Biden says her name Laken Riley at the urging of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Marjorie Taylor Greene made a bold statement at Thursday night’s State of the Union address by wearing a T-shirt bearing a simple yet powerful message: Say Her Name.

The staunch Republican congresswoman from Georgia, adorned in a red MAGA hat and accompanying attire, adopted this phrase from Black racial justice activists who have been raising awareness about the unjust deaths of Black women at the hands of law enforcement and vigilantes.

Employing this rallying cry, Greene effectively prompted President Joe Biden to acknowledge the name Laken Riley, a nursing student from Georgia whose tragic demise has become central to the U.S. immigration discourse. Riley’s case involves the arrest of an immigrant from Venezuela, who entered the U.S. illegally and stands accused of her murder.

Biden says her name Laken Riley at the urging of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Biden says her name Laken Riley at the urging of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Riley’s name has become a focal point for Republicans critiquing the president’s management of the unprecedented influx of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The inception of the ‘Say Her Name’ slogan predates Greene’s adoption of it.

The phrase gained prominence in 2015 when civil rights activist and law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw popularized it following the death of Sandra Bland. Bland, a 28-year-old Black woman, was found dead in a Texas jail cell after being arrested during a routine traffic stop. Her family raised questions about the circumstances of her death and the legitimacy of the traffic stop, resulting in a wrongful death lawsuit settlement with the police department the following year.

Black women are disproportionately subjected to police violence, including fatal encounters, which are also linked to heightened psychological stress and other negative health consequences.

Crenshaw expressed concern over the appropriation of progressive concepts to undermine civil rights movements. She emphasized the importance of resisting such misappropriation to maintain advocacy for an inclusive future.

Racial justice advocate Tamika Mallory noted that while Laken Riley deserves justice, conservatives’ use of #SayHerName appears disingenuous. Mallory criticized their selective adoption of language they typically oppose, suggesting that they exploit it for political gain.

Biden says her name Laken Riley at the urging of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Biden says her name Laken Riley at the urging of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

The ‘Say Her Name’ campaign aims to shed light on Black women, girls, and femmes who have fallen victim to police violence. It seeks justice for individuals like Breonna Taylor, whose death during a police raid garnered widespread attention through the #SayHerName hashtag.

Crenshaw emphasized the importance of acknowledging and resisting attempts to co-opt this movement for extremist agendas, highlighting numerous Black women whose stories demand recognition and justice.