OLYMPIA –– A large crowd came out to downtown Olympia last week to celebrate the life of Yvonne McDonald, a local Black woman who died under mysterious circumstances in Aug. 2018.
McDonald was honored by her family, friends and other members of the community in a poetry- and music-fueled celebration of her life that organizers called a “Her Life Mattered” birthday party outside Olympia City Hall. She was remembered as a woman who spoke up for the rights of others, who had compassion and poise, and who possessed a beautiful smile, according to those who spoke about her on June 23.
While McDonald passed away almost two years ago, her family is still waiting on information from police, including a toxicology report. One member of McDonald’s family said at the event that local authorities are unresponsive to the family’s requests for information.
In the absence of answers, McDonald’s family, friends and members of the community celebrated her life with music, poetry, cupcakes, a birthday cake, pizza and chalk art, all the while also celebrating the community coming together to support Black lives. Local musician and artist Mercy Kariuki-McGee spoke not only about McDonald’s life, but about a moment in time in which decades- and centuries-old violence against people of color is coming to a head nationwide and here in the Olympia community.
“Today we celebrate her life, and it’s bad we have to celebrate her life this way,” said Kariuki-McGee. “No one wants to celebrate somebody’s birthday this way. But this is where we are tonight, and we are gathered here because we know what’s happening in our country. We’ve been seeing it coming for a long time.”
Family friend and local poet Lennée Reid, who is close enough to the McDonald family to have had Thanksgiving dinner with them, performed three original poems, “For Pops,” “Black Widow” and “One .” She also spoke about the importance of fighting for change.
“We all need to step forward all the time and make changes,” Reid said. “Please continue to vote and make changes.”
McDonald, 56, was found partially dressed laying on the front lawn of a residence on Division Street in Olympia on Aug. 7, 2018. A street sweeper for the city found her and called the police, who responded and found her alive, but non-responsive. The police report details injuries that included a scalp hemorrhage, a bruise on her left cheek, a bruise on her abdomen, bruises and scratches on her legs and a cut on her chin. She died in the hospital that night.
The police report said her cause of death was likely from a laceration in her gallbladder that could have been caused by blunt force trauma. However, McDonald’s family don’t believe official reports.
“Instead of following the leads and pursuing justice for Yvonne, the Olympia Police Department and coroner’s office have pushed narratives that blame Yvonne for her own death,” said McDonald’s niece, Tana Martin, during the event. “Yvonne’s family have been waiting six months to find out what happened. Actually, we know what happened. We’re trying to make [city officials] acknowledge what happened.”
The day of McDonald’s death, she was found with a half-empty bottle of vodka in her purse, and family members told police she struggled with alcohol use. However, Martin added during her address at the birthday party that her aunt’s struggle with substance abuse didn’t justify the violence against McDonald.
“City of Olympia officials have repeatedly said they are waiting on the tox screen results of Yvonne’s body, as if finding chemicals in her body justifies the violence she did not survive,” Martin said.
Despite the tragic circumstances that brought the community together June 23, those who spoke about McDonald spoke warmly of her and encouraged gatherers to celebrate McDonald’s life together.
“I know if she was here today, she would want us to sing, have cake and celebrate,” Kariuki-McGee said. “We are not going to cry today, but we’re going to stand for justice. That’s our cry.”
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