Tallahassee, FL – On June 18, on the Old Capitol Steps, community members and loved ones gathered to celebrate the life of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Ruth Salau.

The candlelight vigil marked the one-year anniversary of Oluwatoyin’s tragic death. Trish Brown of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee remarked, “Doesn’t seem like it’s been a year. It seems almost like yesterday.”

Community members, loved ones and organizers paid tribute to Salau with a video montage of the slain activist on a ten-foot-tall video wall, her words echoed through the court yard, “ We’re doing this for every Black person, because at the end of the day, I cannot take my fucking skin color off. Wherever the fuck I go, I’m profiled. I’ma die about my fucking skin. My Blackness is not for your fucking consumption.”

More than a year ago, Salau stood at the capitol demanding justice for Tony McDade. She chanted “Black lives matter!”, “No justice, no peace!”, and “Black trans lives matter!” along with others taking to the streets. A year later, the Tallahassee community repeated the very same cries of freedom that Salau spoke.

Delilah Pierre, vice president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, said “The Tallahassee Police Department has the funds and resources to spy on Frenchtown and South Side communities in Tallahassee. Despite their enormous wealth and power, and their claim to be an abiding force for good in Tallahassee, in reality they only use their resources as a means to an end to further criminalize and impoverishe Black communities. The police department was not interested in using their resources and power to search for Toyin, using their helicopters, surveillance systems, and other resources to make sure she was safely returned to her home. Despite constant outreach and investigation from activists, Toyin’s life ended precisely because of a lack of active resources where she could be safely rehoused.”

Regina Joseph, president of TCAC said “We, the community organized a search party for Toyin while TPD was too busy looking for a missing dog. All the clues and information, and the reported whereabouts of Toyin were given to the police. TPD did nothing. They did not want to find a missing activist whose most famous last words commended the Tallahassee police force as a tool to repress Black people.”

The vigil was organized by the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, FSU Students for a Democratic Society and Movement 850.

Say her name: Oluwatoyin Salau.

#TallahasseeFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Vigil #OluwatoyinToyinSalau #TallahasseeCommunityActionCommitteeTCAC

Tampa, FL – On June 20, Tampa Bay community members gathered at the Joe Chillura Courthouse Square to honor the life of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, who was sexually assaulted, abducted and murdered. Salau was a known Black Lives Matter activist in Tallahassee, Florida. Her death follows a recent wave of violence against, and murder of, Black people in the United States committed by the police, white vigilantes and others.

The vigil began at 7 p.m. and was co-hosted by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC), Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Intersections of Tampa Advocates (ITA).

These organizations followed the lead of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) and demanded that the, “Tallahassee police department release all details regarding the disappearance and murder of Oluwatoyin Salau.” TCAC member Regina Joseph added, “The Tallahassee Police Department spent more time posting about a missing dog on Instagram than spreading awareness of Toyin’s disappearance.”

The event included speeches, songs and poems given by community members, and chants such as, “Say it once, say it again, no excuse for violent men,” and “Old Jim Crow, new Jim Crow, white supremacy has got to go!”

“Toyin’s death means moving forward in life and never backing down, keeping my head held high like Toyin did,” said community member Nebula Jackson.

“The police failed Toyin by turning a blind eye during her greatest time of need. The word ‘failing’ even seems inappropriate, she was ‘forsaken’ by this injustice,” said ITA member Kay Klark

“The death of Oluwatoyin Salau highlights the reasons we continue the struggle for a Civilian Police Accountability Council. We see cops exhausting their resources to find and punish protesters but refusing to put forth the same effort in assisting the community. Tallahassee PD failed Toyin and continues to fail oppressed people. The only way we can ensure the safety of our community is through community control now,” said TBCAC member, David Jones.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #TampaBaySDS #TampaBayCommunityActionCommittee #OluwatoyinToyinSalau

Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of June 18, a vigil was held for Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, a 19-year-old student and activist from Tallahassee, Florida. Oluwatoyin (who was displaced due to unjust living conditions) was abducted by a man, assaulted and murdered earlier this week. Toyin had been out at Black Lives Matter protests in Tallahassee every day, fighting for justice for Tony McDade and other victims of police crimes.

The vigil provided a space for people to gather, light candles and give offerings for Oluwatoyin’s homegoing. There were many Black femmes, Black women, and Black non-men who spoke and shared poems with the group. The vigil was closed out by Monique Liston, who led everyone in a moment of silence and a declaration of love from the group to Oluwatoyin.

“Oluwatoyin Salau’s story is only one of many, but hers was heard, and if we can hear hers all the way from Florida there should be no reason we cannot listen to the Black girls in our very own communities,” said Alena Hix, one of the co-organizers of the vigil. “It is upsetting that it takes a tragedy from another state or city to reveal the stories and lives of the people around us, in the communities around us, stories that go ignored.”

“Toyin brought together a lovely group of people, a group of people that believed her and loved her,” Hix said. “It is important to remember how we treated Toyin, someone we all felt was a friend in our hearts, and show up for the Black girls of Milwaukee while they are still alive, amplify their voices, and believe them.”

Oluwatoyin’s tragic end is not just one isolated incident. Violence against Black women and girls happens far too often here and around the world. It is important to protect Black femmes, women and non-men in our own communities. Toyin’s vigil was kept standing so others can walk by and feel the gravity of what it means to lose such a young, vibrant light and to make everyone work harder to ensure this stops happening for good.

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Tallahassee #OluwatoyinToyinSalau