For the past three months, it appears to have been open season on black men and women. Last month at a pool party in Texas, police were called after a woman picked a fight with the event organizer; Tatyana Rhoades. As a result, an innocent 15 year old girl was thrown to the ground and wrestled by an overly aggressive police officer. Adrian Martin, 18 year old black man who was trying to calm down the girl was arrested for interfering. This month, Sandra Bland was pulled over for not using a traffic signal when she decided to switch lanes. Once the State Trooper spoke to Bland, he claims she became argumentative as well as uncooperative. A video surfaced of the incident showing an officer asking Bland to put out a cigarette. When she refused to put it out, he threatened to "light her up" with his Taser. Sandra was then asked to get out of her vehicle. Law enforcement officials also state Sandra kicked the trooper before she was arrested, but another video shows a woman who most likely was Sandra as her lawyer suggests, being manhandled, having her head banged against the ground and has her body pinned down by the police officer using his knee to hold her in place, injuring her arm, causing damage to her back. Sandra was then arrested.
After being held in custody officers claim Sandra hanged herself in the cell by using a trash bag, noting how she spoke of depression and PTSD. They even go so far to attack her character by bringing up irrelevant information pertaining to her past usage of marijuana and an unfortunate event where she had a miscarriage in an attempt to discredit her as some no good, ghetto trash with a possible edge towards being suicidal. Some law enforcement officials along with the media is commonly known for portraying people of color in a negative, stereotypical manner, often missing the facts of several individuals until it is either presented or discovered that officials weren't being completely honest. In truth, Bland was actually a college graduate who attended Prairie View A&M University in Texas; she was returning as a student ambassador, she was not some average uneducated hood rat.
In the case of Sandra Bland, the facts clearly show it's not possible for her to have killed herself the way it was reported, nor is there any evidence to support their claims, but sadly there are still some people in the black community as well as some white people who fail to acknowledge her death as a murder, believing she truly committed suicide. Others who have heard her exchange words with the trooper from viewing the video openly express disdain for how Mrs. Bland handled herself, arguing she should not have been combative, feeling she brought most of this issue on herself. Many who hold this view refuse to believe racism is still a major problem in America, wanting to believe racial biases no longer exist. Despite their lack of understanding on this matter, racial profiling has been going on for years and it still continues to this day with some places far worse than others, especially if you live in southern states. Given the fact she was pulled over in Texas, a state which is very well known for it's racism throughout history; it should come to no surprise as to why anyone in the black community would be outraged by this act of social injustice.
There are five important facts to consider when you examine the death of Sandra Bland found in this post I came across on Facebook, presenting some valid points:
In America, people often boast about just how much this country has changed, which in regards to our technological advancements, discoveries of different planets, acceptance/ understanding of many differences found within a variety of cultures; America still has a long way to go as far as dealing with numerous incidents concerning it's long standing racism as well as the racial biases that come along with them. Despite what millions of Americans want to believe, there is a hefty amount of social inequality that derives from society's stereotypical misconceptions pertaining to how they view black people as a whole.
