Sandra Bland was, in her words, a beautiful queen “here to change history.” The 28-year-old grew up in West Chicago with a love of music, singing in the church choir and playing trombone in the school band. This earned Sandy (as her friends called her) a scholarship to Prairie View A&M, a HBCU in Texas famous for its pioneering drum line. There, she discovered that Texas, having no income tax, makes up for its lost revenues through aggressive fees on municipal violations, a practice that disproportionately affects Black and poor communities. She began documenting the challenges faced by Black Americans on Facebook as a project called #SandySpeaks. “Good morning, my beautiful kings and queens!” she would say.
Sandra Bland was arrested by police on July 10, 2015, over a failure to use her turn signal when she yielded the right of way. The cop, who had so rapidly accelerated behind her that she assumed was responding to an emergency, demanded Sandra exit her vehicle. She refused to do so, noting no reason had been given to arrest her as she filmed the encounter, but relented when the cop drew his Taser and threatened “I will light you up.” Unable to post bail, she was sent to jail; unable to pay the $15 fee, she was unable to make calls from the phone in her cell. Jailers refused her requests to use the free phone at the front desk, and after two days alone in her cell, she was crying uncontrollably. On the third day, she was found hanged in it. No felony charges against the cop or jail staff were ever filed.
Black lives matter.
