It’s been over 140 days since the death of George Floyd.
It’s been more than 210 days since the death of Breonna Taylor.
The people are still waiting for justice to be served.
Since June, stations and programmers nationally have shared the “Say Their Names” recording - a list of the names of 100 victims who lost their lives to systemic racism and police brutality - on air and beyond, in support of Black lives. During that time we’ve seen even more examples of our country’s long history of racism and violence perpetrated against Americans who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
In the spirit of continuing this urgent conversation with your listeners, and in the spirit of provocative and non-violent protest, we encourage you to keep saying their names, both because #saytheirnames recognizes the lives of our fellow citizens and because racism and mass violence remain a dangerous reality in our country.
We’ve included a suggested introduction script below for anyone that may want to play “Say Their Names” on the air. And if you’re looking for more ways to share information on racial and social justice issues with your audience, we’ve created a series of social media posts that anyone can download and share via their networks.
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The general election is less than 3 weeks away!
PLEASE feel free to use and share these Voting PSAs created by artists you know and love to inspire folks to get out and vote. These include both National PSAs and for 17 pivotal swing states.
Visit vote.org for information on voter registration, requesting absentee ballots, and more!
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More info + context on “Say Their Names” read by Salam Fatayer via Radio Milwaukee here.
SAMPLE “Say Their Names” INTRODUCTION SCRIPT —> We’re going to play a spoken word piece consisting of names of victims who have lost their lives to systemic racism and police brutality. This list of Black deaths begins with Eric Garner’s in July of 2014 and is by no means comprehensive. It was curated by NPR’s Code Switch in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and spoken by Radio Milwaukee’s Salam Fatayer on June 2nd. Unfortunately, since then there have been a number of names to add to this list, further showing that racism and mass violence are prevalent in this country. We are acknowledging that fact by saying their names and remembering their stories.
IMAGE VIA NPR’S CODESWITCH. LISTEN + READ HERE.
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What is FairPlay? —> A coalition of music lovers committed to ending systemic racism and building frameworks of access, advocacy and support for BIPOC voices throughout the music industry.
