The Real Reason You're Not Saying Ma'Kiah Bryant's Name
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As I watched 16-year old Ma’Khia Bryant’s TikTok video, I quickly realized she had a talent for making short videos with bursts of teenage-girl flavor. As her eyes dazzled with joy, Ma’Khia showed us how to lay her edges just right, as she styled her hair into two charming pigtails. With a smile that was beaming with confidence, Ma’Khia smiles directly into the camera, clearly proud of her TikTok masterpiece. I was first introduced to the video on Instagram, as I viewed a close friend’s IG story, something I do often, as she constantly pushes my thinking when it comes to solidarity across racial and ethnic lines through an intersectional lens. It took me a few seconds to realize who she was, as I had already been bombarded with the gruesome and dehumanizing video of a police officer gunning her down within approximately 12 seconds upon arriving at the scene. And this is essentially what Black young girls and women are constantly taught, day in and day out: that we are disposable, unworthy of life.
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