy.”
On Monday evening, the protesters held their placards high as vehicles moved through the center of the historic Gold Rush town that’s now the seat of El Dorado County and home to about 11,000 people. The town is also the center of debate as its City Council decides whether to redesign the municipal logo to remove a noose that’s attached to a tree.
Critics have said the logo imagery suggests racial hate crimes, while others have fought removal of the noose because it’s part of the town’s historical moniker of “Hangtown.” The Placerville City Council last month voted to postpone a decision on the issue until next year.
Speaking out in solidarity
Some drivers revved their engines as they passed, presumably to voice their opposition to the protesters. One woman driving a small pickup shouted “F--- Black Lives Matter! All lives matter!” at the protesters before she moved through a nearby intersection. Several other drivers honked their horns, presumably showing their support for the demonstration as they waved hello to the protesters.
MIchelle Greene, 43, a Black woman who lives in Camino, a small town several miles east of Placerville, said some might not feel safe or comfortable protesting for Black Lives Matter in El Dorado County, but there are other ways to resist racism.
She suggested writing letters, sending emails or calling elected leaders or police chiefs. And for the first time in her life, she feels people are actually listening and willing to have difficult conversations that need to happen.
“I think it’s important to see the solidarity of people here. I think it’s important for people to know that my life matters,” Greene said. “It’s just time, it’s time for change.”
Greene spoke about a momentum that they need to continue, or the racism and police brutality they’re protesting against will persist, she said. Continuing that momentum in seeking justice for Taylor’s death is what others are also trying to do, including one American media mogul.
Oprah Winfrey put Taylor on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine, to keep Taylor’s name alive in the public discourse. Winfrey also had funded 26 billboards displaying Taylor’s portrait and demanding criminal charges against the officers involved in her death.
Protests throughout the world, which were spurred by the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, have demanded that the police officers responsible for Taylor’s death be arrested.
While Floyd’s death has already resulted in the arrests and prosecution of police officers, those chanting Taylor’s name still wait for justice.
Elaine Pecci, a 75-year-old white woman from Cameron Park, said she witnessed and experienced harassment toward women in the workplace. But that discrimination pales in comparison to the experience of Black people in this country, she said.
“It’s nothing compared to what Black people or other people of color suffer every damn day,” Pecci said at Monday’s protest. “And I can’t in good conscience not doing anything.”
