By Miguel Louis
This is an interview with Talauna Reed, conducted on the night of the 18th of May, 2021.
ML: If you could start by introducing yourself.
TR: My name is Talauna Reed, I’m from Olympia. I am running for Olympia City Council Position 5. I am an organizer, and a community member at large, that responds to acts of racism, to acts of violence to people of color. A big push in my work is focused on holding institutions accountable for systemic racism.
ML: Can you talk to me about why you’re running for City Council?
TR: Well after two and a half years of going to city council meetings and essentially being stonewalled, ignored, not responded to by our elected officials, regarding the murder case of my aunt Yvonne McDonald, I feel like it’s time for folks to get into those positions who care about the people in community. It’s important right now, with the disparity of white folks and people of color in positions of power, to get into those positions and begin to give voices to those who haven’t had voices ever.
I’m also accepting an invitation from the Mayor herself, back in June of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, where she invited “people of the color” to come in and take their seats at the heads of the decision making tables. And as much as she should recount her statement calling us people of color, “people of the color,” she’s right.
People of color do need to be centered, and do need to be at the heads of the table. Not only that, but folks impacted by the system, the racism, the violence, within these systems that are oppressing folks need to be heard and they need to be part of the process. And that just hasn’t happened here in Olympia, and I’m ready to do that.
ML: So what got you started in your fight? You said two and a half years?
TR: On Aug 7th, 2018, I got a call that one of my relatives was on life support, my aunt Yvonne McDonald. That she was on life support at the hospital, and at the time we just knew that it was an emergency and we needed to find out what was going on. After going to the hospital we were met with a police detective that left [us] with no answers. The detective basically told us that she was found in the yard of an abandoned home and that she was partially clothed and she was left there, with no more information to give us. They told us they’d conduct a thorough investigation to discover what happened.
We were in shock. After leaving the hospital, it took days to get any response from the police. The days turned into months before we could get any police report. In fact it was 90 days before we received the police report and realized that things didn’t add up. There was no movement on their investigation. In fact, they were still at a standstill.
The first egregious act from the police was when they said they were going to wait for toxicology reports before they finalized her autopsy, insinuating that she was under the influence and that was the cause of her death.
Talauna goes on to detail her research into the events that happened the night of Yvonne’s death. She explains that after conducting public records requests, she found inconsistencies with the reports made by those at the scene, she felt that much more could have been done to prevent Yvonne’s death, and that a more thorough investigation would disprove the claims that she caused her own injuries. This account can be found on the website for Justice For Yvonne, justice4yvonne.com.
While I investigated the case I became very involved with organizing for the community at large. I do a lot of work for SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). I’m one of their core organizers. I have organized events to bring awareness about police brutality, also in solidarity with the Thompson-Chaplin family. Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin were shot by racist police officer Ryan Donald.
But anything to bring the community together, and make them aware of what really transpires. When you call your elected officials and they don’t return your calls, it’s not only disheartening, but you lose absolute faith in the system before you. You feel like your voice is never going to be heard.
There are 5 open seats, and while I don’t know a whole lot about all the candidates coming on board, I know enough. That aside, I do know that those in positions do not need to be there, do not need to keep seats, and do not need to be voted back in.
To me, this community, we are tired. It’s exhausting to rally, to protest, and to march. To continuously fight this fight and basically hit a brick wall everytime. It’s definitely time for a new set of eyes and ears to join the council. But also folks who will put people over property will value the lives of everybody. And most importantly, value the lives of black and indigenous people. It hasn’t happened.
As a black woman I’ve done a lot of organizing in this community. I’ve brought a lot of people together. I think that the Mayor asserting that people of color, and those most impacted by the violence happening, need to be at the table; it needs to happen. We shouldn’t take that invitation lightly.
Even after that comment to the public, I have never gotten a phone call, or a returned email. Not even a response at City Council meetings when I make public comment. It needs to happen.
ML: What does Justice for Yvonne mean for you?
TR: It means there is going to be a standard. For investigations, for accountability, a standard where people in positions of power are accountable and have to answer to the public. These are public servants, these aren’t private servants. All of them paid by every single one of us, to do a job.
Because I knew what happened to [my aunt], that’s probably what has gotten me through this.
ML: This 25th marks the one-year mark of George Floyd’s murder. I know you were heavily involved in the Movement for Black Lives last year. What’s your view of where we’re at now?
TR: In Olympia, Washington, I believe that the only progress we’ve made is that people have become more informed, because of the activism and the protests, on the fact that Black Lives have not mattered. But in terms of things getting better systemically, no.
None of that will change unless people in positions of power call it off, and start holding racist police accountable. Unless we have a prosecutor that is willing to indict police officers, or other wealthy individuals that act in a way that is racist and causes harm, even death, nothing will change.
The progress has been made with the people in terms of becoming informed. The amount of support I have for this campaign. Knowing that that is part of my history, and that’s part of who I am. I’m an activist first. That’s inspiring and gives me hope that we’ll be ready to go full force against this system.
But our elected officials have not changed, no.
ML: Anything you’d like to add?
TR: It’s been heavy on my heart to talk to folks about people of color, particularly black or indigenous people, running for office, or trying to penetrate the walls of the system. I want people to know that’s not something we’ve really not been able to do in Olympia.
It’s been prevented. We’ve been stopped at every attempt to enter these places. So it’s not going to be easy for us to get there. But the expectations that people have of us, they should be had, You should be qualified to be in these positions, and I am qualified.
I would ask that people hold those who look like them, or have more money, to the same standard of qualifications. Because the fact of the matter is, I have life experience and work experience. I have passion, and love for this community, and my actions prove it. That’s why I’m a great candidate for Olympia City Council.
