Breonna Taylor’s death currently sits over 150 days unanswered by Kentucky’s justice system, yet their Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, prioritized a cooning opportunity to invoke her name in a speech at the Republican National Convention.
In his six-minute and thirty-second speech, Cameron brandished his dark brown skin to seduce Black voters into choosing Donald Trump for a second term this
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November. He called out Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for delivering off-collar remarks scolding Black voters. “I think often about my ancestors who struggled for freedom, and as I think of those giants and their broad shoulders, I also think about Joe Biden, who says, ‘If you are not voting for me, you ain’t Black,” he said mechanically at the camera.
His talking points, however, missed the mark for those witnessing and experiencing constant police violence against Black Americans with little to no solve. You know, like Taylor’s case that is currently sitting on his desk since her untimely death on March 13.
Cameron proudly brags on being the first “African-American attorney general in Kentucky history,” but is actually failing as an authority in power to issue arrest warrants for the officers responsible for Taylor’s death. Instead, he mentions her name once, alongside retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn who was murdered by looters in a pawnshop, in an attempt to drive home his party’s self-proclaimed inability to ignore “unjust acts” on people of color.
“In fact, it was General Dwight Eisenhower, a future Republican president, who said: “Democracy is a system that recognizes the equality of humans before the law.” Whether you are the family of Breonna Taylor or David Dorn, these are the ideals that will help heal our nation’s wounds.
“Republicans will never turn a blind eye to unjust acts, but neither will we accept this all-out assault on western civilization.”
Firstly, when discussing the onslaught violent attacks on people of color, there should never be a “but” interjected in any response, as it signals an excuse for the behavior. Secondly, Cameron’s note about the “assault on western civilization” is a clear dog-whistle for siding against demonstrators and activists protesting police brutality and deep-seated racism constantly disenfranchising people of color. The supporters who are advocating justice for Breonna Taylor’s death are still protesting to this day.
Thirdly, Eisenhower wasn’t a fan of integrated schools during the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. If Cameron were to live under the former president’s preferred segregated schooling structure, he would be regarded as a “big black buck” unworthy of quality education, which, in turn, would revoke his success as an elected state official. He would also be, at the very least, seriously harmed for his interracial relationship with his wife.
Anyway, Cameron has remained unphased by pressure to issue arrest warrants even after a long-awaited private face-to-face meeting with Breonna’s family earlier this month, who he’s met for the first time ever since the deadly shooting. According to the family’s attorney, Cameron didn’t want his presence to interfere with the investigation and preferred to wait on the results for a ballistic report and planned FBI interviews.
When the topic was brought to Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear during a coronavirus briefing, he was confident a decision would be made before the Kentucky Derby on September 5.
Pardon our French, but why the hell is there so much stalling with Breonna Taylor’s case? Stepping in to apply pressure is where David Cameron can be most effective to drive movement on her case. And if he is to invoke the legacy of his Black ancestors to validate his participation in the Black community, then the preformative tap dancing should stop immediately. It’s been six months since Breonna’s death and Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove are still walking free. Cameron’s noticeable sluggish response to apprehended them is received as a form of betrayal to the community he claims to serve.
