Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of community members filled the streets of North Minneapolis, September 20, to remember Mariah Samuels with a march led by her loved ones from the home where she was shot and killed on September 14 to the Minneapolis Fourth Precinct police station.

As the crowd gathered on Russell Avenue, a family member on a bullhorn said, “We are going to march in the name of Mariah Samuels. Her life mattered, the way she was taken away from us was not necessary, and nobody in this world deserves to leave this world like that. So today we are going to speak her name loudly because everybody should be protected when they are asking for help.”

Samuels was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend, David Wright, less than a month after she had won a restraining order against him for a violent assault where he pistol-whipped her, grabbed her throat and threatened to shoot her and others. Police were called to the scene but never filed charges with the county attorney. At the time of the assault, Wright was on supervised release for illegal gun possession, but he was not detained for the parole violation after attacking Mariah in August.

Several speakers criticized the Minneapolis Police Department for failing to protect Samuels. One said, “This police department needs to stop failing all Black and brown women. When they call the police, they need to listen. If this had been someone else, they would have listened. They would have provided protection!”

Family friend Jami Dixon said to the crowd: “I have to call out a system that failed Mariah and failed too many women. Her death is not just a tragedy. It is proof that something must change right now!”

Herself a survivor of domestic violence, Dixon explained, “From 2014 to 2016, MPD received 43,000 [domestic violence] calls, but only 20% led to a police report or an arrest. Four out of five survivors who picked up the phone called for help never saw follow-through. That’s 80% who were brave enough to call for help. We can honor her by refusing to let the system off the hook because we know this is not just about Mariah, it’s about every woman, every mother, every daughter, every friend who is still out there begging to be helped before it’s too late.”

Donations to support Samuel’s sons Elijah and Peace can be sent to her father’s Cash App at $BIGBILL1016.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #InJusticeSystem #WomensMovement #DomesticViolence

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