The website “Say Their Names” commemorates African Americans killed by police

In the run-up to Memorial Day, a different kind of memorial project was launched, dedicated to black people killed by the police in America.

The “Say Their Names” initiative, which speaks the names of those whose lives ended prematurely, was launched on May 21. The interactive digital map is a database-driven work that documents incidents that likely would not have resulted in deaths had white Americans been involved in the same circumstances, said Ronald Browne, the project’s lead researcher.

“It’s the history of black people in America … the fact that we face systemic racism,” Browne said. “We’re rapidly going back to the late ’40s and early ’50s when we were viewed as a target, as the enemy … the police are going back to slave patrols. That’s where this attitude comes from.”

“You have to keep your guard up: Atatiana Jefferson, Botham Jean, Breonna Taylor and Roger Fortson of the U.S. Air Force were all four killed in their own homes,” Browne said. “A lot of this falls under simple racism. And the general public doesn’t care. We hear people say they’re sick of hearing about racism. Yes, we’re sick of living it.”

Using data from sources such as the Washington Post’s database of police shootings and details from other newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, the “Say Their Names” map shows the lives lost at the hands of police over the past decade. Browne and his team of about a dozen people aim to find, research, verify and publish the names of the dead beginning in 1919, and update the site regularly to keep it up to date.

Browne spent two years studying primary sources, comparing details to obituaries and internet sources, and was surprised by the statistics he found. Black Americans make up about 14% of the U.S. population. But among those shot by police, black Americans make up 26% of the population, according to 2022 data from the Washington Post, and that statistic rises even further when it comes to unarmed black people shot by police.

Browne said the idea for the project came to him after seeing artwork about the “Red Summer” race riots of 1919 at the Augustana Lutheran Church in Hyde Park in 2019. In that exhibit, congregants read the name, age, race, and time, place and manner of death of each person from July 27 to August 5, 1919.

Reviewing the Post’s database, Browne found 2,119 names of black people killed, and about 800 names were put on the map with biographies and pictures of the dead. Those who died in police custody are also included. Browne said his team is investigating cases in which police are called to scenes of mental health crises.

“We want to memorialize them and say, ‘Hey, these are people with lives,'” Browne said, referring to the case of Tyre Nichols, who was on his way home when five police officers beat him to death.

“Those are the facts that most people focus on, but here’s a guy who was an amateur photographer, had a young son and was an avid skateboarder,” he said. “We humanize and honor every person we think is worthy of being on this website.”

Browne envisions families, friends and colleagues reaching out to the Say Their Names team in the future, submitting images and details of those they want added to the map, or adding more information to that already shown on the website. Readers can also contribute to an ongoing audio installation that will feature 20- to 30-second audio clips detailing the names, genders, ages, dates of death, locations and causes of death of those killed.

“Anyone from anywhere in the world can access it to learn about these lives,” said Saba Ayman-Nolley, the project coordinator.

On the card, readers won’t find details from police reports or mug shots. “The focus is not on the cases in which they were killed or died. The focus is on the life they lived that was unjustly cut short,” she said. “It’s an ongoing, evolving process, a real collaboration with the public. If we don’t have a photo and you happen to have one because you’re a friend or relative or you do your own research and find a good photo to send us, or something interesting, nice about someone’s life or a case that you see that we don’t have there, send it to us.”

Supported by grants from the Field Foundation, Illinois Humanities and the Hyde Park and Kenwood Interfaith Council, Say Their Names is seeking additional funding to keep the map updated with the help of paid researchers, Ayman-Nolley said.

Browne knows there are similar projects already out there and wants to make this new site as inclusive as possible without disparaging the work of other groups. “We’re not in competition with anyone; we do think we’re a little unique with this interactive map. But if you ask, ‘Why isn’t Johnny on there?’ Well, tell us about Johnny. He might belong there,” Browne said.

Ayman-Nolley said Breonna Taylor’s case was the one closest to her heart. Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman, was shot in her bed in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment during a botched raid by plainclothes drug agents. No drugs were found and the search warrant used to force entry into her apartment was later found to be flawed. She died on March 13, 2020.

“The system needs to change. This cannot continue,” Ayman-Nolley said. “One of the reasons I was so insistent on doing this project is because cases like Breonna Taylor’s go on for months and years before anything is done, while police officers who sit on desk duty until the case is resolved continue to get paid. However, the husband, wife, mother and child of the person killed are not paid. They have lost someone who was part of their family, who was a resource to the family.”

Ayman-Nolley said the memorial would not only be an educational tool to begin the healing process in communities, but it could also give a voice to the voiceless.

“All of these people on the map have no voice to say what hopes and desires were denied to them. We need to be that voice. And we need to stand with these family members so they don’t feel like their loved ones are forgotten,” she said. “We hope that by doing this we can build a better connection with the families and help them understand that this memorial exists for their own healing. But we also want them to look at it and tell us if there is anything else we should say or if we are saying something they don’t want to hear.”