JINHA

NEWS CENTER - On Saturday, hundreds attended the funeral of 28-year-old Sandra Bland, the black woman who died after being violently arrested in Texas.

Sandra Bland died on July 13 in a Texas jail after a police officer violently arrested her during a traffic stop. Police have alleged that Sandra killed herself, but her family and friends say they do not believe the explanation. Sandra, who was active in the movement against police brutality, had recently been hired for a job working at her alma mater.

The police officer pulled Sandra over for not using a turn signal. He ordered her to put out her cigarette with no legal reason. When Sandra asked why, the police officer violently arrested her, telling her "I'll light you up." Three days later, Sandra was found dead in her jail cell. Police insist that she killed herself.

At the funeral Saturday at the DuPage African Methodist Church near Chicago, the crowd overflowed the space in the church. Mourners wore messages honoring Sandy's video series on injustice, "Sandy Speaks," and carried photographs of the young woman.

Sandra's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said that in her last conversation with Sandra, her daughter had said she intended to stop injustice against black people in the south. Speakers at the funeral called for an investigation into Sandra's death and recalled her commitment to justice and resistance.

“We’re not funeralizing a martyr or a victim,” said Reverend James F. Miller at the ceremony. “We’re celebrating a hero.”

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