Eric Garner’s daughter, Erica Garner, passed away at age 27 after suffering a heart attack.
Erica Garner died this morning, Saturday, Dec. 30 at Woodhull hospital in Brooklyn, New York. Garner died nearly one week after suffering a massive heart attack on Christmas Eve. The cardiac arrest led to severe brain damage. News reports conflicted between the family of whether Garner was brain dead beyond repair or suffered brain damage with hopes of recovery. All the same, the family was praying for miracles and asked the public to do the same. Garner’s official Twitter page had been keeping the public updated on the young activist’s condition throughout the entire ordeal.
The latest tweet reflects how many feel about losing someone so young who dedicated the last few years of their life to fighting against injuctice, police brutality and the grueling monster that is white supremacy.
“We didn’t deserve her.”
She passed away this morning. The reports are real. We didn't deserve her.
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) December 30, 2017
There was also a call to remember Garner as a “human: a mother, daughter, sister, aunt. Her heart was bigger than the world. It really really was.”
When you report this you remember she was human: mother, daughter, sister, aunt. Her heart was bigger than the world. It really really was. She cared when most people wouldn't have. She was good. She only pursued right, no matter what. No one gave her justice.
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) December 30, 2017
The 27-year-old mother of two, her 2nd was born in August, was thrusted onto the mainstage after her father Eric Garner was killed following an illegal chokehold by the NYPD in 2014. Garner has relentlessly pursued justice not just for her father but for many other victims of police brutality. But the work was stressful and Garner admitted it herself. During an interview with the web show Like it or Not earlier this month, Garner noted, “I’m struggling right now from the stress of everything, because the system, it beats you down.”
Despite the stress, Garner was willing to continue the fight. She noted, in the same interview, that Kalief Browder’s mother died of a broken heart. The Bronx teen was wrongly imprisoned in Rikers Island for three years but killed himself after being released. His mother, Venida Browder, suffered a heart attack 16 months after his death.
“She died of a broken heart, she had a broken heart because she kept on fighting for her son,” Garner said. “But I’m not giving up, and this is the fight. I’m in this fight forever.”
Rest in power, Erica Garner. Atlanta Black Star will be doing a more extensive piece to shine a light on the extensive work Garner has done and her legacy as an activist.
