“Breonna Taylor.”
Thump thump.
“George Floyd.”
Thump thump.
“Deshon Downing.”
Thump thump.
“Dreasjon Reed.”
Thump thump.
The names of more than 100 people of color killed by police echoed over the bodies of protesters lying on the ground across from Indianapolis’ City County Building. A drum thumped like a heartbeat between each called name.
The death of Floyd while in the custody of officers with the Minneapolis Police Department kicked off protests around the country over the weekend, spurred by other recent and high profile killings of African Americans — including Taylor in Louisville and Reed here in Indianapolis May 6. Downing was killed by officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department during a traffic stop last year.
For 8 minutes and 46 seconds on Sunday afternoon, the protesters held a “die in” while Leah Gunning Francis, dean of faculty for the Christian Theological Seminary, read the names of lives cut short and Indianapolis’s faith community sought to send a message to the city’s leaders whose offices they looked up at.
