Emmys 2020: Two winners praised for silent but powerful statement about racial inequality

Two actors wore T-shirts honouring Breonna Taylor while accepting Emmy awards.

Regina King, who won Best Lead Actress in a limited series for her role in Watchmen, and Uzo Aduba, who won Best Supporting Actress in a limited series for Mrs America, both used their fashion choices to make a statement about Black Lives Matter.

King wore a T-shirt depicting Taylor's face and the phrase "say her name", while Aduba wore a T-shirt that simply read "Breonna Taylor".

Taylor's death is a focal point of the Black Lives Matter movement. The 26-year-old EMT nurse was shot multiple times by police in her own home in Louisville, Kentucky, on 13 March.

But the three police officers, who were carrying out a "no-knock" search warrant on her home, have not been charged with a crime and two have retained their jobs.

This is in spite of global calls for justice for Taylor. Recently, Oprah Winfrey featured Taylor on the front cover of her magazine, while Beyoncé has published an open letter to Kentucky's governor calling for justice.

King explained why she chose to highlight Taylor's case at the Emmys in the backstage press room. She reportedly said:

The cops still haven't been held accountable.

She represents just decades, hundreds of years of violence against Black bodies. Wearing Breonna's likeness and representing her and her family and the stories that we were exploring, presenting and holding a mirror up to on Watchmen, it felt appropriate to represent with Breonna Taylor. 

When asked about the shirts she and King had chosen to wear, Aduba said:

Regina is who she says she is, which is my favourite thing about her, because she is a do-er. I loved when I saw her shirt and standing in it with such strength and power that we all know that she has. She’s a born leader and it made me so happy to see her wear it and to know that we are saying her name.

People are praising their "powerful" tributes at the online event.

Since Taylor's death in March, her family has won a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the city that included several police reforms. The FBI has also opened an investigation, which is ongoing.

But the fight for justice for Breonna Taylor continues, and will continue on until the police officers involved in her death are held fully accountable.