BabyNames.com features list of black lives lost on homepage: "Each of these names was somebody's baby"
Expectant parents searching for baby names on the popular website BabyNames.com will now see a powerful statement on its homepage: The names of more than 100 black people who have lost their lives as a result of police or civilian violence. The site listed the names amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd and police brutality.
Near the top of the site's blue and pink homepage is a large black box full of names of black lives lost. "Each one of these names was somebody's baby," the post says. "BabyNames.com stands in solidarity with the black community."
The list begins with Emmett Till, who was killed in 1955. Till's death helped spur the civil rights movement.
The 14-year-old black teenager was brutally beaten and killed after an encounter with a white woman at a Mississippi store. An all-white jury acquitted two white men in the crime. The woman, Carolyn Donham, acknowledged in a 2008 interview that she wasn't truthful when she testified that Till grabbed her, whistled and made sexual advances at a store.
The names of some of the most well-known victims of police violence in recent history are also listed, including Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Botham Jean and Philando Castile.
The post concludes with some of the recent people whose deaths sparked ongoing nationwide protests and new calls for police reform: Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Tony McDade. Floyd's name is the last on the list.
Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck and held it there for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed. In a now-viral video of the incident, Floyd repeatedly says, "I can't breathe." Four Minneapolis police officers have since been fired and all are facing charges in connection to his death.
The list of names can be removed from one's screen by clicking a small pink x on the upper right-hand corner of the graphic. The site's typical offerings, such as top trending baby names, are still viewable above and below the graphic.
The website also tweeted a list of the names of black people who had lost their lives on Saturday with the words, "Say their names. #BlackLivesMatter." The site appears to be continually updating its list with additional names.
The site also tweeted a donation link to Black Lives Matter early Tuesday morning, adding that it "stands in solidarity with the black community."
Say their names. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/hyEj58lueT
— BabyNames.com (@babynamesdotcom) June 6, 2020