It’s Sunday y’all! And a weird one at that. Friday should’ve been Breonna Taylor’s 27^th birthday. Right now she’s supposed to be recovering from shenanigans with her homegirls over the weekend. She’s supposed to be sneaking into church late and hungover because her mom asked her to come just so we can celebrate you. This is supposed to be a weekend of celebration.

I know that particularly well because this weekend is also my birthday weekend. Today I’m 29 (it’s also Prince, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks’ birthdays as well). And while usually my birthday weekend is full of chaos in the most joyful Gemini way possible, this weekend has been different. I had a minor, unplanned surgery on Friday (I’m fine). I took a three hour nap yesterday and cleaned my house. Today, I might march for Black lives. It feels hard to celebrate, but I really really want to.

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In the middle of the night on March 13, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was senselessly killed in her own home by police as they looked for someone who didn’t live at her address and who had already been arrested. Breonna was a hero in her community, serving as an essential worker on the front lines of the pandemic. My heart is broken for her loved ones suffering this immense hurt and injustice. Rest in power, Breonna. #breonnataylor #justiceforbreonnataylor #blacklivesmatter #justiceforbreonna #supportblackwomen

A post shared by Ariel Sinha (@arielsinhaha) on May 13, 2020 at 1:43pm PDT

SO! We are having a birthday party for Breonna! Birthday parties consist of celebratory remarks — so leave your birthday wishes in the comments, share your favorite videos of Black joy, drop a birthday playlist, and give her family a gift and post your receipt to encourage folks to match your donation.

Let’s show her, and Black girls everywhere just how much we love them.

Happy Birthday Breonna. Next year, justice.

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It hasn’t felt right sharing anything or taking up space in any way during this time but I’m also feeling that as a non-BIPOC it’s important to publicly voice my solidarity & not stay completely silent.. Especially after seeing troubling comments and posts from people in my own community who have shown that they clearly don’t understand the things we all need to be acknowledging right now: Systemic racism exists. White privilege is real. White fragility is a thing. Reverse racism isn’t. The system needs to be reformed. To be perfectly clear; I stand to dismantle the system of white supremacy and acknowledge how I benefit from this system as a white-skinned human. Happy Belated Birthday to Breonna Taylor, an EMT and model citizen who would have turned 27 years old yesterday if she wasn’t shot 8 times and killed by the police while she was sleeping in her own home 3 months ago which was wrongfully raided with a “no-knock” warrant for someone at a different address. #NoJusticeNoPeace #Breonna #SayHerName #BreonnaTaylor

A post shared by Jaclyn DeSantis (@jaclyn.desantis) on Jun 6, 2020 at 6:38pm PDT

(Oh, and happy gave-birth day to the woman who gave birth to me. Black women matter.)
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