July 2015
Sandra Bland, 28, was pulled over by Texas DPS Trooper Brian Encinia in Prairie View, TX, for failing to signal a lane change. Dashcam footage showed Encinia ordering Bland out of her car and threatening her with a Taser. She was arrested for assaulting an officer. Three days later, on July 13, she was found dead in her Waller County jail cell, ruled a suicide by hanging. Bland had recorded much of the encounter on her own phone. The case fueled the #SayHerName movement and scrutiny of pretextual traffic stops targeting Black drivers.
Following intense pressure after the Charleston massacre, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed legislation removing the Confederate battle flag from the State Capitol grounds. The flag was lowered on July 10, 2015. The killing of nine Black churchgoers by a gunman photographed with the flag accelerated decades of activism demanding the flag's removal. Several retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, simultaneously removed Confederate flag merchandise.
Events
- July 13, 2015Sandra Bland Dies in Waller County Jail After Traffic Stop
Sandra Bland, 28, was pulled over by Texas DPS Trooper Brian Encinia in Prairie View, TX, for failing to signal a lane change. Dashcam footage showed Encinia ordering Bland out of her car and threatening her with a Taser. She was arrested for assaulting an officer. Three days later, on July 13, she was found dead in her Waller County jail cell, ruled a suicide by hanging. Bland had recorded much of the encounter on her own phone. The case fueled the #SayHerName movement and scrutiny of pretextual traffic stops targeting Black drivers.
- July 10, 2015South Carolina Removes Confederate Flag After Charleston Massacre
Following intense pressure after the Charleston massacre, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed legislation removing the Confederate battle flag from the State Capitol grounds. The flag was lowered on July 10, 2015. The killing of nine Black churchgoers by a gunman photographed with the flag accelerated decades of activism demanding the flag's removal. Several retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, simultaneously removed Confederate flag merchandise.
- July 13, 2015The death of Sandra Bland
Bland is found dead in a Texas jail after a contested traffic stop.