Sandra Bland, African American women update

This video says about itself:

Candlelight Vigil For Sandra Bland in Austin Texas

On July 23, 2015 Austin residents held a candlelight vigil for Sandra Bland that started at the historic Victory Grill and ended at the state capital. Sandra was found dead in a Waller County, Texas jail cell of an alleged suicide. However, her family, friends, and most of the public have questions surrounding her death which has caught the attention of the world. Sandra was a vocal activist who spoke out against social injustices and police brutality.

From Amsterdam News, in New York City in the USA:

Dear Attorney General Loretta Lynch,

8/13/2015, 10:24 a.m

For centuries, Black women in America have been raped, beaten, jailed and killed, with minimal or no federal response. The very recent escalation of the murderous history has caused Black women nationwide to demand a response from you.

I need not recount the past number or the horrific experiences, the degradation of “domestic workers,” used by white men in any way they saw fit, or the “angry Black Sapphire,” who would be put in her place, including those Black women whose station in American had risen above the masses of Black women subjected to the vicious brutality of the systemic racism of America.

Surely your office, nay your leadership, must first acknowledge, investigate and immediately bring to bear the weight of the U.S. attorney general’s office to put a stop to these outrages.

Bring justice for the July 2015 deaths in police custody of Sandra Bland, 28, in Waller, Texas, found hanging in a jail cell after a minor traffic violation; Kindra Chapman, 18, found hanging in a cell in Homewood, Ala., after allegedly stealing someone’s cell phone; Raynetta Turner, 44, arrested for theft in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., found dead in her cell after being returned to police custody from a hospital medical examination; Joyce Curnell, 50, found dead in her cell in Charleston, S.C., after an arrest for shoplifting; Ralkina Jones, 37, found dead in her cell of “unknown” medical issues in Cleveland after an arrest for domestic violence, and for the public police strip-search rape of Charnesia Corley, 21, in Harris County, Texas.

Police terrorism against Black women is escalating nationwide. We regard you, because of your position as attorney general but indeed because you are a Black woman, as someone who can attest to these realities.

Sincerely,

Viola Plummer, chair, December 12th Movement

The 5 Black Women Found Dead In Police Custody In 2 Weeks Highlight An Often Silenced Narrative: here.

Can You See Me Now: Raynette Turner, Sandra Bland and the Invisibility of Black Women: here.

Who Is Charnesia Corley? Texas Woman To Sue Police Over Vagina Search In Public After Traffic Stop: here.

As protests continue highlighting the widespread scourge of police brutality and anti-black racism in the U.S., the Department of Justice quietly released a survey on national use-of-force statistics that reveal a twofold dilemma: law enforcement agencies are ineffective at collecting such data—and the lack of such information, in turn, may hamper federal efforts at reforming the police: here.