Letter To … Breonna

Dear Breonna Taylor,

My words fail me when I think about the way that you left this earth. I can’t comprehend how someone so kind, so giving, so loving, so full of life, had her life ripped from her. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Eight shots and you were dead. The utter disregard for the lives of girls like us. I didn’t want any of this for you. I didn’t want you to have to be a symbol for a revolution. I didn’t want you to have to fight to be treated with humanity. I didn’t want to have to scream your name in the streets. I did not want to have to see your face flood social media, in hopes of preserving your memory. I know all you wanted to do was help people, but you did not deserve to lose your life for the world to “care”. You should not have been a symbol, just human. And I am sorry that you were denied that.

To be honest, your death filled me with fear. I felt suffocated from the hatred that seems to permeate every corner of our society. If we can’t lie in our own damn bed, how will we ever find peace in this world? They try to deny us joy. They try to deny us salvation. They try to deny us peace. They try to attack our sanity, but I won’t let them, Breonna. You deserved better. I won’t let any Black girl feel as if we cannot attain happiness, because for every moment on this earth that we are afforded another day that you were denied, we must run towards that joy. Run towards that freedom. Run towards that peace because that is revolutionary. That is combating the system. I will not allow them to have the satisfaction of taking away what rightfully belongs to us.

Breonna, I am sorry. I am sorry that you have not received justice. Not one of the three White officers who shot at you was charged. Your name should be ringing from every mountain top. Your name should be on the tips of everyone’s tongue because you deserved to be here. If Black people as a whole have to work twice as hard, Black women have to work 10 times harder to receive justice in their lives. Who is protecting us? I don’t have the answer, but all I can promise is that we will do our part to continue to tell your story. We are here, on our own, doing the best we can, with all we have. May this never happen again. May all the little Black cis and trans girls be covered in a cloak of protection. May they never be forced to have a conversation with their mothers, describing how they cannot feel shelter and refuge in their own beds. May we dream of a better tomorrow, and may it turn from a dream to a reality. You will not be forgotten. We will keep fighting for you, Breonna.

Love,

Gabrielle Battle

Author: Gabrielle Battle

Addressee: Breonna Taylor