African American Studies Commons^™

The Killing Of An ‘Angry Black Woman’: Sandra Bland And The Politics Of Respectability, Victoria D. Gillon

Eddie Mabry Diversity Award

On July 13th, 2015, 28-year-old Sandra Bland was pulled over by a police officer in Waller County, TX, for failure to signal a lane change. Around six minutes later, Bland was being slammed and handcuffed to the ground. What happened in these six minutes that caused a minor traffic violation to escalate to what would later be three days in jail, concluding with Bland’s death? Hundreds of years of significations towards black women led to Sandra Bland’s arrest. However, at a time when Bland was perceived to be at her most vulnerable, she resisted. By intentionally not putting out a …