Oprah Is Putting Up 26 Billboards in Louisville Demanding Justice for Breonna Taylor

Christopher Luu
·3 min read

Celebrity PSA Demands Justice for Breonna Taylor

Celebrities including Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys, and Gabrielle Union promoted actionable ways to demand justice for Breonna Taylor in a new video that spotlights Taylor's mother.

For the first time in the magazine's history, O, The Oprah Magazine featured a cover that didn't showcase Oprah Winfrey. Instead, the September issue's cover star was Breonna Taylor. But Oprah isn't stopping there. According to NPR, she and her magazine commissioned 26 billboards featuring the same image of Taylor to be set up around Louisville, Kentucky, to honor each year of Taylor's life and to demand justice for her death.

"Demand that the police involved in killing Breonna Taylor be arrested and charged," each billboard reads. They also share a website for the social justice organization UntilFreedom.com and a quote from Oprah, "If you turn a blind eye to racism, you become an accomplice to it."

The billboards started to go up on Thursday and by Monday, all 26 should be completed.

RELATED: The Police Report for Breonna Taylor's Death Is Almost Entirely Blank

In the magazine, Oprah told readers that she couldn't remain silent on the issue and urged her readers to take action.

"Imagine if three unidentified men burst into your home while you were sleeping," she wrote in the "What I Know for Sure" column in the September issue. "And your partner fired a gun to protect you. And then mayhem. What I know for sure: We can't be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice. And that is why Breonna Taylor is on the cover of O magazine."

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For the first time in 20 years, @oprah has given up her O Magazine cover to honor Breonna Taylor. She says, “Breonna Taylor. She was just like you. And like everyone who dies unexpectedly, she had plans. Plans for a future filled with responsibility and work and friends and laughter. Imagine if three unidentified men burst into your home while you were sleeping. And your partner fired a gun to protect you. And then mayhem. What I know for sure: We can’t be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice. And that is why Breonna Taylor is on the cover of O magazine. I cry for justice in her name.” Tap the link in our bio to read more about Oprah’s tribute to Breonna—and her recent conversation with her mother, Tamika Palmer. Breonna: This one’s for you 🙏🏽 The September issue will be available wherever you buy or download your magazines on 8/11. (🎨: @alexis_art)

A post shared by O, The Oprah Magazine (@oprahmagazine) on Jul 30, 2020 at 5:30am PDT

RELATED: Celebrity PSA Demands Justice for Breonna Taylor

On March 13, Taylor was killed by Louisville Metro Police when officers executing a "no-knock" warrant entered her apartment while she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping. According to his attorney, Walker, who believed that the officers were intruders, fired at them. The police shot back, hitting Taylor eight times and killing her. Louisville later banned the use of no-knock warrants after Taylor's death was met with protests over police brutality.

CNN notes that Taylor's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three police officers involved. None of them have been charged, though one was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department.