“You just slammed my head to the ground. Do you not even care about that?”

These were some of the last words of 28-year-old Sandra Bland. On Friday, Texas State troopers pulled Sandra over as she was driving to her new job for allegedly not using the turn signals during a lane change.¹ What happened next was all too familiar and terrifying.

An eye-witness says police ripped Sandra out of the car, violently slammed her on the ground, and arrested her as she screamed for help. Just 72 two hours later, she was dead.² Police are claiming Sandra took her own life, but her family and friends don’t believe it. Local District Attorney Elton Mathis has already said he has no reason to expect foul play and handed over the investigation to the same police agency that arrested Sandra.

Police cannot police themselves. Urge Attorney General Lynch to thoroughly investigate Sandra’s death and hold all those responsible fully accountable.

DA Mathis said there was no reason for concern, despite the fact that an allegedly routine traffic stopped turned into a violent arrest is itself a cause for concern.³ Sandra’s family says that Sandra would never kill herself and that police seem to be covering up her death.⁴ We must demand that local officials release all video, information and photographs relating to Sandra’s unjust arrest, imprisonment and death.

The local police department and prosecutor’s office have a long history of racism and corruption. Last year, DA Mathis threatened a local Reverend who spoke out about racist prosecutions, saying he would release his “hounds” on the Reverend.⁵ Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith was fired from the police department in Hempstead, Texas for documented cases of racism.⁵

According to her loved ones, Sandra Bland was a loving, compassionate woman, with a bright future ahead.⁶ Today would have been the first day at her new job working student outreach at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University. Loved ones described her as bright, spirited, and having a thirst for life. She was also a vocal advocate against police brutality and often spoke about ending racism and police violence. Our hearts and minds are with her friends and family as they move through this unimaginably hard time.

But in a world where Black people are stereotyped as “violent” and police exist to enforce the boundaries of a deeply divided and racist society, who Sandy was or the life she was creating, did not matter. What mattered was that she was Black, and therefore, in the eyes of the law, didn’t deserve respect, didn’t deserve her civil rights, her freedom or her life. To be Black in America, is to be safe nowhere. Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to be targeted by police and incarcerated than white women.⁷

The Department of Justice and Attorney General Lynch have the power and responsibility to address the systemic police violence targeting Black communities. The reality is, racism, corruption and a deep-seated culture of secrecy prevents local and state police from holding themselves accountable. Without independent oversight, police will continue to kill and prosecutors will continue to do nothing. We should not have to demand justice, every time a Black person is murdered, but we will continue to do so until the justice system respects Black lives.

Urge US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to secure justice for Sandy and help end discriminatory police violence targeting Black people in Texas.

Thanks and peace,

— Rashad, Arisha, Shani, Lyla and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 16th, 2015

References,https://justanother2cents.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=91304&action=trash&_wpnonce=5a36e5f072

1. “Sandra Bland Drove to Texas to Start a New Job, so How Did She End Up Dead in Jail?”, 07-16-15
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5001?t=5&akid=4541.1174326.9WpvtL?

2. “Family says woman found dead in jail cell would not kill herself; Texas Rangers investigating”, 07-16-15
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5002?t=7&akid=4541.1174326.9WpvtL

3. See reference 2.

4. See reference 2.

5. “Pastor says Waller DA threatened him”, 06-03-14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5003?t=9&akid=4541.1174326.9WpvtL

6. “The Texas Sheriff Where Sandra Bland Died Was Previously Suspended for Racism”, 07-16-15
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5004?t=11&akid=4541.1174326.9WpvtL

7. “Incarcerated Women”, The Sentencing Project 08-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5005?t=13&akid=4541.1174326.9WpvtL

a repost to remind … Women’s History Month

by Nancy Pelosi ~~ 6/6/2014

I just had the pleasure of joining my fellow Democratic women in Congress on a “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds” bus tour from Seneca Falls, NY down to Boston, over through Ohio, and all the way to Chicago.

It was an exceptional opportunity to hear directly from hard-working women about the obstacles they face, and discuss the real possibilities for action. After this trip, I’m more confident than ever that our Women’s Economic Agenda would be a great start in unleashing the power of women.

what do you think?

Watch this short video highlighting the “Women on a Roll” tour and take our survey on the Women’s Economic Agenda >>

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Click here to take the survey: http://dccc.org/Women-Succeed-Survey

“When women succeed, America succeeds” is not just a title for our economic agenda for women and families, it’s a statement of fact.

Together, we can make the progress that we need — raising the minimum wage, passing equal pay legislation, guaranteeing paid family and sick leave, creating quality job opportunities, and promoting affordable child care.

That’s why it was so fitting that we launched our “Women on a Roll” tour in Seneca Falls, home of the first Women’s Rights Convention which was held in 1848. They had a dream, they had a vision, they had a plan and they got it done — that is what we have to do.

I hope you’ll be a part of this.

http://dccc.org/Women-Succeed-Survey

Thank you for standing with us.

Nancy Pelosi

a message from Congressman Hank Johnson

The following sponsored email was sent to you by AlterNet on behalf of Congressman Hank Johnson:

Urgent Petition: DontMilitarizeMainStreet.com Dear AlterNet Reader, I’m outraged. The failure of the grand jury to indict Darren Wilson is a travesty of justice. And, the reaction of the police? The tear gas. The armored vehicles. The body armor. It’s the kind of action we expect from despotic governments, not the United States. We in Congress can’t fix the grand jury’s terrible decision, but what we can do is stop the militarization of our police. Join with me and sign my petition at DontMilitarizeMainStreet.com. Police don’t need more armored vehicles to enforce the law. They need the trust of our citizens. Police don’t need more grenade launchers. They need to build trust with people in our communities. Police don’t need more assault rifles. They need more accountability. I’m leading on this issue. I have introduced a bill in Congress to stop the militarization of our police. Both Republicans and Democrats alike are supporting this effort. Now, I need your support. Sign the petition now. As a nation, we need to have discussions to tackle difficult questions about how officers patrol communities, prevent crime, and arrest suspects. Seeing the way a militarized police confronted protestors after the murder of an unarmed teenager makes it clear to me we have more work to do – the struggle for equal justice under the law must continue. That’s why Congress must pass our bill to stop the militarization of Main Street. We have some incredible news. Our bill to end Main Street militarization now has 45 co-sponsors and our own petition now has hundreds of signatures. And it’s not just Democrats. Republicans have joined our effort as well. Help put us over 2,500 signatures. Together, will pressure Congress to act! Our quest for justice continues. I hope you’ll stand with us. For justice, Hank Johnson