Erica Garner-Snipes (May 29, 1990 – December 30, 2017) was an American activist who advocated for

police reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...

, particularly in the use of force during arrests. Garner became involved in activism following the 2014 murder of her father, Eric Garner, after a New York City police officer placed him in a lethal

chokehold A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

during an arrest.

Early life

Erica Garner, born on May 29, 1990 at

Woodhull Hospital Woodhull Medical Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, is a health care system located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Its focus is on preventing disease and promoting healthy lifestyles ...

, was the daughter of Esaw Garner Snipes and Eric Garner, and grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. She was the oldest of four children born to Eric and Esaw. Esaw had two older children from a previous relationship. As Eric's asthma and other health problems made it difficult for him to work, he played a large role at home in raising the children. When Garner was fourteen, her turbulent relationship with her mother deteriorated to the point that Esaw voluntarily placed her into

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

. Garner was placed with the Goode family in

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

. The family offered to adopt Garner; the adoption fell through, but Garner stayed with the family and they maintained a close relationship even after she became an adult.

Activism

Garner became involved in activism in 2014 after her father died during the NYPD's attempt to arrest him for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes, and she remained a critic of the NYPD up to her death. Beginning a month after his death and for the following year, Garner led twice-weekly marches visiting the scene of her father's death, visits which the media labeled a "die-in". She also marched in

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

demonstrations and other protest events, and set up a foundation in her father's name. The aim of the foundation, named the Garner Way Foundation, is to "engage communities all over the world in social justice issues through political awareness, music, arts and activism." In addition, Garner campaigned to have the transcripts of the grand jury into her father's death made public. Garner stated that she believed her father's death had more to do with police misconduct than race, and in 2017, she rejected a meeting with the

United States Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

to discuss the circumstances surrounding her father's death. During the

2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for president in the 2016 United States presidential ...

, Garner supported Bernie Sanders, and appeared in an advertisement for him as well as on the campaign trail.

Personal life and death

Garner had two children. Shortly after the birth of her son Eric, named after her father, in August 2017, she suffered a heart attack. Doctors subsequently found that her heart was enlarged. On December 23, 2017, she suffered a second heart attack, after which she fell into a coma. She was left with "major brain damage," leading to her death on December 30, 2017. She died at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn surrounded by her family and foster family. On the news of her death, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would "miss her unshakable sense of justice and passion for humanity", despite the fact that Garner had been a frequent critic of de Blasio during her lifetime. The

New York Civil Liberties Union The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nea ...

issued a statement saying that Garner "showed incredible courage and remarkable resolve" and "bravely transformed her unspeakable personal pain in opolitical power as she became a leader in the fight for police reform". The

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(NAACP) also issued a statement acknowledging her leadership and strength. Fellow activist DeRay Mckesson said, “Erica took the truth with her everywhere she went, even if that truth made people uncomfortable". Tweets were subsequently posted from Garner's official

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account demanding that de Blasio "explain how she died with no justice" and requesting that "out of respect to Erica please do not request comment if the journalist is not Black". These tweets were later found to have been posted by Garner's publicist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Erica 1990 births 2017 deaths African-American activists 21st-century American women Activists from New York City Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign Black Lives Matter people Criticism of police brutality People from Brooklyn People from Far Rockaway, Queens Shorty Award winners 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people