Letter To … Natasha

Dear Natasha McKenna,

You were born on January 9, 1978, in Alexandria, Virginia, and lived there for most of your life. You loved to play basketball and in high school, you were a member of the varsity team. You also graduated with honors from W.T. Woodson High School. At age 14 you were diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. On January 26, 2015, you were killed by a stun gun after being shocked with well over 100,000 volts of electricity. Sadly, your death is not uncommon as thousands of Black women are killed by police each year, and over 100 die by stun gun usage. When looking into your past, I noticed some similarities between our lives. I grew up in Washington D.C about 30 minutes away from Fairfax, was involved in a number of sports my whole life, graduated from my high school with honors and at age 16 was diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

I have to be honest, I did not learn about your murder for a long time. I do not know if it is because I let my socioeconomic status blind me from the struggles facing all members of our community or because the media refuses to highlight the stories of Black women and bring light to the racial injustice that still persists in our society. Police brutality against Black men remains at the center of the Black Lives Matter movement and the intersectionality of race, gender, and mental illness are not discussed enough. These identities leave us especially susceptible to violence and murder at the hands of the police.

It took me a long time to work up the courage to watch the video of your murder. What I witnessed was extremely disturbing. You were unclothed and dragged out of a cell while suffering a mental health crisis. As someone who has experienced depressive episodes and anxiety attacks, I cannot imagine being treated in such an inhumane way during one of the lowest points of my life. These moments for me were filled with extreme distress and grief but my economic class provided me with a safety net.  During these dark moments, I was always surrounded by my support system who helped me make it through. You did not have this luxury and instead six men dressed in full-body biohazard suits and gas masks shackled your hands and legs, put you in a spit mask and tried to force you into a restraint chair. When this proved unsuccessful, they tasered you 4 times. You were 5’4’’ and 130 pounds. There is no reason that much force should have been used. You were a woman experiencing a serious crisis and just needed to be shown compassion and provided with appropriate resources. However, they saw the color of your skin and decided to show no mercy. You suffered cardiac arrest and five days later died in the hospital. No criminal charges were filed against the officers responsible for your death. All I can say is that your story breaks my heart and I’m sorry. I will continue to shed light on Black women and mental illness and you will not be forgotten. We will keep fighting for you, Natasha Mckenna.

Love,

Kim Ross

Author: Kim Ross

Addressee: Natasha Mckenna