Vicki Daniel, a SAGES Fellow who studies death rituals, has written Black Deaths Matter, an article for The Conversation which traces the history of how African Americans have memorialised the victims of slavery, and others killed by racial violence, through to the present day.

“Commemoration is not an apolitical act. Remembering those lost to violence – whether that of slavery or of unchecked police power – is important. It can serve as a reminder for the need for political and legislative change, led by communities who have spent centuries asserting the value of both Black lives and Black deaths.”