University Drive signs were replaced with Sandra Bland Parkway signs in Prairie View, TX., at the A&M University on Friday.“It’s not about just Sandy,” Sandra’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said to the crowd at the corner of Echols and what is now known as Sandra Bland Parkway. “It’s about other women and men who’ve died at the hands of officers who have sworn to protect them.”
Sandra Bland, 28, died while in police custody making headlines all over the world and igniting the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on social media everywhere. She was pulled over in July 2015 by a state trooper for making in improper lane change, and when the traffic stop became contentious, she was arrested and put in the Waller County, TX., jail. She died three days later, and it was ruled a suicide. The trooper who arrested Sandra has been fired and is charged with misdemeanor perjury.
Sandra’s family was on hand for the unveiling of the new street sign in their loved one’s honor. The lane leads to Prairie View A&M University, where Sandra graduated.