Finding My Voice: On Grieving My Father, Eric Garner, and Pushing for Justice

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In this unforgettable memoir, Emerald Garner recounts her fathers cruel and unjust murder, the immense pain that followed, the pressures of an exploitative media, and her difficult yet determined journey as an activist against police violence.

She begins with the morning of July 17, 2014a rare day off from work, one she had hoped to enjoy with rest and family, that quickly turned her world inside out. What follows is a personal account of the suffering Emerald and her family endured: unsympathetic camera lenses, the stares and whispers of strangers, and the inability to mourn in private.

In addition to these vulnerable, personal essays, Finding My Voiceincludes conversations in which Emerald found inspiration, empathy, and community: with politicians, athletes, and activists like Brian Benjamin and Etan Thomas; with others surviving similarly unfathomable grief like Lora Dene King, Angelique Kearse, and Pamela Brooks; and with Emeralds own family, Mrs. Esaw Garner and Eric Garner Jr. The book ends with a powerful call-to-action by author and daughter of Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz.

As calls for radical transformation and accountability grow, Emerald Garners memoir is a story of family and community, and the strength it takes to survive, to stand, to speak.

Author Bio

Emerald Snipes-Garner is the youngest daughter of six children, and is currently the Executive Director of her non-profit We Can't Breathe Inc, which is named after her late father Eric Garner and her sister Erica Garner. Emerald is the youngest daughter of Esaw Snipes Garner and Eric Garner, who was murdered at the hands of a now former police officer Daniel Pantaleo in 2014 after putting him in the now illegal choke hold. She has become the leading voice in the fight for justice for her father and has vowed to never stop fighting laws and policies that help police officers get away with murder. Emerald is echoing the warrior in her, which is in memory of her sister the late Erica Garner who died from a massive heart attack as a result of her broken heart fighting for justice for her father on Dec 30, 2017. Emerald is a mother to a beautiful princess Kaylee (10 years old) and also the mother /aunt to her late sister Erica Garner two children Eric III EJ (4 year old) and Alyssa (12 years old). Emerald encourages everyone to use their voice as a form of expression, but in a peaceful way.