This article contains details about sexual assault.
A harrowing hashtag dominated Twitter on the morning of June 15: #JusticeForToyin, created in honor of Oluwatoyin Salau, a 19-year-old Black activist who went missing in Tallahassee, Florida, over a week ago.
Prior to her disappearance, Salau spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest organized in response to the death of George Floyd. She was last seen on June 6, the same day she wrote a detailed Twitter thread alleging that a man had sexually assaulted her that morning.
“Anyways I was molested in Tallahassee, Florida by a Black man this morning at 5:30 on Richview and Park Ave,” she wrote. “The man offered to give me a ride to find someplace to sleep and recollect my belongings from a church I refuged to a couple days back to escape unjust living conditions.”
@virgingrltoyin/Twitter
@virgingrltoyin/Twitter
Salau’s disappearance has sparked a deluge of both sympathy and outrage on social media. Many people have criticized the police for not investigating aggressively enough, especially considering the graphic sexual assault details Salau shared on Twitter.
On June 9, the Tallahassee Police Department posted a flyer classifying Salau as a “missing adult.”
“The Tallahassee Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is seeking information on the location of Oluwatoyin ‘Toyin’ Salau. Salau was last seen on 6/06/2020 in the area of Orange Avenue and Wahnish Way in Tallahassee,” the flyer reads. “She may be in the area of Jakes and Patterson Street. There is no known clothing description for Salau at this time.”
On June 11, Twitter user @laurecapri retweeted photos of Salau and claimed she was helping her mom look for her. She urged anybody with information to contact her.
On Sunday night, @laurecapri quoted her original tweet with an update: “I’m sorry to inform everyone about this but Toyin is no longer with us.”
@laurecapri/Twitter
No credible news outlets have yet confirmed Salau’s death, and the Tallahassee Police Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment or confirmation of her death. However, #JusticeForToyin and “RIP Queen” went viral on Twitter, with hundreds of thousands of people memorializing the young activist and demanding the world pay the same attention to the death of Black women as they do Black men.
@rosegoldmaia/Twitter
The Tallahassee Community Action Committee organized search parties last week to look for Salau. A relief fund created by Salau’s friends has raised more than $10,000 on GoFundMe.
Yesterday, GoFundMe organizer Gabrielle Amanda shared an update.
“All donations will now go to the family for expenses and assistance they need in the grieving process, via Toyin’s brother as the beneficiary of this fund. Updates will be posted tomorrow. Thank you all for your support.”
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*First Published: Jun 15, 2020, 8:36 am
Bryan Rolli
Bryan Rolli is a reporter who specializes in streaming entertainment. He writes about music and film for Forbes, Billboard, and the Austin American-Statesman. He met Flavor Flav in two separate Las Vegas bowling alleys and still can’t stop talking about it.
Source : https://www.dailydot.com/irl/oluwatoyin-salau-death-justice-for-toyin/