Hudson County Community College Speaker Series Event to Feature Breonna Taylor’s Mom

HCCC requests members of the community submit questions for Ms. Palmer by February 10.

February 5, 2021, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will host Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, during a College Speaker Series event at 12 noon on Thursday, February 18, 2021.

HCCC Assistant Professor of History, Dorothy Anderson, and HCCC Director of Cultural Affairs, Michelle Vitale, will co-moderate the discussion with Ms. Palmer. The live Zoom event will open with a performance by Jersey City Inaugural Poet Laureate Rashad Wright. The event will conclude with a virtual tour of the exhibition, “Azikiwe Mohammed: ‘Tales from Fold Out Chairs,’ and Rashad Wright: ‘in heaven’s Wakanda’,” which has been curated by Ysabel Pinyol Blasi and is being presented in partnership with Monira Foundation in the HCCC Benjamin J. Dineen and Dennis C. Hull Gallery.

In keeping with HCCC President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (PACDEI) practices, the College requests that members of the community participate by submitting questions they may have for Ms. Palmer by February 10, 2020 to mvitaleFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE with the subject line “Breonna Taylor.”

Breonna Taylor became a lightning rod for the Black Lives Matter movement when she was shot and killed by police in her Louisville, Kentucky home on March 13, 2020. The 26-year-old Black Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) was roused from her sleep when police, suspecting that Taylor’s ex-boyfriend was storing drugs in her home, used a battering ram to execute a search warrant. No contraband was found.

The incident fractured Louisville and led to national protests. Taylor’s family settled a wrongful death civil suit, and the three police officers involved were fired. Louisville passed “Breonna’s Law,” which bans “no knock” warrants that allow police to forcibly enter a residence without warning, and requires body cam use during searches. Many social justice activists are calling for police reforms that address systemic racism on a national level.

Those who wish to access the Speaker Series event featuring Ms. Palmer on February 18, 2021 may do so by registering at https://tinyurl.com/HCCCTamikaPalmer.