Community Corner
Weekend March Memorializes Breonna Taylor In Teaneck
Demonstrators marched through Teaneck on the anniversary of Taylor's death. "A year has passed, and there was no justice," one group said.
TEANECK, NJ — Demonstrators in Teaneck marched from Town Hall to Holy Name Medical Center on Saturday, exactly a year since the death of Breonna Taylor.
"A number of members in our community marched from Teaneck Town Hall to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck and brought candles as well as flowers to honor Breonna. We hope justice is brought to an amazing woman," organizers from BLM Bergen County said.
Holy Name was a symbolic choice for the demonstrators, acknowledging Taylor's career as an EMT in her home city of Louisville.
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The March in Teaneck may not have been as large as demonstrations across the country, but activist groups in Bergen County have been a consistent presence since the summer of protests in 2020, BLMxTeaneck and Black Lives Matter Bergen County chief among them.
Justice, or a lack thereof, is a key theme in dialogue coming from Bergen County activist groups. Former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison was indicted by a grand jury on charges of wanton endangerment for shooting into neighboring apartments during the no-knock raid in which Breonna Taylor was killed.
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None of the three officers who fired during the raid — Hankison, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly or Detective Myles Cosgrove — were charged in connection to Taylor's death.
At the time, both Teaneck and Bergen County BLM groups said "the charges completely ignored the murder of Breonna Taylor, and made a mockery of the entire movement. 191 days have passed since Breonna was murdered and still justice has not been served."
One year later, and that fact remains, they said.
"A year has passed and there was no justice," BLMxTeaneck wrote.
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Demonstrations from local groups won't be going away, according to Wayne For Change.
"We will march and fight for Breonna and those taken away by police brutality always. Keep fighting y’all. Keep showing up, protesting, and supporting," they said.
The march came one day after Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, filed a federal lawsuit against Louisville Metro Police, according to the Associated Press. Walker has already filed a state lawsuit against the city and police.
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