Sandra Bland Persuasive Speech

All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.

Because of the color of her skin, Sandra Bland was unlawfully detained, which was not uncommon in this city. Trooper Encinia, the officer who made the initial traffic stop and arrest, committed an unlawful arrest and failed to correctly do his job, and is now being indicted on a perjury charge because of it. In the video of the traffic stop, Bland repeatedly asks the officer why he was trying to detain and arrest her, but the only response the trooper gave her was “I am giving you a lawful order,” (Hassan and Yan). Though the event was unlawful, it was argued that the incident was not driven by racism. However, Trooper Encinia has worked with some that have committed unlawful acts that were driven by racism: Sheriff R. Glenn Smith.

In all the cases listed, they all had different encounters and the same results in the end. Eric Garner was a 43 year old african american, who had six children and three grandchildren. He was illegally selling untaxed cigarettes. There was definitely a valid reason for his arrest but not for him to be choked to death. The victim was not physically or verbally threatening the police officer, he was only trying to tell him that he did nothing wrong. The cop put him in a choke hold and eric garner was heard gasping “I can't breathe”. Sandra Bland was 28 when found dead. She was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Sandra Bland had a blog discussing police

When looking back at all of the success of the civil rights movement, it seems that our country has come a long way on many important social issues. Whether it’s ending racial segregation in public facilities or putting an end to disenfranchisement of African Americans, our country has made many strides. That being said, our country still has a long way to go in order to reach true equality for all. Specifically, when it comes to the subject of police brutality. Throughout history, African Americans have been plagued by unfair treatment from members of law enforcement and with each passing year it seems to become an even bigger issue. In fact, it has led to the protest of many powerful members of society, including Tina Charles of the WNBA.

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

The cop stopped Sandra because she did not signal while pulling over to right to allow him to pass. She was upset and annoyed, and when she did not satisfy the racist, white supremacist’s ego by alluding to a docile demeanor; he began to harass her more. She knew her rights, and she let the rogue cop have it. I am proud of her for standing up to his oppressive behavior. However, given this, of course, she paid for the assertiveness with her life. Nonetheless, I am proud of her for standing up to that animal. Had she adhered to the racist cop’s demands, I believe, sincerely, he still

“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these, are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Deplorable, though, is the fact that people of color have systematically had their liberty violated unceasingly throughout our history. Fifty-two years ago, in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” Uttered decades ago, these words should have no pertinence in today’s society; yet they still ring loud and reveal the same plight that people of color share today. The real argument, though, is that under the constitution, police have no legal right to rob people of color, or any people for that matter, of their civil liberties; however, people of color are continually targeted, and are treated with such an abysmal impertinence that it should no longer go unnoticed.

On September 8th, 2016 Keely Meagan, a 55-year old woman from Oregon, parked on the edge of Interstate 5 to because she saw that police officers had stopped a black driver. She claims that she was concerned about the driver’s safety due to the violence police officers have employed towards black people nationwide. She parked very close to an exit and was compromising the safety of everyone, but she refused orders to leave. On February 9th, she went to trial and was convicted for interfering with a police officer nevertheless, she was not charged with any punishments. The judge ruled that he didn’t consider her actions a case of civil disobedience, but praised the activist for her empathy.

Racial profiling done by police is a problem that is growing within the nation. Brad Heath of USA TODAY states “70 departments scattered from Connecticut to California arrest black people at a rate 10 times higher than people who are not black.” This is not baffling only because of the rate but because this profiling and unjust behavior is done by police officers. Police officers are supposed to protect and make all individuals, regardless of race, safe. Another disturbing instance in which the government seemed to fail its people was the “suicide” of Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland, after being arrested and put into a jail cell, was found hanged in her jail cell. It was ruled a suicide. however many suspect that it was homicide that the police

“I can’t breathe.” A white police officer holds unarmed African American, Eric Garner, in a chokehold for fifteen seconds on the streets of New York City. Ultimately, Garner utters eleven times for the officer to stop before he died of strangulation, only for selling loose cigarettes. Justice is about being fair and equal. Across America, the African American community has been suffocated of their unalienable rights, just like Eric Garner, by prejudices and racism within white police officers.

Ferguson has has little to no black representation in their city council, school boards, police force, and such all though the community is mostly made up of PoC.

I am here to represent Mary Harris Jones and I believe she should be admitted to the Gilded University Hall of Fame. Jones was born in Ireland, and her family immigrated to escape the potato famine. She spent her early years studying and working to become a dressmaker and teacher. Later when she moved to Memphis, she met and married George Jones, and in their first four years of marriage they had four children. But tragedy struck when yellow fever spread in 1867, which killed hundreds of people including her husband and her four small children. She believed that with the support she received from the people of the union, her life was saved from sadness and depression following the death of her family. After losing her entire family, she decided

On March 5, 2016 Earledreka White, a black 28-year old social worker, was pulled over by a Metro Police officer in Huston, Texas for crossing the double white line. During this incident White was placed in handcuffs and charged with resisting arrest and search, a misdemeanor that carries a potential six-month sentence, and jailed for two days on $1,000 bond. Later on in the case White’s attorney released the surveillance video that shows the arrest with the 911 call playing as it unfolds. While watching the surveillance video I was shocked to see the treatment White was receiving for a traffic stop and the way the metro police officer handled the situation. Before this incident White had no criminal record, but the police officer treated her

A topic that I’m going to talk about is the incident that happened in Texas of the 28-year old Sandra bland. My question is first, why would a woman with a great job kill herself after she gets arrested over a minor traffic violation? “Sandra Bland, 28, was arrested July 10, and after spending the weekend in the Waller County jail, she was found hanged in her cell Monday. Harris County's medical examiner said the death was a suicide, but Bland's family disputes the finding” (Barr, Alice, 2015). When watching the video on this situation I think the officer was in the wrong because he didn’t have the right to just open her car door if you just giving her a ticket for a minor traffic violation and she was in her car and I feel that he didn’t have

Police brutality is not a new subject. It has been around for numerous years, and like most issues, has resurfaced to the public’s eyes. The recent events brought up the question: Does there need to be a reform in the system in the police system? In this year alone, there have been countless cases of individuals being harmed or even killed by police officers for reasons that continuously are not explained. What has people more attentive to this injustice are statistics showing that most victims in these police attacks happen to be African Americans and other minorities.