Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice who killed by police in 2014 has recently raised the issue of activists in the movement to end the deadly police violence against Black people in America. Following the Facebook posts last week by Rice branding Until Freedom’s Tamika Mallory a “clout chaser” for an impassioned speech for justice she gave at the Grammy Awards. Rice issued a statement calling on Mallory and several other prominent activists including Shaun King, Melina Abdullah and Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors to refrain from using her son’s name in any of their public activities.

On a podcast over the weekend with rapper/activist Mysonne, Mallory clarified that she has never publicly used the name of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who was shot dead by a Cleveland police officer in 2014, to uplift a cause.

“Other than potentially calling the roll of all of the people that we can think about at any particular time that have been killed by the state, I have been very very careful—have always been careful—not to speak about cases or individuals that I have not worked directly with the families,” Mallory said.

“We’ve never actually met or sat down, had a phone conversation, or met in any way,” Samaria said. “I would never be so disrespectful as to speak about her child or to have a campaign that addresses her child or uses her child’s name to uplift any cause.”

“While I have not been doing it in the past, I will be very, very careful going forward to ensure that I respect her wishes,” Mallory added. Rice herself has acknowledged that she’s never spoke to Mallory. The activist says she has recently reached out to people who know Rice to open up a line of conversation.

“Nothing we say today is an attack against Ms. Rice,” Mallory added. “Quite frankly, Ms. Rice is right. I support 100 percent how she feels and what she has stated in terms of her pain related to her son. I feel like we all have failed her as a nation.”

Mallory say she was “absolutely hurt” by Rice’s comments targeting her, but added that she understands the woman’s anger.

“The one thing that I try my best not to do is get caught up in the divisiveness that I know can happen in this movement,” Mallory said. “I will never ever use my organization, my team, Until Freedom or myself to be used as a tool in the master’s box.”

Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor has worked closely with Mallory in keeping the 26-year-old’s name in the nation’s consciousness while calling for justice since her tragic killing by police.

“The family of Breonna Taylor fully supports and stands with Tamika D. Mallory and Until Freedom, just as they have with us,” Palmer said in an Instagram post.

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