Justice for Sandra Bland

Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Black Lives Matter activist, died in police custody in Texas this past July after being stopped for a trivial traffic violation. Police claimed her death was a suicide, but her family insists she was not suicidal. A vigil was held in her honor in Portland on the evening of December 26, four days after a Grand Jury in Texas decided not to hold the police or anyone else responsible for her death (background is here and a very thorough feature story is here). 

I believe we serve the perpetrators of her death if we simply move on and say nothing. Bland’s sister has written an open letter to US Attorney Loretta Lynch to request a federal investigation of Bland’s death. That letter is here. Anyone can support that request by simply sending a one-line email. To do that, click on this link, select “Messages to the Attorney General” and then type or paste in the following sentence: “I support the family of Sandra Bland in requesting a federal investigation of Bland’s death in police custody in Waller, Texas.” It can’t hurt. It might help. Requests from people outside the USA are welcome. 

Jo Ann Hardesty (see Extra) led the vigil organized by local peacekeeper Tom Hastings, and those of us who attended the vigil are unwilling to be silent as yet another murder of an unarmed person of color is ignored. I sent my email to the US Attorney General. I hope many more will do that, and I hope we will find other ways to demand an end to racist policing.