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Detroiters mark 1 year since death of Breonna Taylor

Posted at 9:33 AM, Mar 14, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-14 09:33:59-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — A celebration of life, and a call for change. An event in Hart Plaza Saturday reminded Detroit of what happened one year ago.

“Today marks a year since Breonna Taylor was killed in her own home,” Sammie Lewis, an organizer with Detroit Will Breathe, said to the crowd on stage.

On March 13, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police serving a no-knock narcotics warrant. They exchanged shots with Taylor's boyfriend, who thought someone was breaking in. No one has been directly charged for Taylor's death.

“This says to us that if we are killed there are no consequences for that,” Lewis said.

So on Saturday, close to 100 people marched down Woodward avenue calling for change, meeting back at Hart Plaza with candles in hand to listen and remember.

“It's been a very powerful event," said Detroit Will Breathe organizer Jordan Weber. "I'm very honored and proud to be standing here with my fellow Black woman.”

Weber was also one who spoke at the event, reflecting on what has happened in the past year.

“There have been little breadcrumbs of change, which clearly is not good enough,” Weber said.

Her name is said out loud and her face painted on posters, Breonna Taylor was present in downtown Detroit Saturday, and those who led the event are making sure, that doesn’t change.

“Black women are so easily forgotten, they’re always forgotten and dismissed and we want to make sure that doesn't happen to Breonna,” Weber said.