Janelle Monáe’s powerful new song protests police brutality against Black women

Singer and actress Janelle Monáe has just released a powerful anthem ahead of International Daughters Day on September 26^th to honour 61 Black women who have been brutalized and murdered by law enforcement. Teaming up with the African American Policy Forum, and a huge group of fellow celebs like Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chlöe x Halle, Zoë Kravitz and more, the song “Say Her Name” is a powerful, 17-minute protest song that literally chants the names of Black women as young as 7 and as old as 91 who have lost their lives to police brutality.

Using the hook and chorus from her 2015 song “Hell You Talmbout,” Janelle and company powerfully chant each name followed with a command to “say her name!” Names include Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Kathryn Johnston.

Speaking with People, the Hidden Figures star says the impetus behind the rallying cry was to “bring more awareness to what has not been covered and to also allow their families an opportunity to be able to hear people sharing their stories about their daughters as the human beings they were and as the daughters they were."

The idea for the anthem came about after Janelle says she “learned about the amount of women — Black women in particular — who had lost their lives to police violence and their stories were not covered. I just felt like it was super important that we all, on a global scale, became aware."

Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, co-founder of the African American Policy Forum, also appears on the song, along with Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chlöe x Halle, Tierra Whack, Isis V., Zoë Kravitz, Brittany Howard, Asiahn, Mj Rodriguez, Jovian Zayne, Angela Rye, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Alicia Garza.

Janelle says that the focus of the song isn’t the star power, however, but the fact that each woman’s voice is relatable on a human level. “Each of us is a daughter and we came together on a human to human level, sister to sister level to honor these names," she explains.

"Music has always been therapy for me. What this [song] is also doing is capturing a moment in our history and how we all came together to spread the word about who they are," the singer adds. "To be able to uplift their names in this song is taking a piece of American history and taking a piece of what has happened so that history won't repeat itself again."

Crenshaw adds that the importance of “Say Her Name” comes at a time when many people can recognize the names of Black men killed by police, like Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and George Floyd, but few in our society would recognize the names of Black women in the same situation. "The silence that surrounds the killing of Black women is what we have just witnessed. So what are we going to do to reverse it?" Crenshaw explains. "The saying her name was the creation of that cacophony of sound. We needed to not only say their names, but explode the sound barrier by saying the names that had been erased for so long."

"We say their names, we bring awareness to the fact that so many of their families experience not just the loss of the daughter, but the loss of the loss,” she continues. “It's like their killing doesn't mean anything and because it doesn't get reported, there's an additional trauma that the family has to deal with."

A trailer, edited by Tyler A. Dixon, also accompanies the song, which explains the impetus behind the song, its creation, and why chanting Black women’s names is as important as ever. Proceeds from the song and video and will benefit the AAPF's #SayHerName campaign, which creates emergency funds and resources to support the mothers and loved ones of those who have died.

“Say Her Name” honours the following Black women: Rekia Boyd, Latasha Nicole Walton, Atatiana Jefferson, Kendra James, Priscilla Slater, Yuvette Henderson, Renee Davis, Kyam Livingston, Cynthia Fields, Kindra Chapman, India Kager, Shelly Frey, LaJuana Phillips, Kisha Michael, Dannette Daniels, Crystal Ragland, Pamela Turner, Latandra Ellington, Crystalline Barnes, Korryn Gaines, Michelle Cusseaux, India Cummings, Sandra Bland, Symone Marshall, Yvette Smith, Margaret Mitchell, Mya Hall, Tyisha Miller, Alesia Thomas, Kayla Moore, Alberta Spruill, Breonna Taylor, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Nizah Morris, LaTanya Haggerty, Layleen Polanco, Shereese Francis, Sheneque Proctor, April Webster, Kathryn Johnston, Michelle Shirley, India Beaty, Tanisha Anderson, Sandy Guardiola, Shukri Ali Said, Duanna Johnson, Eleanor Bumpurs, Jessica Williams, Sarah Riggins, Charleena Lyles, Sharmel Edwards, Deborah Danner, Joyce Curnell, Natasha McKenna, Darnesha Harris, Pearlie Golden, Miriam Carey and Tarika Wilson.