Zendaya, Beyoncé, and More Mourn Ma’Khia Bryant
16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant’s tragic death at the hands of a police officer, identified as Nicholas Reardon, has moved celebrities like Zendaya and Beyoncé and the public to speak out about their emotions. On April 20, in Columbus, Ohio, Bryant was shot four times outside the house of Angela Moore, her foster care guardian, after calling the police on two former foster daughters who came to visit for Moore’s birthday. They go into an argument about the house’s state of cleanliness.
According to the footage of the incident, the officer didn’t use any de-escalation tactics and only yelled “get down” before shooting Bryant, who lunged towards one of the women with a knife.
Zendaya posted a picture of Bryant on Instagram saying: “Ma’Khia Bryant. I don’t have the words for this one.” The first thing on Beyoncé’s website is a photo of Bryant saying, “We mourn the young life of Ma’Khia Bryant.” Justin Bieber shared a photo of someone holding a poster or Bryant with the caption, “Seems so unreal but this is the world we are living in. It saddens me that this has become such a normal thing. This is so far from normal and not protocol.”
still heartbroken over ma’khia, it’s devastating to see that people are trying to use the bodycam footage to blame a scared 16 year old for her own death. the situation should’ve been de-escalated, there is no excuse for what the columbus police did.
— parker ♡︎ (@PARKlNGMETER) April 21, 2021
Ma’Khia Bryant. We say her name.
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) April 22, 2021
Another Black life stolen. But we refuse to define or remember Ma’Khia by her final moments.
We uplift, celebrate & honor this Black child for what she loved- doing her hair, making Tik Toks, having fun. Just being a teen.
Rest in power, Queen.
A few hours after feeling celebratory over the conviction of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd, the Black community faces another devastating death. Bryant was young and her life was unfairly taken. Police brutality continues to take lives and accountability is necessary. Bryant is not a statistic, she was a human with dreams and goals like everyone else. Say Ma’Khia Bryant’s name.
Writer | Tweet me @sapnaamin7
