Emerald Garner wrote this memoir to honor her father, Eric Garner, as she feels that many people forget about the family and how it feels to grieve after experiencing trauma. She has been leading the voice for change ever since the wake of her father’s death. Her powerful and vulnerable essays call for both the transformation of the justice system and police force, as well as accountability for those in power.

One of her achievements includes getting the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act approved. On June 8, 2020, both houses of the New York State Assembly passed this act. It criminalizes the use of chokeholds, or aggravated strangulation, of any kind by police officers in the state of New York. The act “would occur when a police officer or peace officer obstructs breathing or blood circulation by using a chokehold or similar restraint, thereby causing physical injury or death to another person." This would be a class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Finding My Voice

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