OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 24: Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project speaks out against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
A correction to an earlier version of this article has been appended to the end of the article.
OAKLAND — Black female leaders in Oakland gathered Thursday to call for an end to what they called the war on their lives following the grand jury decision on Breonna Taylor’s death.
No officers were charged directly in Taylor’s death in Louisville, Kentucky — sparking protests throughout the nation, including demonstrations in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose after the Wednesday announcement. Taylor, 26, was fatally shot by police in her home. One of the three officers was indicted for endangering her neighbors.
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project prepares to speak out against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Terisa Siagatonu, holds up a sign during a rally against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project speaks out against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Black women of Oakland gathered to speak out against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Ashara Ekundayo, Omi Arts director raises a fist during a rally against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: A woman holds a sign during a rally against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Dominique Walker with Moms4Housing speaks out against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: A memorial is on display during a rally against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Carroll Fife, ACCE Action executive director, speaks out against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Terisa Siagatonu, holds up a sign during a rally against the police killing of Breonna Taylor and Black women, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. A Grand Jury returned with an indictment on Wednesday for one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment and no charges in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
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On Thursday morning, local Black women stood before a mural of Breonna Taylor at 15th Street and Broadway in downtown Oakland and called for an end on the “consistent and constant war that’s raged on the lives of Black women,” said organizer Cat Brooks of the Anti-Police Terror Project.
“Black women are the birthers of this civilization and we are the keepers of this culture, and we are the frontline workers of this movement to defend Black lives,” Brooks said. “So if you’re not taking care of us, you’re not taking care of anybody.”
Representatives from various organizations throughout the city spoke at Thursday’s press conference, including Dominique Walker from Moms 4 Housing; Ashara Ekandayo Director of Omi Arts; Carroll Fife, executive director of ACCE Action Oakland, and Ayodele Nzinga of the Lower Bottom Playaz.
“You know the value of a nation, and its stature in the world, by the way it treats its least powerful,” Nzinga said. She, and others, called for action.
“We have power. … We need to exercise it. Find you a battlefield and stay on it,” she said.
Walker, of Moms4Housing, also similarly called for action, telling people to get to the streets, take a friend and “get ready for the war that we’re in.”
“I’m so sick and tired of coming to spaces and mourning,” Walker said. “We can’t expect a system that doesn’t care about us to give us the justice we deserve.”
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Breonna Taylor was shot by police as she was sleeping. She was in bed when police officers arrived, but had gotten out of bed after they broke down the door. The story also said police did not announce their presence, but that is in dispute in the case.
