Lament and hope go hand in hand
“Say her name!” I yelled, and the crowds roared back: “Breonna Taylor!”
After days of protests of the death of George Floyd around the country, I had a gnawing feeling inside that yet again, a Black woman had been relegated to the bottom of the pile in the fight for social justice. So I was excited when my friend Sister Mary Therese, a Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, found a protest dedicated solely to agitating for justice for Breonna Taylor, the young Black woman shot and killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers who entered her apartment with a no-knock warrant while she slept.
The organizer, Ashabi Owagboriaye, a young Nigerian American woman, was intentional about creating space for Black women at the rally in Chicago. She invited us to walk in front, to lead the chants and, eventually, to address the protestors. My boldness grew with every… [This is the beginning of a column for the online newspaper, Global Sisters Report, written by Messy Jesus Business Rabble Rouser, Sister Mumbi Kigutha. Continue reading here.]
ABOUT THE RABBLE ROUSER
Sr. Mumbi Kigutha, a member of the Sisters of the Precious Blood – Ohio, was born and raised in Kenya. Currently, she is based in Chicago, Illinois, as a part-time international consultant for the reconciliation and social cohesion department of the Jesuit Refugee Services. She has worked with diverse vulnerable populations, including with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In addition to a Master of Business Administration in marketing, Sister Mumbi earned a Master of Arts in justice ministry and a certificate in pastoral ministry at Catholic Theological Union. Her theological interests center around womanist, Black and Africana subjects.
