Mourners gather for Sandra Bland's funeral
Mourners gathered Saturday in Lisle, Illinois, to commemorate the life of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died in jail in Texas on July 13. Bland was pulled over by a state trooper July 10 allegedly for changing lanes without signaling. Video shows an escalating confrontation in which the trooper pulled out a stun gun and said, "I will light you up."
"We are not celebrating a martyr or victim," the church pastor said according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "We are celebrating a hero."
An autopsy indicated Bland died by suicide in jail, a finding friends, family, and activists have questioned.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
A free daily email with the day’s biggest news and analysis – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.