Breonna Taylor will not be silenced as her cry for justice flows through the life of many. Vanity Fair graced it’s cover of Taylor as a stance for justice. The painting was created by Amy Sherald.
Sherald has been known to use her talent of painting as a voice for the culture. Her choices of subjects look to enlarge the genre of American art historical realism by telling African-American stories within their own tradition. You have seen her art and may recognize it from a beautiful painting of Michelle Obama that was unveiled in Washington next to Former President Barack Obama.
The Vanity Fair issue fairly titled “The Great Fire” is written by Ta-Nehisi Coates a former writer for The Atlantic. It entails the events of the night a life was stolen from Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother and her family. The article also dives into the light and bond of the family that Breonna Taylor strengthened.
Palmer spoke out about how the detective at the crime scene questioned her about Breonna Taylor and Kenny’s (Breonna’s boyfriend) life and rather they had enemies. As Palmer waited until after sunrise in front of her daughters apartment, she knew what was happening. Palmer talks about her past experiences with police brutality and racial profiling as she was growing up in Michigan.
Palmer spoke full details of Breonna’s upbringing, “Breonna was a good baby. She wasn’t a crier. She was a happy baby. She started walking early—like at nine months, so she was just a little person early. I always say she had an old soul. She liked listening to the blues with my mother. She would sing me the blues. It was hilarious. She used to sing “Last Two Dollars.” That was her song. We always had these Christmas gatherings. Everybody would be at my dad’s. They would do karaoke. And one time my dad said to Breonna, What do you want to sing? And she said, I want to sing Johnnie Taylor, “Last Two Dollars.”
The issue has a collective of photos, and details about Breonna, her boyfriend, and her families history in effort toilluminate the life that was taken. To grapple with the nature of strangers. To fill in the blanks. The issue will be out in Spetember.
