A collective of nearly 1,200 intergenerational, intersectional Black women leaders across the United States is calling on the Biden administration to ramp up efforts to free WNBA superstar Brittney Griner from detainment in Russia. In a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the #WinWithBlackWomen collective urged the administration to “make a deal to get Brittney back home swiftly and safely and to meet with Brittney’s wife Cherelle immediately.”
“While it should not matter because she is an American citizen who is wrongfully detained on foreign soil, Brittney Griner cast her first ever vote in 2020,” reads the letter, signed by a litany of Black women leaders in business, sports, the faith community, labor, media, civil rights, education, government, tech, and entertainment.
“She voted for you and Vice President Kamala Harris. More than prioritizing her immediate return in word — you must do so in deed and make a deal to bring Brittney home.”
Click here to read The Washington Post story on their letter. A full version of the letter is attached and linked here.
Among the signatories are Coach Dawn Staley, Dr. Bernice King, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Donna Brazile, Sunny Hostin, Jotaka Eaddy, Anika Noni Rose, Ledisi, Angela Rye, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Tamika D. Mallory, Karen Finney, LaTosha Brown, Bishop Leah Daughtry, and several university coaches, multiple WNBA players, including Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA Players Association Executive Director Terri Jackson, prominent business leaders, state and local elected leaders and NAACP New York State Chapter President Dr. Hazel N. Dukes.
Their letter comes as the 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury center recently made a personal plea for freedom to President Biden in a handwritten note. Griner expressed fear that she would never return to the U.S. after being arrested on highly politicized drug charges at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17.
“Much like in previous moments of great concern throughout our nation’s history, as Black women we are compelled to once again step up and leverage our influence and collective power to stand united…
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