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One year later: Dozens gather to remember Sandra Bland

By Marcelino Benito, KHOU

It was dash cam video of a controversial traffic stop that rallied thousands behind Sandra Bland.

Trooper Brian Encinia arrested Bland on July 10, 2015 for allegedly assaulting him when she got out of her car. Three days later she was found dead in her cell at the Waller County Jail.

“She should still be here fighting with us,” said activist Cayenne Nebula. “She should still be fighting this fight with us.”

One year later, dozens gathered on the outskirts of Prairie View A&M, on the very sidewalk where Bland was taken into custody.

“She still has a voice in the community by us speaking for her,” said Nebula.

(Photo credit KHOU)
(Photo credit KHOU)

The message was simple, ‘Sandy still speaks’. One year later the inequality and injustice Bland fought for is still alive and well.

“We thought 365 days later we could focus on her memory, but we are torn,” said activist Dewayne Charleston.

Charleston says minds are torn between remembering Bland and struggling to understand what happened in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and now Dallas.

“Things are getting worse as you see with the recent killings of black people and police,” said student Joshua Muhmmad. “There’s a tight tension in America.”

Trooper Encinia has been fired and is awaiting trial on a perjury charge, but that’s little comfort to Bland’s family and friends.

They still want answers and feel little comfort one year later.

“It’s a hard time for us to be black in America,” said Nebula. “This should have stopped when they were marching with MLK. This should have stopped to Rosa Parks. But nothing’s changed but time.”

Bland supporters plan to spend the next three nights holding vigil outside the Waller County Jail until the exact time Bland’s body was discovered in a jail cell.

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