San Francisco's Topless Protest Against Police Brutality

The many deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police have been getting much-needed national and international attention. But within the discussions that follow, the topic of police violence against black women has been relegated to the background. This despite evidence that women—as this headline in The Nation puts it—“aren’t secondary causalities of aggressive policing.” Earlier this week, a new report released by Columbia University’s African-American Policy Forum added to this evidence.

To draw attention to the issue, several women took to the streets in cities around the country Wednesday, using the hashtag #Sayhername (borrowing from the title of the AAPF report) as their rallying cry. They highlighted the tragic deaths of Rekia Boyd, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Sheneque Proctor, and other African-American women who have lost their lives at the hands of police.