If I Die In Police Custody

It will not be because I killed myself. It will be because I was neglected during a medical emergency or worse because the police had created one.

And I will want people to mourn for the dead and fight like hell for the living. To seek justice for me as a pathway to creating a safer world for people who look like me — and those who do not.

If I die in police custody, my death will reflect the reality that Black and brown women’s lives are not valued in this world.

If I die in police custody, it will be because not enough people were horrified by the fact that Erica Padilla and I felt like writing something like this was necessary. It will be because not enough people heard Darnell Moore’s cry of pain that so many others are starting to feel that this is necessary.

If I die in police custody, I want to be more than a hashtag, but let there be an undeniable hashtag.

If I die in police custody, I want people to remember the videos of me dancing and to know that police killed that joy.

When Black people mourn for the dead in the way that we have been, we are fighting like hell for the living.

What happened to Sandra Bland?

What happened to Kindra Chapman?

What will happen to me?

Will I be murdered in police custody the next time I make a mistake while driving?

If I die in police custody, it will be manslaughter or murder, but it will not be suicide.

~ Chanda