This chapter explores the assassination of crusading city councilwoman Marielle Franco in 2018, the mobilization of her supporters in the wake of that assassination, and the election of several Black women legislators in the ensuing years. The chapter traces Franco’s trajectory as the daughter of Black and Northeastern residents of the Maré favela complex, her path through growing educational opportunities in the early 2000s, her political emergence in connection with politician Marcelo Freixo and the PSOL party. It also explores the reactionary militias apparently responsible for her death, and their connection to police corruption and territorial violence, particularly on Rio’s west side.