Black women played a critical role in securing Griner’s release, advocates say.
And it seems their hard work paid off last week when Griner was released from Russian custody“I was moved to tears,” LaTosha Brown, of the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium, said of the moment she learned of Griner’s release. “I felt relieved; I felt hopeful. I always felt we would bring her home, I just didn’t know when. I believe Black women were instrumental in multiple ways.”
Russian authorities arrested Griner, who also played pro basketball in the country, at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February. She was accused of carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. The U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained,” which Russia has denied. Brown said she sprang into action when she learned of Griner’s detainment not only because she regularly advocates for Black women, but also because many people in her life knew Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner. Brown connected with other advocates and groups to take action that would last long after Griner’s news left the headlines. “Many of us felt like if it didn’t get media attention, her case would just fade away. She could possibly live her life to rot in jail,” Brown said.
President Joe Biden announced Griner’s release Thursday. The administration agreed to release notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner. Bout had been serving a 25-year sentence on charges of conspiring to sell millions of dollars' worth of weapons that U.S. officials believed were intended to be used against Americans., a businessman and former Marine imprisoned in Russia on suspicion of spying. The Biden administration said the U.S.
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