‘Say their names.’ Baby-name website creates tribute to black lives lost
The names of George Floyd and dozens of other black people who lost their lives form a new online tribute.
The list, which has names of those who died after encounters with police or civilians, was at the top of the homepage of BabyNames.com as of Wednesday morning.
“Each one of these names was somebody’s baby,” the website for new and expectant parents said.
For some, the gesture was an unexpected move for a company that bills itself as a database for parents-to-be.
“Did not have ‘baby names dot com gives me my first cry of the day’ on my bingo card, but (expletive),” one person wrote on Twitter.
BabyNames.com also joined the online conversation.
“Say their names. #BlackLivesMatter,” the website said Saturday in a tweet that included names of several people who had died, including Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Protesters have been gathering throughout the country since the May 25 death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. The officer has been charged with murder, and three other officers at the scene also face charges.
Taylor, a 26-year-old black medical assistant, was killed in her home by police in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13.
The deaths of Floyd and Taylor have sparked protests, with people across the country calling for justice and changes in police tactics.
Social media users chimed in about BabyNames.com, proposing additional names that are now on the website. The company on Tuesday shared a link to allow people to donate to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Website founder Jennifer Moss said she first felt compelled to make the list after seeing a similar one from NPR, according to HuffPost.
“We’re extremely humbled at the public response to the message we posted, and hope it helps to further the conversation about systemic racism in our culture,” Moss said Wednesday in an emailed statement to McClatchy News. “BabyNames.com is a family owned and operated company and are saddened that so many families have needlessly lost loved ones.”
“My goal was to make people understand that they aren’t just names,” Moss told HuffPost. “They are human beings and were loved.”
BabyNames.com joins other companies that have shown support for Black Lives Matter in recent days.
