Sandra Bland To Be Honored with Street Name at Place of Arrest

Sandra Bland, the woman found dead in her cell while in police custody, will be honored with a street renamed for her at the place of her arrest. The Prairie View City Council has voted to rename the location where the Texas native was arrested at a traffic stop on July 10, University Drive, to Sandra Bland Parkway.

The street reportedly leads to Prairie View A&M University, which happens to be Bland’s alma mater, and where she was set to begin a new job on that same day.

A graduate of the school remarked on the treatment of Sandra Bland by police at a press conference. “When police officers stop any of our students at Prairie View, they’ll always be able to write that name, Sandra Bland, just to remind them, their consciousness, that, ‘hey, I can’t treat this person bad,’ or do any unlawful things to the students,” he said to the audience.

Students of the school, and other demonstrators, even marched from the school to Prairie View City Hall in support of the street rename. “I am overwhelmed, and I am just truly thankful to the city of Prairie View,” commented her mother, Geneva Reed-Veal.

Bland’s death caused a huge amount of controversy on social media, as speculation began to rise that her ruled suicide three days after her arrest was false. The release of her mug shot weeks later also put the Internet into a frenzy, with many speculating that the photo showed signs of possible foul play, with her possibly being dead already for it. Authorities shut down those rumors after releasing security footage of her taking her mug shot just outside of her cell.

The fight for answers amongst activists, demonstrators, and followers of the story has not ended, however, as the hashtag question, #WhatHappenedToSandraBland, is still active with posts, commentary, and news articles.