Cardi B, Alicia Keys and many others call for justice for Breonna Taylor

Celebrities join forces to demand for justice.

As protests and calls for action in the Black Lives Matter movement continue around the world, celebrities are urging their fans and followers to seek justice for Breonna Taylor. 

Joining forces with Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer, stars including Alicia Keys, Cardi B and more came together to urge fans to help seek justice for Taylor. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT worker, fatally shot by police during a raid at her home in Louisville, on March 13. 

As part of a campaign launched by social justice organization, ‘Until Freedom’, celebrities published a nearly three minute-long video to Twitter. In the clip’s opening, they posed a question before their millions of followers: “Do you know what happened to Breonna Taylor?”

‘Do you know what happened to Breonna Taylor?’

The video fades to black before it cuts to Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, who recounts the story of how her daughter’s life was taken. As previously reported, three police officers broke down her front door with a battering in the middle of the night. The officers in question had secured a “no knock warrant” to search her home for narcotic substances as part of an investigation.

Believing they were intruders, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at the police with his registered handgun. The police then opened fire on them, fatally striking Taylor eight times. The suspect they were seeking was already in custody. Walker was in jail, but later released.

“Bre was murdered by the Louisville Metro Police Department. And after they killed her, they asked me if she had any enemies. No, absolutely not,” Palmer attested.

“The stories started coming out differently and people started learning the truth of what was happening. And the things that went wrong that night. Now, the whole city is mad. Now, the whole world is mad. Breonna should not be dead. Some days I feel like I can’t breath without her. This should never happen to another family. I am Breonna Taylor’s mother. Say her name.”

Justice for Breonna Taylor

Until Freedom co-founder Tamika Mallory then outlined four steps that people can take now to advocate for justice for Taylor’s family. First, demand that Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher fires the three officers involved in her death. Second, call the state of Kentucky’s Attorney General Daniel Cameron to demand charges be pressed against the three officers. Third, pressure Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder to open an investigation into Taylor’s case. Lastly, Mallory implored Louisville residents to contact their council members and call for them to ban no knock warrants.

The video closed out with a montage of celebrities, including Kerry Washington, Janelle Monáe, Tinashe, and Snoh Aalegra. Many people have pressed for action against the Louisville police officers involved in her death. An FBI investigation has launched into Taylor’s case but still, no actions have been taken against the officers.

Tracee Ellis Ross, Ellen DeGeneres, Kerry Washington, Tamika D. Mallory, Brene Brown, Ali Wong, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lena Waithe and Gabrielle Union are just some of the stars that lent their voices to the cause, each sharing a video titled “Do You Know What Happened To Breonna Taylor” to their social media.

For her part, Cardi encouraged her followers to demand justice. “Let me tell ya something.This is why we gotta keep fighting .Breonna Taylor was one year younger then me,” she wrote. “They tried to sweep the case under the rug specially since the country when on lockdown due to Coronavirus.DONT LET KENTUCKY POLICE DEPARTMENT GET AWAY WITH THIS SH-T!!!!!”