Sunday, July 26, 2015

Emotional scenes as hundreds gather for funeral of Sandra Bland - the black activist who was found dead in a Texas jail cell

                    People look at a shirt with words '#SandySpeaks' printed on the front and 'UNITE NOT INCITE' on the back as they arrive for the service
Family and friends of an Illinois woman found dead in a Texas jail remembered her Saturday as a 'courageous voice' for social justice and promised to keep fighting for clarity on the circumstances surrounding her death.
Hundreds of people attended Sandra Bland's funeral near the Chicago suburb where she grew up. 
They celebrated her life, but some also said they were still struggling to understand how a traffic stop for failing to use a turn signal escalated into a physical confrontation, and landed her in the cell where authorities say she killed herself three days later. more photo after the cut...

                                            A woman carries a funeral program detailing the life of Sandra Bland following her funeral service at the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church
                                            A mourner walks away after the funeral service for Sandra Bland
                                 A mourner pauses to compose herself as the body of Sandra Bland arrives for the wake and funeral service
                     Mourners gather at the grave site as pallbearers prepare to lower the casket 
                     Shante Needham (third right, seated) and Sharon Cooper (fourth right, standing), sisters of Sandra Bland, and Bland's mother Geneva Reed-Veal (center) look on during the funeral 
                     Shante Needham (L), sister of Sandra Bland, stands over the burial plot of her sister Sandra Bland during the funeral in the Chicago suburb of Willow Springs, Illinois, United States, July 25, 2015. Bland was found dead in a Texas jail days after she was arrested following a traffic stop and investigators are gathering more details about the circumstances of her incarceration and death. REUTERS/Jim Young
                     Sandra Bland's mother looks down into the grave site where her daughter's casket will lie 
                     The pair appear to be inconsolable during the emotional service after Bland died after a traffic stop 
                     A mourner hugs Sandra Bland's sister Sharon Cooper at the Mt. Glenwood Memorial Gardens West cemetery
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