Sandra Bland

Last July, 28-year-old Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell after being arrested and taken into police custody for making an improper lane change. From the AP, “Bland was taken in handcuffs to the county jail in nearby Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston, and remained there… She was discovered dead three days later, hanging from a cell partition with a plastic garbage bag used as a ligature around her neck.”
A medical examiner claimed Sandra Bland committed suicide. Sandra’s family and scores of people around the world questioned the cause of her death, and conjectured that she was, in fact, murdered.
Her arrest and untimely death came amidst a slew of civil rights offenses committed by police and law enforcement officials against black suspects.
Yesterday, a grand jury ruled that the sheriff’s officials and jailers involved in the treatment of Sandra Bland did not commit a crime. Though the grand jury will return in January to discuss other possible indictments (particularly of the state trooper who arrested her), we look to celebrate the life and beauty of Sandra Bland.
As we endlessly ponder “What Happened to Sandra Bland?” we will keep her memory alive, and continue to #SayHerName.
*The mural above was created by Canadian Artists Allan André and Kalkidan Assefa with support from the BlakCollectiv. Mere hours after it was erected, it was defaced with the phrase #AllLivesMatter (a typical retort seeking to minimize the importance of activism in the black community when it comes to police violence). Thankfully the mural was soon restored to its original form. Read the story here.