On Monday morning, the name of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau became a top trending topic as thousands mourned the loss of her life.
“Toyin” was a Black Lives Matter activist and was reportedly found dead in Florida over the weekend. Salau, 19, was last seen in Tallahassee on June 6. This was before unconfirmed social media reports of her death emerged more than a week later.
The Tallahassee Police Department announced Sunday that it was investigating a double homicide; also that it had made an arrest in the case.
However, the identities of the victims or the suspect were not immediately revealed.
People on Twitter quickly pointed to the Facebook post as verification of Salau’s death. However, it was still unclear who the other victim might be.
Salau tweeted before her disappearance that she had been sexually assaulted on June 6.
The activist’s death comes during a time when the murder of people of color have sparked global protests against racism and police violence.
No End In Sight
A man identified as Robert Fuller was found on Wednesday hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall in California. The 20-year-old had a rope around his neck and was being reported as a suicide.
Two trans women of color were found dead in separate instances. Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells was the first woman found dead when her dismembered body was discovered alongside the Schuylkill River in the Bartman’s Garden area of Philadelphia on June 8.
The second trans woman to be killed was Riah Milton. Investigators say she was shot several times during an attempted robbery in Liberty Township, Ohio, on Tuesday.
Those deaths came on the heels of the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta and George Floyd in Minneapolis. Both were killed by local law enforcement.
With Breonna Taylor’s death by police in Louisville still with no charges filed against her killers and other suspect deaths of women of color, the pandemic of racism is still burning hot.
Rest in power to Toyin, an activist on the front lines of a global movement.
