Brittney comes home. The Center for Policing Equity joins the family and friends of world-renowned athlete and social justice advocate Brittney Griner in celebrating her release from a Russian penal colony.
Arrested on February 17 upon arriving in Moscow, Griner was accused of attempted drug smuggling for entering the country with two vape pens containing cannabis oil. She was subsequently tried, sentenced to nine years imprisonment, and removed to one of Russia’s notoriously harsh penal colonies. Yesterday, the White House announced Griner is on her way home to her wife Cherelle Griner after 294 days in detention. This morning, Griner landed in Texas.
The ordeal Griner endured is a stark example of the over-policing, dehumanization, and weaponization of Black bodies that takes place not just in this country but on an international scale. CPE applauds the Biden Administration for displaying the tenacity, acumen, and wherewithal needed to navigate the complex geo-political theater that resulted in the unjust criminalization of an Olympic athlete.
We wish Griner, her wife, and all her loved ones the time and space for healing.