Sandra and Kindra: Suicides or Something Sinister?
Excellent OP-Ed by Charles M. Blow in the NYTimes this afternoon -
JULY 20, 2015
Although the mantra Black Lives Matter was developed by black women, I often worry that in the collective consciousness it carries with it an implicit masculine association, one that renders subordinate or even invisible the very real and concurrent subjugation and suffering of black women, one that assigns to these women a role of supporter and soother and without enough space or liberty to express and advocate for their own.
Last week, the prism shifted a bit, as America and the social justice movement focused on the mysterious cases of two black women who died in police custody.
The first and most prominent was Sandra Bland, a black woman from suburban Chicago who had moved to Texas to take a job at her alma mater, Prairie View A & M University, a historically black school about 50 miles northwest of Houston.
She never started that job. After being arrested following a traffic stop, Bland was found dead in her jail cell. The police say she killed herself. Her family and friends doubt it ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/20/opinion/charles-blow-sandra-and-kindra-suicides-or-something-sinister.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-right-region
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)so much of the rest of the media was just "meh."
This is an outrage!
whathehell
(29,100 posts)I'm guessing there's an ugly racist aspect to that,
but it seems to me the story might have garnered
more.attention if she were a "he".
TBF
(32,116 posts)and I think the op ed just went up this afternoon. Maybe it will get more people talking.
So far all I have seen on DU today is infighting over which democratic candidate is listening harder to #BLM. In the meantime two young women have (likely) been murdered in their cells in the past week and I wonder how many DUer's could even tell me both their names.
whathehell
(29,100 posts)I get the Times on the weekend (I live in Chicaago) but I read it online today.
You're right, about the fighting though..I don't know if you were here in '08,
but there was a LOT of fighting between the supporters of the different candidates
before and during the Primaries. It may get worse before it's over.
whathehell
(29,100 posts)These poor kids -- yes, I know they were in their twenties and therefore properly ".young women", but being
in my sixties, everyone under 30 now seems like a "kid" to me, and I say it only as a way to express a kind of
maternal sadness. Sandra lived only an hour west of me. Why in God's name was she even in freaking JAIL
let alone dead of a supposed "suicide"
She only had a TRAFFIC violation, for fuck's sake...Who kills themselves over that?!
Thankfully, the FBI is investigating, 'cause this is really dirty.
and it's only
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)we will know a lot more.
TBF
(32,116 posts)no surprise as to who the troopers are working for.
The progressives I meet in Texas are starting to get more vocal, but we are still outnumbered from what I see around here in the suburbs.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)Troopers don't usually travel with City backup. I know some of the games played in county jails. There is a lot more to come out. Someone, County or City felt very threatened.
yurbud
(39,405 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,482 posts)Thanks for the thread, TBF.
artislife
(9,497 posts)I thought I would come here and just voice my thanks.
These young lives, two of far too many.
kimbutgar
(21,237 posts)They both came from educated middle class families and I feel they were murdered for being smart black women.
TBF
(32,116 posts)is likely enough to set off certain folks. I don't know that the cops cared at all that they were educated, smart, or middle class. What I'd like to see is a cross-reference of police officers by state (especially in South) and the membership lists of the KKK.
dougolat
(716 posts)And as such, harder to fault #BLM for lack of politeness.
TBF
(32,116 posts)and I don't think it's out of line when we look at how many POC the police are attacking and/or killing.
Fla Dem
(23,818 posts)she did in fact commit suicide.
Update: Family of Kindra Chapman: 'Her Death Was a Suicide'
The 18-year-old died while in police custody last week.
The family of Kindra Chapman has spoken out. In a statement released to AL.com, they confirmed that the 18-year-old's death in a Homewood, Alabama, jail cell last week was self-inflicted. "We want the world to know what a wonderful soul she was," her family wrote.
More at:
http://www.bet.com/news/national/2015/07/23/kindra-chapman-is-another-black-woman-who-died-in-police-custody.html
TBF
(32,116 posts)they actually have video tape on this case. I wonder if there are cameras in all prisons and whether they are monitored? Maybe that is something that should be looked into.