Sandra Bland, Police Brutality and #BlackLivesMatter

On July 10, Sandra Bland was found dead in a Texas jail cell three days following a routine traffic stop. The police claimed Bland committed suicide, but her sister disputed this claim, and Sandra Bland has become the latest face in the movement against police brutality.

Skepticism about the circumstances surrounding Bland’s death began circulating on social media, using the hashtags #SandraBland, #SayHerName, #IfIDieinPoliceCustody and #BlackLivesMatter.

Along with the skepticism, videos were circulated through social channels: such as the dashcam video of the traffic stop, which seemed to raise more questions than answers, and videos of Bland speaking out against police brutality.

FACEBOOK and TWITTER mentions

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Judge Greg Mathis Dissects The Arrest & Death of Sandra Bland #BlackTwitter #BlackLivesMatter

https://youtu.be/LQGAQ8kph54 

In the past year, social data intelligence company Talkwalker found more than 6.9 million mentions on social media of #BlackLivesMatter, with spikes around Dec. 1 (after the death of Eric Garner), April 27 (after the death of Freddie Gray) and July 20 (Bland).

In the wake of her death, Bland became known as an activist in the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and videos revealed her belief in the power of social media to affect change. In one video, said to be released released shortly before her death, Bland said idealistically. “This thing that I hold in my hands, this telephone, this camera, it is quite powerful. Social media is powerful. We can do something with this. If we want to make a change, we can really, truly make it happen.”

The controversy surrounding Bland's death has led to a revival of the #SayHerName hashtag, which has been mentioned on social channels more than 996,894 times from May 1 through now.