In case you missed it, President Joe Biden was interrupted during his State of The Union address by an all too familiar agitator: Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA).
“Say Her Name,” Greene shouted, wearing a shirt with the same phrase.
The phrase was originally coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in the wake of Sandra Bland’s death. Bland died somewhat mysteriously while in police custody. “Say Her Name” was used as a rallying cry to bring attention to and honor Black women victims of police brutality, including Bland and Breonna Taylor.
If you thought Rep. Greene had taken a sudden interest in police brutality, guess again. The phrase meant to honor Black women has taken on an entirely new life within the conservative echo system.
Rep. Greene and other conservatives have co-opted the phrase as a cudgel against Biden’s immigration policy — arguing that his alleged leniency on this issue led to the death of a young woman named Laken Riley.
Riley’s murder has become a flashpoint in the larger immigration debate after an undocumented Venezuelan man was arrested and charged in her case. Conservatives have used her death to drum up fears of immigrants — despite ample research showing that immigrants commit significantly less crime than people born in the United States.
On social media, Black women, including Crenshaw, have been calling Rep. Greene and her counterparts out for using a phrase about Black women to fearmonger over immigration.
“Last night’s use of #SayHerName by Marjorie Taylor Greene during the SOTU Address reflects a deeply offensive trend in right-wing politics – the intentionally misleading appropriation of justice-seeking demands from those who have historically been rendered voiceless,” Crenshaw posted on X.
“#SayHerName was created by Kimberlé Crenshaw to bring awareness to Black women who lost their lives to police brutality. It acknowledges their humanity & challenges a system that has historically ignored them. It is a social movement, not a political stunt,” wrote Dr. Angel Jones, a Black woman scholar, on X.
As Crenshaw pointed out, this isn’t the first time words meant to empower Black Americans have been used to silence Black Americans. (Think: “woke” and “diversity, equity, and inclusion”). And it certainly won’t be the last time.