20. India Kager: A Mother's Story of Loss & Erasure

Intersectionality Matters!

English - June 16, 2020 21:03 - 45 minutes - ★★★★★ - 739 ratings
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Previous Episode: 19. Under the Blacklight: The Fire This Time

Next Episode: 21. Under the Blacklight: Telling Stories of State Violence & Public Silence

On September 5, 2015, India Kager and Angelo Perry drove to Virginia Beach to introduce their 4-month-old baby Roman, to Angelo’s family. Unbeknownst to them, Virginia Beach police were tailing their car and while India, Angelo, and Roman were parked at 7/11, a SWAT team threw a flash bang grenade and opened fire on their car. 4 officers fired over 51 rifle rounds into India’s car, while baby Roman sat in the back seat, killing Angelo and India within seconds. Virginia Beach police Chief Jim Cervera would later say India’s killing was an accident.

In this episode of Intersectionality Matters!host Kimberlé Crenshaw speaks with India Kager’s mother, Gina Best, about her memories of India, a “beautiful, soft-spoken poet.” She describes the anguish of never hearing from the police except to receive a bill for the destruction of the car her daughter was murdered in. While she waited for a call that would never come, officers pulled her daughter’s body out of the car and left it on the cold ground overnight. As India’s family desperately sought out information on his whereabouts, police handed India’s baby, Roman, over to foster parents.

Learn More About & Support the #SayHerName Movement: aapf.org/supportshn

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw 
Produced by Julia Sharpe-Levine 
Edited by Julia Sharpe-Levine and Rebecca Scheckman  
Additional support provided by the African American Policy Forum: Shermena M. Nelson, Emmett O’Malley, Michael Kramer, Awoye Timpo, Gregory Bernstein, Alanna Kane,  Vineeta Singh 
Music by Blue Dot Sessions  
Graphics by Julia Sharpe-Levine 