Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (2018)

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Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland was released on November 9, 2018, in the USA. The American film was produced and directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner. The movie was displaying the investigation of Sandra Bland, a civil rights activist, who died in police custody for failure to signal on the road[1].

Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland Poster[2]

Plot

In 2015, Bland was arrested in Waller County, Texas, for failing to report a lane change. We see a video of dash-cam and bystander documenting a horrific, brutal, and completely unjustified arrest, for which the agent was never charged. Three days later, Bland was found dead in her prison cell in an apparent suicide. The documentary falls into the rabbit hole with Bland's family and lawyers as they strive to expose the truth behind her death, interviewing the district attorney and the sheriff. The family has reason to doubt the reliability, that is, because of the limitations beyond the imprisonment of Bland and the response by the police and the DA office after her death. In the end, nobody knows what happened to Bland, but the autopsies determined that her death was a suicide[3].

Black Empowerment

Before her death became so famous, Bland has been passionate about fighting racism. She has a video blog with more than 30 recordings. She usually speaks about social empowerment, personal growth, African American history, and injustice towards African Americans. Her blog included humorous incitement, encouraging the wearing of natural hair. She indicated how susceptible we can be to this other word n: naps. As Bland says "Under the edge-up, you got naps. Under that Brazilian [or] when you get that perm. You have…naps,". She also went to the rarely pace field, trying to build a communication bond across races, expressing in a single saying, "to focus directly on my White people. Black people know all lives matter. But, what I need you guys to understand is that being a Black person in America is very, very hard. …We get pissed off when we see situations where someone surrenders to the cops and still be killed". Her death eventually inspires people to fight for civil rights and her legacy keeps flying as Bland says "My purpose is to go back…to stop all of the injustices against Blacks[4].

Controversy

No one was ever held criminally responsible for Bland's death, or her confinement, which many specialists have concluded may have been illegal. Intrigue theories scattered after Bland's death that was killed by law enforcement agents but were widely doubted at the time. However, it was concluded that the prison officials made records of a check that was supposed to be presented with Bland's well-being, and they were gaps in accountability like this that kept fueling suspicion. The sheriff continues to claim that his office did nothing legally wrong but conceals that as a matter of "moral responsibility" the prison failed Bland and his family, and not only her family but actually the law enforcement has failed to have equal civil rights outside and inside the prison[5].

References

  1. TSay Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (2018). IMDb. Retrieved January 17 2021
  2. Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland Poster. MSR. Retrieved January 17 2021
  3. Radheyan Simonpillai. Review: HBO’s Sandra Bland doc is emotional and frustrating. NOW Central Communications Inc. Retrieved January 17 2021
  4. ‘Say Her Name’ is a worthy examination of injustice MSR. Retrieved January 17 2021]
  5. Jamiles Lartey. Sandra Bland: behind a poignant documentary of her life and death. TheGuardian. Retrieved January 17 2021]