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Breonna Taylor was one of many catalysts for probably the most widespread protest actions in fashionable occasions. Her loss of life by the hands of Louisville, Kentucky, law enforcement officials alongside the general public execution of George Floyd by the hands of Derek Chauvin sparked sufficient anger and outrage to incite tens of millions of People into the streets to demand justice.
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March 13, 2020, 5 years in the past in the present day, marks Breonna’s final day right here within the bodily kind, however the recollections she created together with her family members stay ceaselessly. nineteenth Information had the privilege of talking with Breonna’s mom Tamika Palmer about her daughter, the bond they shared, and a few of her fondest recollections. One among which is how devoted Breonna was studying the craft of haircare and styling.
“She cherished simply caring for herself and the way she appeared,” her mom, Tamika Palmer, mentioned in an interview final week. Palmer laughed as she recalled a photograph from her daughter’s beautician that popped up lately as a social media reminiscence, with Taylor proudly displaying off a uncommon quick coiffure.
“She simply was so completely happy, she was so simply in awe of herself and her hair that day,” Palmer mentioned. “I simply keep in mind her power and her spirit and her smile.”
That spirit and smile had been stolen from Palmer when then-officer Myles Cosgrove discharged his firearm recklessly after making an attempt to serve a no-knock warrant primarily based on falsified info.
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Whereas the civil rights protests actually dominated the headlines in 2020, the world was additionally within the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which added further issue when coping with a tragedy like Breonna’s loss of life. Virtually 60 agonizing days glided by earlier than the story broke nationally.
“It was onerous to get solutions, it was onerous to get folks to assist, it was onerous to have a funeral,” Palmer mentioned. “It was the start of a horrible time for us. We had been so consumed with studying concerning the pandemic. For the world to proceed on, as if she didn’t matter, was heartbreaking.”
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The Courier-Journal spoke to a few of Breonna’s shut pals, together with her finest pal Erinicka Hunter who made Taylor the godmother of her daughter Erin who’s now 13-years-old.
“I do know if (Breonna) would see Erin proper now, she’d simply cry, as a result of she’s all grown up,” Hunter mentioned. “She’s so mature, and she or he’d actually love who she is turning into.”
Elysia Bowman, one other pal, recollects mornings when Breonna would shake her awake to go to high school, encouraging her to take delight in her schooling and chase her ambitions
“I take into consideration all these years, and simply realizing her, and the way she was,” Bowman mentioned, nonetheless surprised on the loss. “After which what occurred to her, and the best way it occurred was tragic and actually tousled. It makes you suppose, ‘dang, she actually was an angel on Earth.’”
Our ideas and prayers proceed to be with all of Breonna Taylor’s family members, who’re nonetheless grieving and processing the ache of dropping her to such avoidable violence.
