Hindus for Human Rights

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Rest In Love, Oluwatoyin Salau.

Urmila Kutikkad

NOTE: THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

Reeling, or Shattered, or Nauseated, or Enraged. Maybe I would believe more fully in language if there was a word that felt adequate for how the murder of 19-year-old Tallahassee Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau has left me. Oluwatoyin spoke out on Twitter on June 6 about being sexually assaulted, went missing shortly afterwards, and was found murdered one week later. She was a glimmering force of advocacy for black life, and yet she was not protected. That is to say, she deserved to be treated like the angel she was while she was alive, not just when she wasn't. A truth that is so true for every black woman's life, every black trans life, every black life, that it could not possibly be Shouted : Yelled : Screamed loud enough.

At this point my words fail me, but I would like to share a poem (or maybe it’s really a prayer) from writer/healer/activist adrienne maree brown. A poem-prayer that moved me seas and fields beyond words into the resounding affirmation that we will continue to fight for justice for Oluwatoyin Salau. We will continue to say Her name. We will continue to fight for black lives. So rest in power, Oluwatoyin. Rest in peace. Rest in love.

Direct action links below.

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for oluwatoyin ‘toyin’ salau

adrienne maree brown

if it was up to me
i would reach back through time
push away the hands that groped you
amplify your no into an earthquake
it would open the dirt
all would-be assailants crash and slip down
into a realm of heat and solitude and reflection
to sweat out their demons
as you sashayed to a safe home

if it was up to me
if i couldn’t stop the crime i’d pull you close
not asking you to ask what you need from me
cold cloth your forehead
thumb away those tears
place my palm over your trembling heart
remind you that miracles
are stronger than violations
and celebrate however you survived

if it was up to me
we would march side by side
me old, slow, and rolling along
you nineteen, and then twenty,
and then fifty and then eighty
those cheekbones high enough to hold ages
feeling the worship due for your labor
sacred child warrior, newly arrowed
you took so many unlived stories with you

if it was up to me
you would get what you deserved
black nights full of pleasure
heart swoons and heart aches
dancing in Toyin Park all Sunday
spirit child i hope you cannot even hear pain now
but if it was up to me, to we who needed you
this would never be the way
you got free

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#BlackLivesMatter

#JusticeForToyin

#SayHerName

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*Note: There are currently false gofundme links circulating “in support” of Oluwatoyin Salau. As you are looking to take direct action, here are some alternate places to look—