Ever since the beloved 18 year old, Nia Wilson, was brutally stabbed to death at a BART station in Oakland, Ca. on Sunday (July 22, 2018), there’s been an overwhelming outcry for justice. As we all know, racism is alive and well and it appears that Nia’s precious life was the result of that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blq4Sa9HLOm/
A White dude, John Cowell, reportedly randomly walked up and attacked Nia and her sister, who are both African American. Her sister survived, but sadly, Nia did not.
Now, the hashtag #SayHerName, has began recirculating across social, following Nia’s senseless murder. Millions have been including it in their online tributes to Nia Wilson, as an outcry for justice. #SayHerName initially became popular after a White officer’s brutal arrest of Sandra Bland and her suspicious death in a county prison soon afterwards.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BllMRkyhggz/
Now, not only have Nia’s parents spoken out about her killing, but so have several celebrities, including Viola Davis, who tweeted:
“You know…..at what point will it stop? I’m getting tired of the heartbreak. Tired of needing to organize rally’s to convince people that our lives matter. To the killer…I will NOT say your name. To Nia…we will shout yours from the rooftops!!!”
Although rallies and online #hashtags are beautiful forms of resistance in situations like this tragedy, unfortunately sometimes that isn’t enough. The reality is that we live in a world where it sometimes takes White celebrities to deliver a major punch of reality to their fellow White citizens, in order for the masses to understand the message. The message that the racist killings of Black people (by police officers and citizens alike) are neither a coincidence, nor the murdered Black person’s ‘own fault,’ which is what many of our misinformed White brothas and sistas believe.
Therefore, it’s refreshing to see a Caucasian celeb,’ like Anne Hathaway -who has a fan base that would mostly not be in-tune with the dangers that come along with simply being Black in America- speak out. On Wednesday, Hathaway called out herself and her fellow White Americans for abusing “White privilege” and ignoring the tragedy of Nia Wilson’s (and many others’) senseless murders. Here’s what she wrote on Instagram:
“The murder of Nia Wilson- may she rest in the power and peace she was denied here- is unspeakable AND MUST NOT be met with silence. She is not a hash tag; she was a black woman and she was murdered in cold blood by a white man.
White people- including me, including you- must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America and have done so for GENERATIONS. White people DO NOT have equivalence for this fear of violence. Given those givens, we must ask our (white)selves- how “decent” are we really? Not in our intent, but in our actions? In our lack of action?
Peace and prayers and JUSTICE for Nia and the Wilson family xx
Note: the comments for this post are closed. #blacklivesmatter #antiracist #noexcuse #sayhername #earntherighttosayhername
At this point, John Cowell is in police custody. Here’s the latest:
Via People– [John] Cowell was charged Wednesday with murder and attempted murder, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Police have not determined the motive for the attack, and despite speculation, prosecutors have said no evidence of racial motivation has surfaced. But Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said in the press release announcing charges against Cowell, “If there is evidence uncovered that this defendant murdered and attempted to murder these two young African American women because of their race or any other factor as outlined in the Hate Crime Statutes, the Complaint will be amended to allege the Hate Crimes.”
#JusticeForNiaWilson
