SayHerName

#SayHerName is a social movement that seeks to raise awareness for Black women victims of police brutality and anti-Black violence in the United States.^[1] The movement's name was created by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF).^[2] #SayHerName aims to highlight the gender-specific ways in which Black women are disproportionately affected by fatal acts of racial injustice.^[3] In an effort to create a large social media presence alongside existing racial justice campaigns, such as #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackGirlsMatter, the AAPF coined the hashtag #SayHerName in December 2014.^[3]

In May 2015, the AAPF released a report entitled "Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality against Black Women", which outlined the goals and objectives of the #SayHerName movement.^[4] In July 2015, Sandra Bland, a woman who had been taken into police custody after a traffic violation, was found hanged three days later in her jail cell.^[5] Following Bland's death, the AAPF, the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School, and Andrea Ritchie issued an updated version of the original report.^[4]

Drawing from the AAPF report, the #SayHerName movement strives to address what it believes is the marginalization of Black women within both mainstream media and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.^[1] Of the movement's many agendas, one includes commemorating the women who have died due to police brutality and anti-Black violence.^[3]