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Context For This Cake & Challenge
It has been 117 days since the nation collectively watched as a man’s life was squeezed out of him by a police officer, who knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, while onlookers pleaded with him to stop.
The murder victim was George Floyd.
The murderer was police officer Dereck Chauvin, assisted by officers Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao.
Although this wasn’t the first incident of a Black person losing their life at the hands of law enforcement for a seemingly mundane accusation, this time it hit the nation differently. It came at a time when we were all coping with a global pandemic that had stripped us of many of our normal comforts, and it came on the heels of reports about Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Amy Cooper…among other stories that didn’t circulate as widely.
Fondant image of Ahmaud Arbery. 
Fondant image of Breonna Taylor.
The aftermath was national, and global, outrage, and devastation across all races. Most people could easily look at that situation and see how incredibly wrong it was.
However, there were many that either couldn’t or refused to. An exhaustingly familiar chorus of excuses started spilling out from every direction in an attempt to justify Chauvin’s actions or dismiss people’s outrage.
As a Black woman in this country, I was, and still am, exhausted and drained. For several days following this incident, I was an emotional wreck. Hearing my father’s voice made me break down. Thinking of my brother made me break down. Speaking to my friends–particularly my big, black, male friends–made me break down. There was this sense of hopelessness that I couldn’t quite articulate. I needed time to deal with the trauma, to process my emotions.
Time is a luxury we do not have, though.
Because even as I was trying to allow myself the time to grieve the fact that, in America, Black people are statistically so much more likely to be disadvantaged, mistreated, and killed across so many sectors of society, more murders and injustices continued to occur.
Since the death of George Floyd, there have been many more deaths that have either occurred shortly afterward (David McAtee & Rayshard Brooks) or finally became well known to the public (Elijah McClain). Eventually, after hearing story after story and seeing post after post, it’s easy to get desensitized. It’s easy to want to check out, especially if you have the luxury of doing so, but, it’s imperative that we don’t because Black lives matter every day and across all sectors of society, whether or not they are trending.
I made this cake in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement and the countless lives lost to brutality against Black people. It was ready in June, but with all the craziness of the world, I was only able to find the strength and focus, to post it today. As of today, 190 days since her murder, Breonna Taylor STILL hasn’t received justice. Only one of the three men, Brett Hankison, has been fired for her murder. They are all walking freely with no repercussions for their actions.
Her family recently received a settlement, but that does not equal justice.
Let me remind you that Breonna was an EMT who was working during this pandemic and ASLEEP in her bed when she was shot 8 times and killed by Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankison. How could she have possibly been an active threat when they killed her? The best way to provide Breonna with justice is to make sure that the people responsible for her death are held accountable.
If you’d like to do something about Breonna Taylor’s injustice, I recommend going to this website and choosing any of the action steps they have outlined: https://justiceforbreonna.org/.
As of today, 209 days since his murder, we are still waiting for justice for Ahmaud. Thankfully his murders have been indicted, but we are still waiting to see the results of the trial.
As of today, 117 days since his murder, we are still waiting for justice for George.
Just last month, Jacob Blake was shot SEVEN TIMES in the back, in front of his young children. Though the details surrounding the incident are disputed, there is a general agreement that the shooting was excessive.
As a result, protests erupted in Kenosha, WI. During that time, a White, male, 17-year old, shot three people, killing two of them. Afterward, he was allowed to walk up to police officers with his gun clearly visible and remain unharmed, as it should be. Because although what he did is reprehensible, we have a system in place where police are not allowed to murder anyone if they can safely avoid doing so. This allows our justice system to work. In Kyle Rittenhouse’s case, he wasn’t even apprehended that same night, which highlights the vast disparity between the treatment of Black and White people. This is why the Black Lives Matter movement exists.
Jacob Blake may be alive right now, but that was a fortunate accident, not the intentional result, and that’s the problem. In America, Black people are lucky to escape a routine and mundane police encounter with their lives.
Many of the unlucky ones are still waiting for justice, weeks, months, and years since their tragic murders.
The conversation surrounding Black Lives Matter is so deep and complex that I can’t possibly address everything and, if I’m being completely honest, it’s draining to try. I am also by no means an expert. However, I can create this living document as a resource for anyone who wants a quick reference point to get simple answers and be pointed in the right direction to more thorough resources. I will update this with relevant information and resources, whenever appropriate.
At this point, everyone has a choice. People can either choose to remain willfully ignorant about why the BLM movement exists and what it stands for, or they can choose to learn and take a stand against the systems of oppression in this country.
If you want to do something about this and learn more about how to be an ally, I encourage you to engage with the 5-day Ally challenge at the end of this post. I’ve created it as a way to kick start your efforts in becoming a better ally and actively anti-racist.
A List of Lives Lost
| Let’s not forget that even if someone commits a crime, it is not a police officer’s job to kill them. We live in America, a country proud of the freedom it grants its citizens, we all have the right to a fair trial if we have committed a crime and until that’s as true in practice as it is in theory, the Black Lives Matter movement will continue to exist. (Some of these murders were not committed by police officers but still followed the same pattern of racial discrimination and/or disregard for Black lives and/or lack of accountability for the perpetrators and lack of justice for the victims.) Source: NPR |
| NAME | AGE | DATE | “CRIME” | HOW THEY WERE KILLED |
| Rayshard Brooks | 27 | 6/12/20 | Sleeping in a car and running away. | Shot in the back. |
| David McAtee | 53 | 6/1/20 | Hanging out at his restaurant. | Shot. |
| George Flyod | 46 | 5/25/20 | Allegedly using a fake $20 bill. | Derrick Chauvin kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. |
| Breonna Taylor | 26 | 3/13/20 | Sleeping. | She was shot 8 times. |
| Ahmaud Arbery | 25 | 2/23/20 | Jogging. | Shot. |
| Michael Dean | 28 | 12/2/19 | Traffic stop. | Shot in the head. |
| Christopher Witfield | 31 | 12/2/19 | Allegedly stealing raw chicken from a gas station. | Shot in the back. |
| Eric Reason | 38 | 11/10/19 | Arguing over a parking spot. | Shot in the back while running away. |
| Atatiana Jefferson | 28 | 10/12/19 | Playing video games with her nephew. | Shot in her home. |
| Melvin Watkins | 54 | 9/14/19 | Leaving a birthday party. | Shot. |
| Elijah McClain | 23 | 8/24/19 | Walking home listening to music. | Ketamine injection and placed in a carotid hold. |
| Dominique Clayton | 32 | 5/19/19 | Sleeping at home. | Shot in the back of the head while sleeping. |
| Botham Jean | 26 | 9/6/18 | Eating ice cream in his apartment. | Shot. |
| Stephon Clark | 22 | 3/18/18 | Holding a phone in his grandmother’s backyard. | Shot 7 times. |
| Jordan Edwards | 15 | 4/29/17 | Leaving a party. | Shot in the back of the head. |
| Kathryn Johnston | 92 | 11/21/16 | Sitting in her home. | Shot at 39 times and hit 5. |
| Terrence Crutcher | 40 | 9/16/16 | Waiting for a tow truck for his stopped SUV. | Shot |
| Philando Castile | 32 | 7/6/16 | Driving – told officer he had a legal firearm – tried to get license as requested. | Shot. |
| Alton Sterling | 37 | 7/5/16 | Selling CDs. | Shot while pinned down at point-blank range. |
| Corey Jones | 31 | 10/18/15 | Waiting for a tow truck. | Shot 3 times. |
| Sandra Bland | 28 | 7/13/15 | Traffic stop | Hung – alleged suicide in jail cell. |
| Freddie Gray | 25 | 4/12/15 | Walking in his neighborhood. | Injured spinal cord. |
| Walter Scott | 50 | 4/4/15 | On his way to an auto store, pulled over for broken tail light – ran from police. | Shot IN THE BACK 5 times. |
| Nicholas Thomas | 23 | 3/24/15 | Warrant for probation violation. | Shot in the back. |
| Anthony Hill | 26 | 3/9/15 | Mental health episode. | Shot. |
| Kevin Davis | 44 | 12/29/14 | Called the cops for help. | Shot. |
| Tamir Rice | 12 | 11/22/14 | Playing with a toy gun at a public park. | Shot. |
| Akai Gurley | 28 | 11/20/14 | Walking in his housing complex. | Shot. |
| Tanisha Anderson | 37 | 11/13/14 | Bad mental health episode. | Heart attack |
| Laquan McDonald | 17 | 10/20/14 | Walking away from police while holding a knife. | Shot 16 times in 15 seconds. |
| Michelle Cusseaux | 50 | 8/14/14 | In her home – mental health call. | Shot. |
| Dante Parker | 36 | 8/13/14 | Riding a bike. | Tasered multiple times. |
| Ezell Ford | 25 | 8/11/14 | Walking through his neighborhood. | Shot. |
| Michael Brown | 18 | 8/9/14 | Stole a box of cigarettes. | Shot 6 times. |
| John Crawford III | 22 | 8/5/14 | Shopping in Walmart. | Shot. |
| Eric Garner | 43 | 7/17/14 | Suspicion of selling illegal cigarettes. Broke up a fight. | Choked. |
| Yvette Smith | 47 | 2/16/14 | Responding to police demands that she come outside. | Shot |
| Renisha McBride | 19 | 11/2/13 | Trying to get help after a car accident. | Shot in the face. |
| Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley Jones | 7 | 5/16/10 | Sleeping next to her grandmother. | Shot in the head. |
| This isn’t the end of the list, there are many more who haven’t been listed and we have no idea how many we simply haven’t heard about. Rest in peace to every single one of these individuals who deserved to be treated with dignity and, if they had committed a crime, to face our justice system. |
Resources
| FOR ONGOING RESEARCH AND LEARNING (in no particular order): *note: I haven’t engaged with all of these resources yet and I’ll add my commentary as I do. In the meantime, if there’s something you feel shouldn’t be listed, or something that isn’t listed that you feel should be, please email me at TimeToEducake@gmail.com and let me know. |
Podcasts
>>>For conversations about race and how it impacts every part of society: Code Switch >>>For how Slavery has impacted our nation: 1619 >>>DeRay Mckesson and other activists explore a variety of topics by focusing on how they impact people of color in Pod Save the People. >>>Going back in time to understand the present: Throughline >>>Two Black New York Times writers try to understand the world we live in, in Still Processing >>>15 conversations surrounding how race impacts everything happening in 2020: Come Through with Rebecca Carroll >>>Andrew Ti and Tawny Newsome answer fan submitted questions of whether or not certain things are racist in, Yo, Is this Racist? |
Books
Ideally purchase from black owned bookstores. |
| >>>How to Be an AntiRacist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi >>>The New Jim Crow – Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander >>>Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad >>>No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear About Black People by Dr. Ivory A. Toldson. >>>When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele >>>They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery >>>Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittany Cooper |
People/Organizations to Follow
| >>>Author of “Me and White Supremacy,” Layla F. Saad >>>Academic, writer, and lecturer with excellent learning resources: Rachel Cargle >>>Creator of 10 steps to non-optical allyship: Mireille Cassandra Harper >>>For racially aware parenting and educational resources pertaining to children: The Conscious Kid >>>A call to action & response against anti-Black racism: Black Lives Matter >>>For information on many civil liberties issues: ACLU Nationwide >>>To actively practice being a true co-conspirator: Check Your Privilege >>>Co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement: Patrisse Khan-Cullors |
Documentaries & Movies
| >>>For an understanding of systemic racism in the United States following the abolishment of slavery and growth of mass incarceration: 13th >>>A documentary focused on how the murder of Michael Brown in 2014, and it’s after effects, led to the growth of the Black Lies Matter movement: Whose Streets? >>>An exploration of the history of racism through civil rights leaders such as Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr: I Am Not Your Negro >>>Based on the true story of the Central Park Five, a view into how this situation occurred and it’s rippling effects on the lives it impacted: When They See Us >>>The story of the 2009 murder of Oscar Grant: Fruitvale Station |
Activities & Quick Articles/References & Resources
| >>>103 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice >>>Try out this quick activity to see how divided we are about race in America. >>>Non-racist to Anti-racist spectrum >>>Racism scale >>>White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack >>>A more detailed breakdown (than below) of some of the deaths that have occurred. >>>The 1619 project. >>>Places to donate. >>>Black-owned businesses to support. |
5-Day Ally Challenge
A note to the Black people reading this, please be kind to yourselves. Be intentional with your energy and who you share it with. Give yourself the space you deserve to find peace during these troubling times. You don’t owe anyone anything.
Thank you to everyone for taking the time to engage with this post, I hope you’ll continue your journey of finding ways to engage in purposeful action. Please don’t hesitate to share any reflections you may have as you engage with the challenge. Tag us on instagram, twitter, or facebook: @TimetoEducake. If there are any resources you feel should be included in this post please feel free to share them in the comments or email TimeToEducake@gmail.com.
