While out running errands, I made the U-turn to head back home after picking up everything I needed. I was ready to get home and relax. Coming down Memorial Drive at 55 mph was typical and well within the speed limit (or so I think). I was preparing to switch lanes when I saw a cop in the approaching lane. Immediately, I tensed up, hit the brake, checked my seat belt, and put my signal light on. There was absolutely no one behind me, but I put that signal light on. It was in that moment, that I realized just how much the death of my soror, Sandra Bland, had affected me.
I almost went into tears thinking to myself, “I don’t want to die over a lane change.”
In the instant of seeing that officer, I didn’t think about a speeding ticket…I thought about if I give them any reason to pull me over, I may lose my life. Think that’s far fetched? As a black person, it’s not. But now as a black woman, it’s fact. Sandra Bland was pulled over for something as simple as failure to signal a lane change. And now…she is no longer with us. I almost went into tears thinking to myself, “I don’t want to die over a lane change.” Why did I even have to think that?
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I began to get so angry. It wasn’t fair that as a black woman, I have to even consider that as a realistic scenario. But, sadly, it is. There have been countless numbers of black women that have died or been killed while in police custody. It is a nightmarish reality that most mainstream media has failed to relay to the masses. My heart sank, I miss my sister. I miss my soror. I never met her, but she represents me. She represents the strength, the weakness, the beauty, the joy, the outspokenness of being a black woman. She was a champion of truth and justice for her people. I am thankful that her name has not been forgotten. Her life was not in vain. Her work is being seen, noticed, and recognized.
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As long as I live, she will not be forgotten. Because unfortunately, every time I change lanes, I think of you. I think of how angry you must have been that you were even dealing with a stop, and then being forced to put out a cigarette in YOUR car. I can only imagine, how it felt to be dragged out of YOUR car, humiliated by being thrown to the ground, and unjustly arrested. All because of a lane change.
My sister lives on in every sister that hears her name and her story. For this reason, I will forever remember…soror Sandra Bland. EEE-Yip!
2 thoughts on “And Then I Remembered…Sandra Bland”
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Very good article! Not only do you bring out issues concerning black women that have been looked over, but also the essence of how police brutality can traumatically effect a community’s thought process. Just think about it, we’re not supposed to be afraid of the police. They are supposed to be protectors and we should turn to them. However, its the opposite,. When people run into the police, we are often fearful of the power we think they are going to unnecessarily enforce on us. Or sometimes, their unwillingness to understand a situation. This is not to say all cops are bad, however, I do agree with many people that many police forces have become so militarized to the point most would prefer to have a very limited interaction with them. How can we change this psychological damage?
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