Houston, TX – Over 30 people gathered in front of the headquarters of the Houston Police department, July 10, to protest the murder of Alva Braziel, an African-American man who was shot dead this week by the police. Braziel was cooperating with the police by putting his hands up, but they still shot him. The protest was also called to demand justice for Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and all victims of police brutality.

In the scorching heat, the activists marched in a circular picket chanting “hey, hey, ho, ho, killer cops have got to go,” and had signs that read “Stop killing Black people.” After protesting in front of the police station for an hour, the activists marched through downtown Houston chanting “Black lives matter!” and received much support from people waiting at bus and rail stops, passersby and others in downtown.

Later in the day, a remembrance of Sandra Bland was held in Prairie View, Texas, 50 miles north of Houston. Today, July 10, marks the one-year anniversary that Sandra Bland was arrested and murdered in Waller County jail by her jailers.

One of the speakers at the Sandra Bland remembrance said, “Protesting is good, but it only will give us a piece of the pie. We want to change society so that we can have the whole kitchen and determine the recipe on how to run our own lives. This is called independence, and we are here today to fight for the independence of Black people.”

#HoustonTX #PoliceBrutality #SandraBland #AlvaBraziel

Houston, TX – Over 60 people gathered in front of the library at the University of Houston, Jan. 29, to protest against police brutality and demand justice for Sandra Bland, an African American woman who was murdered at the nearby Waller County jail last summer. The protest was organized by Students for a Democratic Society and participants included members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Houston Anti-War Committee, the Student Feminist Organization, the New Black Panther Party, Workers World Party and a few other groups.

Protesters carried signs reading “Indict racist police,” “Stop killer cops,” and “Say her name: Sandra Bland.” One sign had a quote from the Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh, “The liberation of African Americans will result in the liberation of all oppressed nations.”

The rally began with a stirring speech by Reverend Ronnie Lister, a well-known African American minister in Houston. He expressed optimism at the incredible diversity of the protest, as there were African-Americans, Chicano/Mexicanos, Arab-Americans, as well as some supportive whites. He emphasized the necessity of all freedom loving people to unite to fight against racism and create a more just world. After his speech, there were speeches by students and activists from the different groups present, and a concluding speech by Yahcanon of the New Black Panther Party. During the speeches, a massive crowd assembled, and many students cheered on the speakers with great enthusiasm.

After the speeches, the protesters marched through the campus, many people gave nods of support, and some students even joined in. As they marched, they chanted, “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” and “say her name, Sandra Bland. Justice for, Sandra Bland,” alternating with the names of the many African Americans in the U.S. that have been murdered by the racist police.

The march was a huge success and received great support from the university community. There were a few TV stations present, who gave the protest favorable coverage, as well as the university newspaper, the Daily Cougar.

Chloe O’Connor, an organizer with Students for a Democratic Society, said, “The police in this country claim to make communities safer, but the truth is that they are a safety hazard. Every racist cop needs to be indicted for his crimes against the people, and we need to put an end to this criminal system of white supremacy. Long Live Sandra Bland! Black Lives Matter!”

#HoustonTX #InJusticeSystem #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #PoliceBrutality #AfricanAmerican #SandraBland

Tallahassee, FL – A group of students gathered on the Florida State University (FSU) campus, Jan. 12 to demand justice for victims of police murder, Tamir Rice and Sandra Bland. The students also demanded “No more grand juries – jail killer cops.”

In the murder of Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old African American child gunned down by a police officer in a Cleveland park, the grand jury failed to indict. This failure comes despite a video showing the police officers aggressively driving up and within two seconds Officer Loehmann shooting the child dead without warning.

In the Sandra Bland case, she was an adult African American woman verbally abused, roughed up, and stomped on by a Texas State Trooper during a traffic stop. Three days later she was found hung in a jail cell. Not a single sheriff or jailer will face charges for her murder. The grand jury did indict Trooper Encinia for perjury, but not for “assault, battery or abuse of his official power”, according to the family’s lawyer.

At the FSU campus rally, students chanted “No justice, no peace! No racist police!” and “When Black people are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Student activist leaders spoke to those holding protest signs. “These two cases are just two out of so many others – so many Black people who have been murdered by police over the last year, the last decades, the last century,” said Zachary Schultz of SDS.

“By us being here…it's the first step towards a real revolution,” said Regina Joseph of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, “it's important to come together and be organized.”

The students finished by expressing solidarity with the nationwide movement against police crimes, and especially with Chicago and Minneapolis where the struggle is sharp.

The rally was led by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), who are campaigning against racism at FSU and demanding increased recruitment and retention of African American students to combat falling enrollments.

#TallahasseeFL #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #SandraBland #TamirRice

Hempstead, TX—Twenty-five activists protested outside the grand jury at the Waller County Courthouse on January 6. The grand jury met to determine whether or not to indict Texas Trooper Brian Encinia for the unlawful arrest of Sandra Bland. Trooper Encinia lied about forcefully removing Bland from her car while yelling, “I will light you up!”

The grand jury decided to indict Texas State Trooper Encinia for perjury, but not for “assault, battery or abuse of his official power.” A few hours later Trooper Encinia found out he was fired.

This follows a recent grand jury decision not to indict any sheriff’s officials or jailers suspected of murdering Sandra Bland. Bland was found hanging dead in her cell with a plastic bag wrapped around her neck, just three days after Trooper Encinia arrested her on a traffic violation.

Houston organizers with the National Black United Front spoke demanding justice for Sandra Bland. Protesters at the rally chanted, “Say Her Name: Sandra Bland!” They then marched around the courthouse chanting, “No justice, and no fear, Sandra Bland marches here!”

Soon after a group of twenty State Troopers marched to the courthouse in military formation, passing the protesters with an officer barking out cadence.

Encinia’s perjury charge is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum $4,000 dollar fine and up to a year in prison. Jinaki Muhammad with the National Black United Front called the misdemeanor charge “a slap in the face to the Bland family.”

Houston activists are upset with the grand jury, the prosecutor, and the whole justice system. The nationwide movement against police crimes continues to grow with each grand jury ruling.

Encinia’s trial begins on January 23, 2017.

#HempsteadTX #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #GrandJuries #Texas #SandraBland

Hempstead, TX – Over 300 people gathered on August 9 in front of Waller County Jail, where Sandra Bland was murdered last month. The large crowd rallied to protest racist police brutality and remember its victims. An hour northwest of Houston, people listened to inspiring speeches and uplifting poetry, and then marched around the Waller jailhouse.

Members of the National Black United Front (NBUF) lead the march, chanting, “No Justice, no fear. Sandra Bland lives here!” and “Down with racist police.” After marching for 20 minutes, the protesters entered the jailhouse to demand justice for Sandra Bland.

Suddenly, a line of cops charged at the activists with batons drawn, attempting to force people out of the lobby. The crowd resisted, so the police pulled in a few people, detaining them. Some protesters then began throwing soda cans and bottles at the cops, and showing no fear, protesters clashed with the police.

More police appeared from inside the jailhouse, again attempting to push people out. Their goal was to shut the door and arrest the detained protesters. Next, demonstrators formed a barrier to try to keep the doors open and free their detained comrades. Finally, the cops managed to push through the human barrier, also pushing and old African American man to the ground and banging his head on the concrete. The cops shut the jailhouse doors, locking the detained inside, while a group of activists rushed to help the older man and get him to an ambulance.

The militant protesters began banging on the door and threatening to break it down if the police did not release their fellow protesters immediately. Everyone chanted, “Shame on you!” and “Let them go!” Eventually demonstrators forced the jailhouse doors open, but just then the police sent the detained protesters out of a side door. As everyone was leaving the demonstration, hundreds of riot police showed up with shields, batons and huge police vans.

Treasjure, an organizer with Out of the Flames of Ferguson, said, “The energy here today was amazing and the people were willing to figuratively and literally fight for justice and ensure that Sandra still speaks. This is a good sign that the general public is waking up.”

Activists from Black Lives Matter Texas, Out of the Flames of Ferguson, National Black United Front, Truth 2 Power, and the Texas Organizing Project led the protest and march.

#HempsteadTX #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #SandraBland #BlackLivesMatterTexas #OutOfTheFlamesOfFerguson #NationalBlackUnitedFront #Truth2Power #TexasOrganizingProject

The protest gathered at the downtown Minneapolis public library. People marched down Hennepin Avenue during evening rush hour, clogging up traffic and urging that bystanders “Say her name.” At each intersection, protesters swelled into both lanes of traffic and chanted “You can’t stop the revolution, Black power is the solution,” and “We ready, we coming!” Marchers ended at the downtown jail, continuing the chants in a show of solidarity for community members and activists that were arrested the day before. Protest organizers read short memorials to many women who were recently killed by the police around the country. After each one, the crowd chanted the women’s names.

The protest was organized by the Black Liberation Project.

#MinneapolisMN #WomensMovement #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #BlackLivesMatter #SandraBland #BlackLiberationProject

Jacksonville, FL – Over 100 activists and community members gathered here, July 26, to honor Sandra Bland. Bland, who supported the Black Lives Matter movement, became national news when she was found dead in her jail cell after being arrested for a minor traffic offense. Many doubt the official story that Bland committed suicide, especially after video evidence surfaced of Bland being handled roughly by the police.

A number of speeches were given from various organizations and individuals outraged after the death of Bland. Tefa Galvis spoke on behalf of the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition about the ongoing campaign to stop police crimes and the abuse of Black women at the hands of the state. Several local artists played songs and sang hymns as the crowd listened and reflected.

Chevara Orrin, a local activist in Jacksonville, spoke about why she organized the rally and vigil. “It's important to show solidarity on a number of levels. We want to create space for Black and brown women and show that their lives matter. We want not only to create space, but to bear witness to our pain on a very basic level. We also gather people to create new strategies for stopping these incidents.” She added, “I'm not interested in this vigil being the final word on Sandra. I'm interested in sitting down with those in power and talking about why this happened.”

Activists vowed to continue the fight to stop police crimes and show that Black lives matter.

#JacksonvilleFL #WomensMovement #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #JacksonvilleProgressiveCoalition #BlackLivesMatter #SandraBland

Dallas, TX – About 60 people gathered at Belo Park here, July 22, to remember Sandra Bland, the young African American woman who died in police custody in Waller County, Texas, and to demand justice for her. The activists listened to a number of speeches and a few prayers, before marching through downtown chanting “What's her name? Sandra Bland,” and other slogans.

Olinka Green, the principal organizer of the event, grew emotional while speaking about Bland's death. “She could have been me. I was arrested for my activism, too. I was mistreated by police. I was taken to jail. And I could have ended up like her, except for the people who looked in on me.”

Protesters did not accept the police claim that Bland's death was a suicide. “We have seen from the video tapes that they are lying about her assaulting the officer. If they are lying about her assaulting the officer, why should we believe them about the suicide?” one protester asked.

John Fullinwider, president of the Dallas Peace Center, pointed out the racist discrimination involved in the case, stating, “My wife's name is Sandra, but she's white. If she had driven through this town and she had failed to signal a turn, would this have happened to her? No, it wouldn't have. She would not even have been stopped.”

#DallasTX #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #Texas #BlackLivesMatter #SandraBland