We've Been Protesting

"Let me say as I've always said, and I will always continue to say, that riots are socially destructive and self-defeating. ... But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again." - The Other America, Martin Luther King Jr.

Sandra Bland (February 1987 – July 2015)

Sandra Bland, age 28, was pulled over for a minor traffic violation on July 10th 2015.

Sandra was initial pulled over by a Texas State Trooper for failure to signal a lane change.

In a series of events that were caught on dashcam, a bystander and on Sandra’s phone, the encounter between the State Trooper and Sandra escalated quickly. The State Trooper asked Sandra to put out her cigarette, to which she responded, “Why do I have to put out a cigarette when I’m in my own car?” He then asked her to step out of her car and told her she was under arrest. Sandra asked repeatedly why she needs to step out of her car and why she was under arrest? After being threatened with a taser, Sandra steps out of her vehicle.

After Sandra steps out of her vehicle, both the State Trooper and Sandra step out of frame but Sandra can be heard screaming and crying. In a video recorded by a bystander, Sandra is laying on the ground. Sandra says that she cannot hear and that the officer slammed her head into the ground. She tells the officer that she has epilepsy and the officer replies, “Good.” The officer then orders the bystander to leave the area.

Sandra was taken to jail and charged with “assaulting a public servant.” Three days after she was taken into custody, she was found dead hanging in her jail cell. Her death has been ruled a su***de.

“Now I know what my purpose is. My purpose is to go back to Texas. My purpose is to stop all social injustice in the South.” -