Ma’Khia Bryant Heartbreaking Tiktok Videos Go Viral As a Reminder That She Was a Child

Ma’Khia Bryant was 16-years-old when a police officer in Columbus, OH, shot her last Thursday after she reportedly called the police for help. Bryant’s TikTok went viral as a reminder that she was a child and that her life was cut short.

Ma’Khia Bryant started to be active on TikTok weeks before officer Nicholas Reardon killed her. On April 20, when Bryant died, her TikTok from earlier this year went viral. Now, people are acknowledging her innocence.

Although Tiktok took down Bryant’s videos, Twitter is very active in bringing awareness to her murder and describing it as racism. Another Black girl has ultimately been killed by the police for unjustifiable reasons with no deescalation tactics used.

One of Ma’Khia’s videos received 2.6 million views on Twitter in only two days.

#makhiabryant deserved to be alive and happy with her family 💞 #SayHerName #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/kkRhWAd0yJ

— beyonce’s negro nose (@mercxkurt) April 21, 2021

A user, @marsbadtweets, wrote in honor of Bryant, “I just saw someone post one of Ma’khia’s TikTok and I’m feeling so f-cking shaken. I remember being 16. I looked like her, same round cheeks, we had the same hair texture, very similar skin shade, she just gives off an energy that I /know/ I gave off as a kid. She was a KID, man.”

Her content, mostly about hair and beauty tutorials, is very genuine. She shows joy in those videos and makes many people relate to her as a 16-years-old teenager. In an interview with 1oTV, Paula Bryant, her mom, said that she was “a sweet child.” Many users could identify with Bryant.

1/ When I watched Ma’Khia Bryant’s TikTok videos I saw my middle niece in her. I saw Ma’Khia’s joy, creativity, potential, and humanity. No child’s life should be judged and dissected based on one day and one event. Some of the hot takes about Ma’Khia have been truly awful. pic.twitter.com/7ox1MDgFxS

— Michael Hollingsworth (@mike4brooklyn) April 24, 2021

Ma’Khia Bryant should’ve been waking up today, getting ready to learn a new TikTok dance, and planning to hang out with her friends. She only was a teenager. I’m so heartbroken. I don’t know what to say

— Sam 💖 (@hoodcuIture) April 21, 2021

Some justify the killing and blame Bryant as a threat to another girl. But, Bryant allegedly called the police to end the fight. At the age of 16, she was still a child and some type of effort should have been made to disarm Bryant as she was holding a knife when the police arrived. Training to disarm someone is part of putting on a badge to protect and serve our communities.

Mental Health specialists disarm teenagers with weapons every day and shooting her was not the answer. The police should have better training on deescalation and not be so quick to kill when they see Black people they deem a threat. There have been many instances of violent killers who were white, that were brought in without harming them.

Users are using her TikTok videos as an alternative to the body cam (warning: graphic content) footage showed at a press conference.

Ironically, Bryant’s murder occurred on the same day as Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder of George Floyd. While people were just sighing a breathe of relief for that case, another unnecessary shooting occurred and this time it was a young Black child. Communities are demanding accountability and police reform as Reardon was not charged or investigated for Bryant’s death.