In January of 2015, I had the honor of sitting in front of Erica Garner at the BET Honors award show in Washington, D.C. Erica Garner is the daughter of Eric Garner, a man who was killed by a New York City police officer after the officer used an illegal chokehold on Garner. The tragic death of her father ignited her passion for social justice work. She became very vocal about the unjust killing of her father and about police misconduct.
CNN reported in December of 2017:
Erica Garner became a prominent activist in the wake of her father's death, pushing for political change and social justice broadly aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement.
She told CNN's Don Lemon in 2014 she believed her father's death had more to do with police misconduct than race.
"I can't really say it's a black and white issue," she said. "It's about the police officer and abusing their power."
Sadly, three years after the death of her father, Erica Garner died after suffering a heart attack at 27. She was the mother of two children. I am thankful I had the opportunity to meet her and tell her how her family’s story impacts my work; however, Erica’s sudden death and the deaths of other young activists like her brings to the issue of self-care in activism and justice work.
Oftentimes when we get involved in advocacy and justice work, we fail to think about the toll it takes on our physical, mental and emotional health. That’s why over the next few weeks for our “Wellness Wednesday,” we’re going to share self-care tips for activists on our Facebook, Twitter and IG pages. Follow us, and stay tuned.