My Name IS Anjanette Young Cover Story

February 21, 2019, changed Anjanette Young’s life forever. Like most hardworking people, Anjanette Young had just returned home from her job as a social worker. Tired and ready to decompress for the evening, Young looked forward to her weekly Thursday “selfcare” night when she would enjoy one of her favorite TV shows, “Grey’s Anatomy,” and just relax. As she proceeded to undress and prepare to get comfortable, Chicago Police officers struck the front door of her West Loop home with a battering ram until the door gave way. Not having enough time to get dressed, a naked and terrified Young stood with her hands up in her living room while male officers entered her home shouting with their guns drawn.

The officers handcuffed her while naked as she repeatedly pleaded with officers through tears as she told them that they were in the wrong house. She begged them to let her know what was going on, who they were looking for and to see the search warrant.

On the bodycam footage, she is heard saying, “My name is Anjanette Young. What is going on? You have the wrong house. I live alone. Nobody else lives here. Can I please call somebody? I don’t want to go through this alone. What are you looking for? I’m standing here naked. You won’t let me call someone; you won’t let me put any clothes on . . . You have the wrong information. I live here alone.”

This continued for more than ten minutes until a female officer arrived and took Young to a bedroom to get dressed. They handcuffed her again and then questioned her identity and asked if she had guns in the house. A confused Young continued to shout her plea telling the officers that they were in the wrong house. Moments passed and officers and the sergeant on duty stepped outside. Without explanation, their body cameras mysteriously were turned off. When they returned, the officers removed the handcuffs, apologized for the damage, and attempted to fix her front door. They did not apologize for her degradation. They eventually wedged a side table and ironing board behind the damaged door and left. Dehumanized, humiliated, and traumatized, Anjanette Young was left to pick up the pieces of a night that altered her life forever.

Young was right. She was innocent and the police had the wrong house. A CBS 2 Chicago investigation found that Chicago police failed to do the basic due diligence to confirm the address on the search warrant. Going off a tip from a confidential informant, the police were looking for a 23-year-old male felon. The suspect lived near Anjanette Young and could have easily been tracked as he was wearing an electronic monitoring device. What do you do when you have been violated, dehumanized, and traumatized by those who swore to “serve and protect?” Anjanette Young chose to fight back and in the process, she is healing, redirecting her energy to a greater purpose. This is her story…

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Anjanette Young says it was not only that the police raided the wrong house, but the way that she was treated by them that is seared in her memory forever. “I wasn’t angry that they got it wrong. That’s a systemic issue. I was angry about how they mistreated me. However, once they crossed my door, the manner in which, they victimized me was dehumanizing. I felt invisible.”

Young describes a chaotic scene occupied by “police holding big guns” in her home while lights shined on her naked body exposing her in the most literal sense. Young says it was excruciating, the police in the room, particularly the sergeant in charge, “looked through her,” even as she pleaded for her basic rights. “They never engaged with me. The held a piece of paper in his hand, which he described as a search warrant. I asked to see it and he told me, “I’ll give it to you later.” I was standing naked in a room full of cops with guns and he told me that I needed to shut up and calm down.” She described him as insensitive, “ I’ll never forget how dismissive he was towards me.”

On November 12, 2019, the world learned what happened to Anjanette Young. The resolve to go public with her story was not an easy one since the world would witness her at her most vulnerable. Young says it was anger that initially motivated her to act. “The anger, I felt would not allow me to let them get away with their ill-treatment of me. I wanted to tell my story…my way, and expose them to the world.”

Overnight, Young’s wonderful quiet life was thrust into the national spotlight. Overwhelmed by the intense media attention, Young says it took time to find her voice. “The week the video was released, my attorney and I did 15 to 20 interviews. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to us. Because of the pandemic, many of them were via Zoom, which made it a little easier. The press conference held in front of police headquarters was my first time speaking publicly about the incident in front of a crowd. I was nervous and anxious.”

She says it wasn’t until January 2021 while speaking at an MLK rally held near her church that she found her voice and understood her new purpose. “I remember standing there in front of a crowd of people who were there because they cared and wanted to show me love and support. That’s when I found my voice and from that moment on, I told myself, I’m ready to do this”.

When the story broke, outrage spread across the city and nation like wildfire. Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a press conference calling the incident a “colossal failure.” Holding back tears, Lightfoot said, “I have an obligation to make that wrong, right. It’s been painful and upsetting.” Initially Lightfoot said she learned of the incident around the time the story was published, but later admitted she knew about the incident prior to that moment. She signed an executive order making changes to the search warrant, and police and ordered a review of how the incident was handled. She said she wanted to apologize and meet with Young personally. Young thought the mayor that she voted for would collaborate with her to obtain justice and accountability for the officers involved but that was not the case. She met with Lightfoot in December 2020 to accept her apology. Later Young accused the Mayor of break- ing her promise in June 2021 when the city rejected Young’s settlement offer. Eventually, Young was awarded a $2.9 million settlement from the city. She insists it was never about the money, that it was always about justice and police reform. Young recalls that her experience dealing with Mayor Lightfoot and the city made her feel invisible all over again.

“The settlement doesn’t make me feel safe at night. This could happen again to me or to anyone. The settlement doesn’t take away the PTSD, trauma, and depression I’ll carry for the rest of my life. There is no amount of money that will take that away. If they hadn’t given me a dime, but punished those officers and made policy changes, I’d accept that. To me, justice is about accountability and making changes within the system.” The policy change was to benefit and protect others from future potential victimization by police officers. Young insists Lightfoot refused her requests to meet and discuss the ordinance. “The mayor did what she wanted to do. We drafted the ordinance and even if she didn’t agree with every bullet point, why couldn’t we come to the table and discuss it? We could have drafted something that worked for everyone to get it passed,” Young said. Instead, two months after Young’s story went public, members of Chicago’s city council introduced an ordinance pushing for search warrant reforms and police accountability. The “Anjanette Young Ordinance,” was not supported by the Mayor and failed to pass in the city council.

“The Mayor was in a position to make a real difference. She was in a unique space to do something great with a bad experience. I don’t have anything bad to say about her other than she didn’t utilize the people around her and she was not open to working with others,” says Young.

Young stated further that the irony is that a Black woman made her feel as invisible as the male officers who raided her home and attacked her humanity.

The mayor often responded to Anjanette Young’s criticism callously at times refusing to say her name and referring to her as “that woman.”

Anjanette Young was ready to fight for justice, police reform, and accountability but most importantly Young was fighting for her own healing. As a social worker for over 20 years, Young knew the benefits of therapy and was connected with a therapist before the incident because of the work she does daily. Understandably, the incident left Young harmed by an incredible amount of trauma. Young said, “When the incident initially happened, it was hard for me to function on a daily basis. Paralyzed by the depression, there were days when “I couldn’t get out of bed because the despair was so heavy. It literally felt like a weight was on my entire body.”

Young says her faith, love, and support from her church and therapy were an intricate part of her healing journey. “If not for them, I don’t believe I would be standing as strong as I am,” Young says she contacted her therapist the day after the incident to begin the work of understanding the trauma she’d experienced. Utilizing faith and therapy allowed her to approach her healing from multiple vantage points.

Young testifies all the time that Jesus +Therapy=Healing because it was both that helped her to push through. She says her pastor counseled her to forgive what happened to her otherwise, she would be stuck in her trauma, and her therapist helped her come to a place of acceptance.

Anjanette Young says her experience drives her to fight and advocate for police reform. However, she says there’s a difference between “Law and Order” and “To Serve and Protect.” According to Young, Chicago needs both. “Chicago has a crime issue. That’s not lost on me. We need law and order, but we also need officers committed to serving and protecting the community while doing the job law and order requires so. She remains hopeful that the “ Anjanette Young Ordinance” will pass but is prepared to take it to the State level if it doesn’t.

She explains that she is using her voice to amplify intolerance for the inhumane treatment of citizens and to empower those like herself who have been victimized. Two years after the raid on her home, Anjanette Young founded the “I AM HER” foundation. Young says her foundation was inspired, “When I saw Breonna Taylor’s story. I saw myself in her and understood what she experienced. Initially, it was just a slogan that I put on a shirt but the more I spoke it out loud and revisited my experience I embraced my truth and now I own my story. I choose to do more.”

Young continued, “I’ve been and will always be an advocate and activist for policy changes. Prior to the incident, I was a social worker advocating for women for over 20 years. I am more than what happened to me with the city and the police.”

The “I AM HER” foundation addresses mental health, wellness, and self-care for Black women. Young says Black Women and girls endure so much trauma and rarely take time to heal. The Foundation’s mission is to provide Black women and girls a space where they are seen, heard, and helped. “I understand that “I AM HER” when I look at my sister. I don’t have to be a victim of what’s happened to me. I can speak my truth.” Young expresses that she will continue raising money through her foundation to send aspiring youth who want to become social workers and mental health counselors and to partner with organizations to provide free therapy for women who don’t have access.”

Young’s journey has taken her a long way from that day in 2019. Part of the trauma makes it difficult to sleep peacefully or find sanctuary in her own home even though she has moved from where the crime happened. She no longer enjoys a Thursday night self-care routine and the sound of fireworks is triggering.

But Young declares, “I’m speaking my truth and telling my story from a place of strength and power instead of feeling like a victim. Young is working on her upcoming book and more importantly, Anjanette Young is living a purposeful driven life on purpose.