Black women in America are unique in society. They are often the healers and the councilors to others. When they make a mistake there can be many reasons why the incident becomes bigger than their life. Black women have the burden of living a perfect life, because, others look to them for strength.
When Black women lose their freedom for whatever reason they do, they are usually the sole income to a household. They can also be alone in that capacity. They can easily fall into despair when faced with a mistake as occurred with Sandra Bland. Her arrest was more than she could bear.
Besides the reality of the difference in Black women's lives and how they move through life, there is the question about these deaths. Six deaths of Black women in one month while in the custody of police isn't bad enough, there is no trace as to why they are dead.
The system has to address the issues of Black women in a way that resolves their conflict at the time of these obvious and dangerous mistakes.
There is no additional infrastructure needed. There is a social worker on the staff of hospitals 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. There is no reason for their desperation if they were provided a way of resolving conflict in their lives at that moment. It gives another person a chance to document the event that brought them to police custody as well.
May 4, 2016
By Candice Norwood
...This is a moving point (click here) that puts black women at the center of the ongoing police brutality debates. Reed-Veal's own daughter was taken into custody on July 10, 2015, following an argument over a minor traffic violation in Texas. Three days later she was found dead in her jail cell, and the county coroner classified her death as a suicide.
A grand jury chose not to indict anyone in her death, but Bland's name rang out in the streets and on social media channels, prompting the viral hashtags #IfIDieInPoliceCustody and #WhatHappenedToSandraBland.
But as Reed-Veal noted, there are many black women whose final hours in police custody remain mysterious. The women, who, like Bland, died in July 2015, include:
When Black women lose their freedom for whatever reason they do, they are usually the sole income to a household. They can also be alone in that capacity. They can easily fall into despair when faced with a mistake as occurred with Sandra Bland. Her arrest was more than she could bear.
Besides the reality of the difference in Black women's lives and how they move through life, there is the question about these deaths. Six deaths of Black women in one month while in the custody of police isn't bad enough, there is no trace as to why they are dead.
The system has to address the issues of Black women in a way that resolves their conflict at the time of these obvious and dangerous mistakes.
There is no additional infrastructure needed. There is a social worker on the staff of hospitals 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. There is no reason for their desperation if they were provided a way of resolving conflict in their lives at that moment. It gives another person a chance to document the event that brought them to police custody as well.
May 4, 2016
By Candice Norwood
...This is a moving point (click here) that puts black women at the center of the ongoing police brutality debates. Reed-Veal's own daughter was taken into custody on July 10, 2015, following an argument over a minor traffic violation in Texas. Three days later she was found dead in her jail cell, and the county coroner classified her death as a suicide.
A grand jury chose not to indict anyone in her death, but Bland's name rang out in the streets and on social media channels, prompting the viral hashtags #IfIDieInPoliceCustody and #WhatHappenedToSandraBland.
But as Reed-Veal noted, there are many black women whose final hours in police custody remain mysterious. The women, who, like Bland, died in July 2015, include:
- Kindra Chapman, 18, July 14: Chapman was arrested in Alabama after allegedly stealing a cellphone. She was found dead less than two hours after being placed in a cell. Her death was also ruled a suicide.
- Alexis McGovern, 28, July 17: McGovern died while in custody at the St. Louis City Justice Center. Officials say the woman experienced a "medical emergency" shortly before her scheduled release and was taken to the medical infirmary. McGovern was later pronounced dead. Though she was not black, her death has been memorialized by local activists concerned with treatment and safety in jails and prisons.
- Joyce Curnell, 50, July 22: Curnell was arrested for shoplifting in South Carolina and detained in a Charleston County jail. She had been taken to a hospital for a medical issue before being transported to the jail. The next day she was found dead.
- Ralkina Jones, 37, July 26: That Friday, the Cleveland, Ohio, mother was arrested following a domestic dispute with her husband. On Saturday Jones was reportedly treated for several medical issues in the hospital. Hospital attendants evaluated and released Jones that same night, but by 7:30 am the next day she was found dead in her cell.
- Raynette Turner, 43, July 27: Turner was found dead in her holding cell while waiting to be arraigned for shoplifting. The day before, Turner reportedly complained about not feeling well and was taken to a medical center, but was later returned to her cell. She left behind eight children and a husband of 23 years.
