I am pleased that we are all speaking out against the injustice that happened to Sandra Bland. Some of us may be reluctant to speak out, because we are afraid of repercussions from our jobs; we might be offending our white friends; or we may think that this problem will go away if we refuse to address it. However, we cannot sit by quietly and allow police brutality toward mainly black citizens to continue. All black people should know that if we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, we, too, could be victims of police brutality. Nevertheless, there were no “rhyme or reason” why Sandra Bland should have been lock in a jail for a minor traffic stop. Some of us might say that she should have followed the officer’s commands, but when we
On September 8th, 2016 Keely Meagan, a 55-year old woman from Oregon, parked on the edge of Interstate 5 to because she saw that police officers had stopped a black driver. She claims that she was concerned about the driver’s safety due to the violence police officers have employed towards black people nationwide. She parked very close to an exit and was compromising the safety of everyone, but she refused orders to leave. On February 9th, she went to trial and was convicted for interfering with a police officer nevertheless, she was not charged with any punishments. The judge ruled that he didn’t consider her actions a case of civil disobedience, but praised the activist for her empathy.
I am here to represent Mary Harris Jones and I believe she should be admitted to the Gilded University Hall of Fame. Jones was born in Ireland, and her family immigrated to escape the potato famine. She spent her early years studying and working to become a dressmaker and teacher. Later when she moved to Memphis, she met and married George Jones, and in their first four years of marriage they had four children. But tragedy struck when yellow fever spread in 1867, which killed hundreds of people including her husband and her four small children. She believed that with the support she received from the people of the union, her life was saved from sadness and depression following the death of her family. After losing her entire family, she decided
Kathleen Blanco Hurricane Katrina Speech The speech by Kathleen Blanco is about Hurricane Katrina. The speech is about how they are planning to fix it and trying to motivate them to not give up and rebuild. Kathleen Blanco's speech about Hurricane Katrina uses pathos and ethos to inform the people of Louisiana so they know what they will do about the hurricane. Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane ever, killing over 2000 people and causing over $125 billion in damage.
On July 13, 2015, Sandra Bland committed suicide in Waller County Jail in Hempstead, Texas. Bland was an African-American, and was subject to police brutality. A few days before her death, the police placed Bland in jail as a result of traffic confrontation that did escalate to violence. Her incident with the police is a prime example of the racism that goes on today. Though policies were passed to combat acts of prejudice against blacks, there is always an underlying hatred towards African-Americans that continues to manifest itself. This is because racism in its social has not been as combated, which causes people to continue to live in a continuing era of white supremacy. The better-treatment of white people, causes black people to live
Ferguson has has little to no black representation in their city council, school boards, police force, and such all though the community is mostly made up of PoC.
A topic that I’m going to talk about is the incident that happened in Texas of the 28-year old Sandra bland. My question is first, why would a woman with a great job kill herself after she gets arrested over a minor traffic violation? “Sandra Bland, 28, was arrested July 10, and after spending the weekend in the Waller County jail, she was found hanged in her cell Monday. Harris County's medical examiner said the death was a suicide, but Bland's family disputes the finding” (Barr, Alice, 2015). When watching the video on this situation I think the officer was in the wrong because he didn’t have the right to just open her car door if you just giving her a ticket for a minor traffic violation and she was in her car and I feel that he didn’t have
February 26, 2015, Treyvon Martin is shot and killed by George Zimmerman. One year later a jury would find Zimmerman not guilty of murder, sparking outrage and putting the spotlight on the suspicions borne by African Americans.
On March 5, 2016 Earledreka White, a black 28-year old social worker, was pulled over by a Metro Police officer in Huston, Texas for crossing the double white line. During this incident White was placed in handcuffs and charged with resisting arrest and search, a misdemeanor that carries a potential six-month sentence, and jailed for two days on $1,000 bond. Later on in the case White’s attorney released the surveillance video that shows the arrest with the 911 call playing as it unfolds. While watching the surveillance video I was shocked to see the treatment White was receiving for a traffic stop and the way the metro police officer handled the situation. Before this incident White had no criminal record, but the police officer treated her
Because of the color of her skin, Sandra Bland was unlawfully detained, which was not uncommon in this city. Trooper Encinia, the officer who made the initial traffic stop and arrest, committed an unlawful arrest and failed to correctly do his job, and is now being indicted on a perjury charge because of it. In the video of the traffic stop, Bland repeatedly asks the officer why he was trying to detain and arrest her, but the only response the trooper gave her was “I am giving you a lawful order,” (Hassan and Yan). Though the event was unlawful, it was argued that the incident was not driven by racism. However, Trooper Encinia has worked with some that have committed unlawful acts that were driven by racism: Sheriff R. Glenn Smith.
Racial profiling done by police is a problem that is growing within the nation. Brad Heath of USA TODAY states “70 departments scattered from Connecticut to California arrest black people at a rate 10 times higher than people who are not black.” This is not baffling only because of the rate but because this profiling and unjust behavior is done by police officers. Police officers are supposed to protect and make all individuals, regardless of race, safe. Another disturbing instance in which the government seemed to fail its people was the “suicide” of Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland, after being arrested and put into a jail cell, was found hanged in her jail cell. It was ruled a suicide. however many suspect that it was homicide that the police
In all the cases listed, they all had different encounters and the same results in the end. Eric Garner was a 43 year old african american, who had six children and three grandchildren. He was illegally selling untaxed cigarettes. There was definitely a valid reason for his arrest but not for him to be choked to death. The victim was not physically or verbally threatening the police officer, he was only trying to tell him that he did nothing wrong. The cop put him in a choke hold and eric garner was heard gasping “I can't breathe”. Sandra Bland was 28 when found dead. She was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Sandra Bland had a blog discussing police
“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these, are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Deplorable, though, is the fact that people of color have systematically had their liberty violated unceasingly throughout our history. Fifty-two years ago, in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Uttered decades ago, these words should have no pertinence in today’s society; yet they still ring loud and reveal the same plight that people of color share today. The real argument, though, is that under the constitution, police have no legal right to rob people of color, or any people for that matter, of their civil liberties; however, people of color are continually targeted, and are treated with such an abysmal impertinence that it should no longer go unnoticed.
Police brutality is a major issue in today’s society. Many African Americans tend to avoid the police for that very reason. A campaign was started in 2012 against police brutality and the unfair treating of African Americans entitled, Black Lives Matter. This movement was met with controversy as well as support from the American people. This movement has followed several controversial police brutality cases in the United States including, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Sandra Bland. All African American and all killed in the presence of a police officer, with no convictions. These three cases have been some of the biggest cases in the Black Lives Matter campaign. This campaign is determined to make sure that Black lives are treated just as equally as white live and Hispanic lives, because black lives matter
A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.
Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.