Friday marks 147 days since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police in her house. Now Oprah Winfrey is making sure that people in Taylor’s community of Louisville, Kentucky, do not forget what happened – by launching a massive billboard campaign in the city demanding that the officers involved be arrested and charged.
“Oh, The Oprah Magazine” announced the initiative on Friday, saying the 26 billboards – one for Taylor’s life each year – were launched across Louisville on Thursday, including downtown and on Interstate 65.
Each billboard has the portrait of Taylor that will be displayed on the September cover of the magazine, along with a clear message: “Tell that the police officer involved in the murder of Breonna Taylor is arrested and charged.”
A quote from Winfrey accompanies the message: “If you turn a blind eye to racism, you become an accomplice in it.”
The signs also direct people to the organization for social justice, until Freedom, which recently took up residence in Louisville to focus on getting justice for Taylor, said O Magazine in a statement on its website. The online statement also urges people to sign petitions seeking justice for Taylor, call Kentucky officials, donate to local bail funds, and use #SayHerName on social media.
The magazine’s September issue will be the first time in 20 years that Winfrey has not appeared on the cover.
On March 13, police entered Taylor’s home with a no-knock arrest. The officers fatally shot Taylor while searching for illegal drugs, which were never found. Officials have claimed they only shot at Taylor after her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, first shot at her.
Taylor’s family has claimed that Walker shot at the officers because they did not announce themselves when they entered the house, and he thought they were trying to break in.
Only one of the three officers involved in Taylor’s death have been fired. None of the officers are taxed.
Winfrey tweeted a message about the decision to include Taylor on July 30, saying she often thinks about Taylor.
“Breonna Taylor. She was just like me. She was just like you,” Winfrey wrote. “Imagine if three unidentified men burst into your house while you slept. And your partner fired a gun to protect you. And then mayhem. What I knew for sure: we can not be silent. We need some megaphone we use for justice. cry. “
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