“Your silence will not protect you.” Audre Lorde’s quote is profoundly fitting for a time such as this, as family, friends, supporters and a vocal social media community continue to seek answers and justice for the death of Sandra Bland who senselessly lost her life, ultimately at the hands of police. One week ago today, Sandra Bland, a vibrant 28-year-old from Chicago’s northwestern suburbs, was found dead in her cell after being questionably held in the Waller County jail three days for a minor traffic violation. As the story began to unfold and spread last week, in large part due to the #WhatHappenedToSandraBland hash tag, conflicting reports surfaced about whether or not the family wanted people to share and post about Bland’s story. This morning, Sharon Cooper, Sandra Bland’s sister and family spokesperson put any confusion or misinformation to rest.
In a post on her Facebook page, Cooper writes:
I want to take a moment to say THANK YOU! For your love, support and continued encouragement during my sister Sandra Bland’s untimely death. My apologies for any miscommunications you’ve received in terms of social media activity. Just a point of clarification on behalf of my family: PLEASE keep posting! PLEASE keep Tweeting! Please keep Instagraming! Please keep the conversation going as we all want to know#whathappenedtosandrabland #justiceforsandy #sandySTILLspeaks #sayhername #SandraBland
My heartfelt thanks to you all xoxo One proud big sister Sharon Cooper
#sandySTILLspeaks: Family Of Sandra Bland Requests “Please Keep The Conversation Going” was originally published on blackdoctor.org
