By this time four years ago the black community was in an uproar over the controversial July 13th death of Sandra Bland. You remember Sandra Bland. How could any of us ever forget the story of the Grand Prairie A&M University Grad who was due to start a job there that summer before being found dead in her jail cell. She had just moved to Waller County, Texas from Illinois when she was pulled over that morning by then, State Trooper, Brian Encinia. What started out as a simple ‘failure to signal’ traffic stop had escalated to Encinia attempting to pull Sandra Bland from her vehicle after she refused to put out a cigarette that she was smoking in her car. Encinia then shouted "I will light you up! Get out! Now,” after drawing his taser. Bland was placed on the ground and arrested; being falsely charged with assault on a police officer. The world watched most of the events of that arrest unfold from Brian Encinia's dash cam. Three days later, on the morning of July 13th in the Waller County Jail, Bland was found hanging from her jail cell. Her death; which brought a myriad of questions and speculations, her arrest, and the details surrounding them ignited both, national protests and outrage.
How did a stop for failure to signal go so unnaturally wrong? Isn’t that simply what it is? A probably cause. A stop. A warning or a citation. Why couldn’t Brian Encinia do just that; live and let live, then went on about his day, and let Sandra Bland went on about hers. But that was far too simple…and lawful. It was only a matter of time before that blue uniform, Brian Encinia’s ego, and racism joined forces. Sandra Bland was outnumbered that morning. If Bland had only known that refusing to put out her cigarette, even though smoking it in her own vehicle during a simple traffic stop would have led to her almost being dragged from her vehicle, threatened to be tased, false charges, an unlawful arrest, jail time, and three days of hurt and confusion; I’m sure before her death, Bland wished she had given in to Encinia’s delusions of grandiosity. And I bet Brian Encinia definitely hates the day he ran across the intelligent, consciously woke, strong, black lioness that was Sandra Bland.
Don’t just say Sandra Bland’s name. Remember her story. Let Sandra Bland’s story remind us of how important it is to always protect our energy, especially in the face of someone like Brian Encinia. He was looking for a reason and a way to endorse that boiling ego; but instead met Sandra Bland who refused to cosign.
Brian Encinia’s racial profiling came to a head the morning of July 10th, 2015. And he will never forget it... neither will I. I hope Brian Encinia sees Sandra Bland in his dreams for the rest of his days. And in his waking moments, sees her in every black girl and woman he encounters. The way life works, Encinia might just see the face of Sandra Bland in his future grandkids.
#Sandrabland
