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Protestor Holding Her Hands Up

Source: David McNew / Getty

Today is a major day in the fight against police brutality for black women.

In response to a slew of cases like that of Rekia Boyd, Shelly Frey, Mya Hill and Meagan Hockaday, activist groups have banded together to make today, Wednesday, May 21, the National Day of Action to End State Violence Against Black Women and Girls. Groups including the Black Youth Project 100, Ferguson Action, #BlackLivesMatter and the African American Policy Forum have been leading the movement against excessive force used by the police on black women. The initiative has unleashed protests in areas like Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and New Orleans.

The hashtag, #SayHerName, has been documenting the trend across social media platforms. In the hashtag, there’ve been heartfelt and tragic stories shared by loved ones of police brutality victims to spread awareness on the topic. When speaking about why the issue of police brutality as it affects black women is important, this is what Kimberle W. Crenshaw, one of the co-founders of the AAPF had to say:

“Although Black women are routinely killed, raped and beaten by the police, their experiences are rarely foregrounded in popular understandings of police brutality…Yet, inclusion of Black women’s experiences in social movements, media narratives and policy demands around policing and police brutality is critical to effectively combating racialized state violence for Black communities and other communities of color.”

Below are some of the photos, videos and comments people have been sharing across the country around today’s developments:

We’ll keep you updated on how today’s protests progress as well as more info on how #SayHerName was conceived.

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