Say Her Name: McKinney Video Shows How Black Women Are Victims of Police Brutality

The now-infamous McKinney Pool Party video has gone viral over the weekend. Cellphone video shot by a white teenager at the party shows an aggressive white officer, now identified as Eric Casebolt, literally rolling onto the scene and harassing black youth. As the video progresses, he takes an alarmingly frightening and menacing tone toward the black minors but seems to side-step the white teens. He can be seen yelling, cursing and becoming more and more agitated as the video continues.

The part that had the nation and even world gasping is when Casebolt forcibly took down a black, bikini-clad 15-year-old female. He grabbed her by the back of the head, forcing her to the ground. When others came to her aid, he pulled out his firearm, causing them to back away. Luckily, his fellow officers saw this and stepped in to calm him down. He then pins his knee to her back, keeping her down as she cries out for her mom.

The McKinney Police has placed him on administrative leave and are now investigating the incident.

As disturbing as this video is, it highlights a larger issue: black women are victimized by the police at alarming rates but we never hear their names in the rally calls, protests or chants.

According to the Guardian’s project, “The Counted,” 22 women have been killed in the U.S. by the police in this year alone and at least 7 have been black. However, you probably don’t know their names since they don’t garner the national attention like the men do, they are often excluded from the Black Lives Matter movement.

Black women are as much part of the cycle of police brutality and must be remembered in the call of action as well. Remember that mothers, daughters, sisters and nieces are being victimized but are being marginalized by the fact that they are women, so just #SayHerName.